Aeroelastic Failure Risk Assessment in Damage Tolerant Composite Airframe Structures

The quantitative assessment of the effects of damage and material degradation on the aeroelastic reliability of composite aircraft has become more important in recent years due to the increased use of composites in main structural components of passenger aircraft. The paper presents a method for quantifying the damage tolerance and reliability of aircraft composite structures due to flutter in the presence of multiple uncertainties. Automated rapid simulation tools for predicting flutter speeds and limit cycle oscillation amplitudes for composite airframes subject to multiple uncertainties serve a key role, and are used for Monte Carlo simulations. A thorough discussion of the aeroelastic uncertainty of composite aircraft, covering material degradation, damage, repair, design and certification practices, and maintenance procedures is included. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated on a typical aircraft structure with a composite control surface. Conclusions are drawn and some recommendations for future work are made.