Impact Testing and Analysis of Composites for Aircraft Engine Fan Cases
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 15, Issue 3
Abstract
The fan case in a jet engine is a heavy structure because of its size and because of the requirement that it contain a blade released during engine operation. Composite materials offer the potential for reducing the weight of the case. Efficient design, test, and analysis methods are needed to efficiently evaluate the large number of potential composite materials and design concepts. The type of damage expected in a composite case under blade-out conditions was evaluated using a subscale test in which a glass/epoxy composite half-ring target was impacted with a wedge-shaped titanium projectile. Fiber shearing occurred near points of contact between the projectile and target. Delamination and tearing occurred on a larger scale. These damage modes were reproduced in a simpler test in which flat glass/epoxy composites were impacted with a blunt cylindrical projectile. A surface layer of ceramic eliminated fiber shear fracture but did not reduce delamination. Tests on 3D woven carbon/epoxy composites indicated that transverse reinforcement is effective in reducing delamination. A 91-cm (36 in.) diameter full-ring subcomponent was proposed for larger scale testing of these and other composite concepts. Explicit, transient, finite-element analyses indicated that a full-ring test is needed to simulate complete impact dynamics, but simpler tests using smaller ring sections are adequate when the evaluation of initial impact damage is the primary concern.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
ABAQUS/Explicit 5.8 manual. (1998). Habbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc., Pawtucket, R.I.
Abrate, S. (1998). Impact on composite structures, Cambridge Univ. Press, Boston, 132–134.
Federal Aviation Regulations (1984). Part 33.94., U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C.
Greszczuk, L. B. (1982). Chapter 3, Impact dynamics, Wiley, New York, 93.
Lane, A. D. (1989). “Development of an advanced fan blade containment system.” DOT/FAA/CT-89/20, Washington, D.C.
Mattingly, J. D. (1996). Elements of gas turbine propulsion, McGraw-Hill, New York, xlviii–xlix.
Mines, R. A. W., Roach, A. M., and Jones, N.(1999). “High velocity perforation of polymer composite laminates.” Int. J. Impact Eng., 22, 561–588.
Pereira, J. M., and Lerch, B. A.(2001). “Effects of heat treatment on the ballistic impact properties of Inconel 718 for jet engine fan containment applications.” Int. J. Impact Eng., 25.
U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration (DOT). (1997). Rep. No. DOT/FAA/AR-97/53, U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, D.C.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 5, 2002
Accepted: Feb 12, 2002
Published online: Jun 14, 2002
Published in print: Jul 2002
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.