Airbus finishes second A350 test barrel

August 7, 2009
Aerospace Industry, Aircraft

Airbus has finished fabricating the second all-composite test barrel for the A350XWB program, the company announced today. Measuring some 59 feet (18 meters) in length and about 20 feet (more than six meters) in diameter, the test barrel consists of three sections built to validate the complete process chain, from the manufacture of individual panels, frames and clips, to shell assembly and section assembly and the production of circumferential joints. Its shape therefore closely mimics the planned final design of what will become the actual A350 fuselage.

Airbus plans to use Barrel 1B to support the validation of design principles and sizing methods. The tests performed on the barrel will center mainly on the fatigue properties and damage tolerance of composite structures.

Innovations include automated shell assembly, section assembly and tolerance management, particularly for circumferential joints, as well as the production of large carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) panels–the largest with a chord length of 18 feet (5.5 meters). Airbus heralds such extensive use of CFRP as a significant advance: it used the material to make the panels, frames, window frames, clips and door. The design will also incorporate the first hybrid CFRP and titanium door frame structure, according to Airbus.

Back

NG Aircraft Takes Another Shot at Fokker 100 Revival March 16, 2010 Long-standing efforts to revive the Fokker 100 regional jet could get a boost from a €20 million ($27 million) loan offered by the Dutch... [more]
Air Berlin Slashes Boeing 787 Order March 16, 2010 Germany’s Air Berlin has cut the number of airplanes in its firm order for Boeing 787 Dreamliners from 25 to 15, and the number of options from... [more]
Second Boeing 747-8 Freighter Completes First Flight March 15, 2010 The second Boeing 747-8 Freighter, RC 522, completed its first flight yesterday evening, the company announced today. The airplane took off from... [more]
Fourth 787 Joins Boeing Flight-Test Fleet March 15, 2010 Boeing has added the fourth 787 to its flight-test fleet with yesterday’s first flight of Dreamliner ZA003. The airplane departed Paine Field in... [more]
Boeing 747-8 Freighter Achieves Initial Airworthiness Milestone March 11, 2010 Boeing has finished initial airworthiness testing on the 747-8 Freighter, the company announced today. The milestone allows test engineers to... [more]