DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF STIFFENED COMPOSITE PANELS

The use of composite materials in aircraft primary structure is becoming more common. Stiffened composite panels have been designed for a variety of load carrying conditions in aircraft. In this study, design consideration and manufacturing techniques for J stiffened composite panels were reviewed and discussed. Cocuring manufacturing technique was used to produce stiffened composite panels. Ultrasonic C-scan inspection was carried out to detect any defects in the panels. A finite element method was used to predict buckling and the post-buckled loads of the stiffened panels. The experimental buckling loads, as well as the failure loads, were in good agreement with the analytical results. The strain data from the tests were also in close agreement with those predicted by analysis. The structural efficiencies of tested panels were determined and compared with the same aluminum configuration. This paper presents the details of tooling, manufacturing techniques and test results.