CLEAN SKY SFWA BLADE AND SAAB S INTEGRATED COMPOSITE UPPER COVER Presented at the 27th Annual International SICOMP Conference Jonas Bohlin - Engineering Manager - CleanSky SFWA BLADE Saab Aerostructures 30 May 2017
2 AGENDA BLADE - overview Laminar flow The Saab concept Structural integrity Shape distortion Manufacturing Next steps and conclusion
3 BLADE THE MAJOR ACTIVITY IN CLEAN SKY SFWA Design of an all new natural laminar flow wing Use of novel structural concepts and materials Large scale flight test demonstration of the laminar wing in operational conditions Flight test platform is the first Airbus A340-300 test aircraft Flight tests in 2017
4 BLADE - OVERVIEW Transition Structure Airbus LE & Upper Cover (Stbd) GKN Leading Edge & Upper Cover (Port) Design & manufacture: Saab Wing TE Aileron Aerofairing Dassault Wing Tip Body Aernnova Krueger (not shown) ASCO Wing Assembly Aernnova Plasteron Airbus Wingbox & L/E Panels Aernnova
5 SAAB HELPS TO DELIVER CLEANER SKIES - MOVIE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lawebtbmdcw
6 LAMINAR FLOW Laminar flow on the upper part of the wing Laminar flow: Reduced skin friction drag Reduced fuel consumption Reduced emissions
7 LAMINAR WING SURFACE QUALITY ISSUES Major constraint for any laminar wing concept is high surface quality No steps Reduced waviness Avoidance of any 3D disturbances Reduced roughness at the leading edge Challenge - to be achieved under typical production standards 3D disturbances Fastener Insects
8 THE SAAB CONCEPT IN BLADE To meet the NLF requirements Saab has developed a structural concept with the following features: Integrated no joint Integrated no fasteners Co-cured CFRP prepreg Byt bild??? Byt bild???
9 STRUCTURAL ANALYSES & TESTS Challenging as this is a flying R&D project Comprehensive analyses Several certification tests Integrated structure two main challenges Spar cap High shear load Critical feature Rib feet Out-of-plane loads Short finite distance I-beams Analyses Effect of defects difficult Analyses not sufficient Tests are necessary
10 STRUCTURAL ANALYSES & TESTS Laminar requirements Surface waviness deformation due to air loads Driving dimensions Composite leading edge Bird strike analyses and tests
11 SHAPE DISTORTION Rules of thumb not enough for complex geometries. There is a need to accurate predict the shape distortion to compensate the tool surface. Verification steps T and U-sections Test panel 1 (2x2 m) Test panel 2 (1x1 m) The complete analysis model 300 000 elements Result The invar mould tool difficult to adjust Profile requirement in LE < ± 1 mm Well within requirement 20-80 mm
12 MANUFACTURING The skin lay-up is made with ATL on a male tool The hand layup for the sub structure is partly made flat and formed and partly manufactured to shape. Very large tool set The limitation for the manufacturing time is the material RT-time. The manufacturing was made during 2-shift in 30 days.
13 MANUFACTURING Development steps Test panel 1 (2x2 m) Test panel 2 (1x1 m) in different configurations First full scale cover (8,5 x 2,5 m) Second and final full scale cover Not adapted for high volume production
14 NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSION At the moment the assembly of the outer wing is completed by Aernnova i Berantevilla. The next step is to assemble the outer wing to the test aircraft. Finally, flight tests in 2017. The BLADE project has proven that is possible to manufacture an integrated composite upper cover. The next step is to include and consider operational requirements and to enable manufacturing at high rate.
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