NDT
4 // Studies conducted at
AWIC will investigate the
behavior of new types of
materials for wing structures
5 // CAD drawing of the
flexible hangar space
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // MARCH 2020 47
anchor points. “We wanted to reuse them, so they are
essentially tension bolts that are not taken to their yield
point,” says Richardson.
The foundations for the floor were filled with 1,500
cubic metres of concrete in a single pour. A
concrete truck arrived at the site every six
minutes for 24 hours during
construction, making it one of the
biggest, single-concrete pours in
the UK the year it was done.
The foundations contain 230
tonnes of steel
reinforcement and beneath
that a network of 55
concrete piles, each just
over 1m in diameter, going
down up to 16m into the
ground. “Ultimately it’s not
going anywhere,” says
Richardson. “The whole
system is designed to work as a
single unit that transmits the test
loads into the geology that is around
the building.”
LARGE AND SMALL MACHINES
The fit-out of the hangar included foundation
strengthening and specialist fittings, installation of the
crane and the hydraulics, chiller units, compressed air,
electrical supplies, ventilation and dust extraction
systems. The building also includes specialist laboratory
space for material testing and development and office
accommodation for more than 250 engineers. Fit-out of
the laboratories included specialist gases, scientific
equipment and close-controlled environments. More
than 400 pieces of equipment were transferred into
AWIC, ranging from heavy mechanical test machines to
scanning electron microscopes. To increase the testing
capability in terms of magnitude of loading and speed
of testing.
Airbus commissioned MTS to build a high-capacity
universal test machine. Statically, the machine can
produce up to 25meganewtons and in
fatigue up to 20meganewtons.
“We can fit up to a 9m panel in that
rig. It’s certainly one of the
biggest in Europe,” says
Richardson
“The whole
system is
designed to
work as a
single floating
The various test rigs were
designed and built with
environmental
sustainability in mind. “The
bespoke steelwork for a test
is usually thrown away
when the test is complete.
But we have looked at
developing reconfigurable,
reusable test rigs. We came up
with what look like giant Lego
bricks,” says Richardson. “The design
was a result of our focus on using
modular testing.”
unit”
BUILT-IN METROLOGY
Airbus has procured a purpose-built metrology network
for the whole building for detailed measurement of what
is in the strong-floor hangar.
This multi-scale, multi-instrument metrology and
measurement network looks at several aspects, including
the facility itself – the wall, the floor and
the load introduction devices.
“When we are validating numerical
models, if our boundary conditions are
wrong, we are never going to match it no
3 // The strong wall can be
moved around the main
hangar to accommodate
wings of different sizes
3
5 4
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