A340-600 wing completes UK structural test programme

Citation

(2002), "A340-600 wing completes UK structural test programme", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 74 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2002.12774eaf.003

A340-600 wing completes UK structural test programme

Keywords: Airbus, Aircraft, Wings

The largest Airbus wing yet built has successfully completed its structural test programme at Airbus UK, Filton. Since January 2001 a 21 metre (70 foot) test section representing part of a production standard A340-500/600 wing has been subjected to increasingly rigorous testing; culminating in the recent final test when the wing tip deflected almost 5m (16 feet) when applied with nearly twice its limit load. This confirmed engineers' calculations of its performance and assures the safety and structural integrity of the new wing design (Plate 1).

The test programme involved attaching around 1,000 special sensors to the wing structure in its 16m (55 foot) high rig. These sensors measure strain, deflection and the distribution of loads. Twenty five servo- controlled hydraulic jigs were also fitted to flex and move the wing and simulate the complex aerodynamics loads experienced during flight. At the height of the test programme over 100 engineers from Filton and its sister plant at Broughton, where the wing specimen was built, were involved with the design, build and testing activity. This is the first time that an Airbus wing has undergone testing of this type in the UK.

Plate 1 In the final stage of its structural testing programme int he UK, a 21 metre A340-500/600 wing test section deflected almost five metres (16 feet) when applied with nearly twice its "limit load". This confirnmed engineers' calculations of its performance and assures the safety and structural integrity of the new wing design

Iain Gray, Vice President of Wing Engineering Integration Centre at Airbus said: "The wing tests are a crucial element of the A340-500/600 structural test programme. The success of the testing is a tribute to our engineers' expertise in this field." Fatigue testing on a complete aircraft specimen, where A340-500/600 wings are assembled to the fuselage and tested through a comprehensive range of simulated take-off, flight and landing cycles, is taking place in Dresden, in collaboration with French and German colleagues, and will continue into 2003.

To date, over 100 orders have been received for the A340-600 and its sister aircraft the A340-500 – which has the same wing design. Virgin Atlantic Airways will become the first airline to take delivery of an A340-600 aircraft later this year. Airbus is a joint EADS Company with BAE Systems.