Design of Composite Wing Access Cover Under Impact Loads

Abstract

The paper describes a design concept and prototype development study for a composite wing access cover panel which may be subjected to high velocity impact loads from burst tyre fragments. A number of design variants were fabricated in unidirectional (UD) carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone (CF/PEEK) using th evacuum forming method. Emphasis in the paper is on the use of impact simulations at the design stage to assess various design concepts for the composite panel using finite element (FE) simulation techniques. These predict a damage state in the structure after impact loading, which allows the panel concepts to be ranked for impact resistance. This led to a successful design concept, which was verified by structural impact tests, in which the CF/PEEK access panel had an impact resistance liner of high performance polyethylene fabric.