NDT
matter how well we measure the deflections of the
specimen,” says Richardson.
The metrology network is also able to perform global,
specimen measurement using laser trackers,
displacement transducers and is equipped to accurately
measure local specimens in detail for non-linear
behavior and validation, including the use of nondestructive
testing.
The data from the tests performed feed directly into
Airbus development programs. Current working
practices are clear – test engineers work to a clear set of
requirements from the airworthiness authorities who
specify that any numerical models have to be validated
by similar structures or a specific test. This approach
creates the need to test.
However, the use of more and more detailed
modelling and simulation leads to the somewhat
perverse situation of engineers like Richardson working
to reduce the amount of structural testing. “Traditional
structures testing is a very expensive way of gathering
data,” says Richardson.
“In the future we would like to take a much more
optimized approach that includes more virtual,
predictive testing. It may be odd to hear a structurestesting
engineer say we need to reduce the amount of
structures testing, but this is where new technologies
can ultimately lead to significant cost saving.”
However, Richardson stresses that even a complex
set-up such as AWIC isn’t a single solution for testing.
“There isn’t one tool or one instrument that can do
everything. Most industries will rely on a measurement
toolbox,” he says. “Whether that’s life-damage monitoring
and hotspot monitoring, deformation monitoring through
48 MARCH 2020 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
image correlation or
photogrammetry. Stress
monitoring using
photoelasticity is an older
technique and no longer
widely used for stress
analysis, but there has been
a lot of advances recently in
digitalization of measurement
instruments, which has led to a
resurgence in its use. Then there are
laser-based techniques and displacement
transducers and strain gauges, which are
also widely utilized.
“The future is a smarter testing strategy,
strongly linked to predictive, virtual testing with
advances in instrumentation and measurement
methods to validate those increasingly accurate
numerical simulations.”
Increased resolution and accuracy, multi-point
measurement, the quantification of environmental
effects, calibration methods and smart, data-comparison
methods and tools that use data analytics and more
standardised data formats will also be key enablers in
future structural testing. “Data analytics and intelligent
measurements is something we are focusing on,” says
Richardson. “The aerospace industry is quite oldfashioned
when it measures things because it has to meet
airworthiness requirements written a long time ago.
“As an industry, we are working hard to try and
understand how we can rewrite those to account for new
technologies and techniques that weren’t around when
the rules were originally written,” he adds. \\
6 // Wings are mounted
with arrays of different
sensors to measure stress
and strain
7 // 3D printed components
could be used for the
structural parts of future
aircraft wings
6
7
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