Short course/CPD
Design, Durability and Integrity of Composite Aircraft Structures
Attend an individual day or all five days
Course date: Please enquire
Course overview
A five day short course - available also as single or multiple days - which brings together a unique selection of composite technologies relevant to aircraft structure design and service performance prediction. These include composite design and manufacture, service performance, damage tolerance and structural integrity.
Suitable for stress engineers, analysts and research engineers, responsible senior managers and technical programme managers, airworthiness and certification engineers and maintenance and repair engineers.
The course is multidisciplinary, and has been designed and developed to meet the needs of aircraft design regulatory and maintenance engineers who have to deal with the challenges of working with new generations of composite aircraft structures.
This five day course also forms one of the modules of Cranfield's part-time MSc in Airworthiness, enabling delegates to benefit from interaction with delegates from industry studying the full Masters programme.
Location
Course fee:
5 day fee
- £1400 - Standard. 20% discount for Cranfield alumni, 10% discount for colleagues of alumni
- £1340 - Professional/trade association discount
- £1280 - Multiple bookings*
*Minimum of five delegates.
Individual day fee
- £290 - Standard. 20% discount for Cranfield alumni, 10% discount for colleagues of alumni
- £275 - Professional/trade association discount
- £265 - Multiple bookings*
*Minimum of five delegates.
Accommodation fee:
Accommodation is not included in the price.
Speakers
As well as benefiting from the expertise of a number of respected Cranfield academics who are experts in their field, delegates also benefit from the expertise of a number of external speakers from the aerospace and composites industries, including aircraft operators, aircraft manufacturers and safety regulators. Academic speakers include:
Professor John W Bristow FRAeS PhD
Visiting Professor of Structural Integrity holding a BSc (Hons) in Aeronautical Engineering from London University and a PhD in Fatigue Research from Cambridge University. Formerly Head of the Structures and Materials Department of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), John has over 40 years experience in the aircraft industry working on structural design, and the continued airworthiness of all types of aircraft, metallic and composite. He was a founder member of the international team that produced the regulatory guidance materials on composite structures for civil aircraft.
Professor Philip E Irving BSc PhD CEng FIMMM
CAA Chair in Damage Tolerance at Cranfield University and Head of the Damage Tolerance Group. Phil has been teaching, researching and publishing in the field of fatigue, structural integrity and damage tolerance in both industry and academia for the past 30 years and has published over 60 journal papers. Since joining Cranfield in 1991 he has been researching service life prediction and damage tolerance in both metallic and polymer composite aircraft structures.
Dr Xiang Zhang MSc PhD FRAeS MAIAA CEng
Reader in Structural Integrity. Xiang conducts teaching and research in fatigue, fracture and damage tolerance of metallic and composite aircraft structures and application of finite element method for predicting failure. Xiang has over 25 years experience in aeronautical fatigue research.
Dr Shijun Guo MSc PhD CEng MRAeS MAIAA
Senior Lecturer in Composite Aircraft Structures. Shijun has 25 years experience in researching composite structures, structural dynamics and aeroelasticity and has particular interests in optimal design and aeroelastic tailoring of aircraft composite structures.
Professor I K Partridge MA PhD FIMMM CSci
Head of Composites Centre at Cranfield, with 30 years of research experience in polymeric composites. Over 60 journal papers cover the areas of thermosetting / thermoplastic blends, dielectric cure monitoring, efficiency of property improvement transfer from matrix to composite, application of Z-direction reinforcement to composite structures and effects of nanoparticle addition to thermosetting resins.
How to register
To request a place on this course, please complete the online Registration Form.
If you have any queries please contact:
Cranfield University
Cranfield
Bedfordshire
MK43 0AL, UK
T: +44 (0) 1234 754176
E: shortcourse@cranfield.ac.uk
F: +44 (0) 1234 751206
Please be aware that short courses/CPD are subject to:
Booking ConditionsCourse description
The properties and performance of polymer composites will be considered throughout the course in relation to the overall requirements for aircraft structures and contrasted with the better known and appreciated metallic material behaviour.
Day 1 - Materials and Manufacturing
To establish the basics of composite materials, their structure and some simple mechanical properties. Suitable techniques for manufacture of aircraft structure using polymer composites will be outlined, followed by how manufacturing techniques and manufacturing variables influence composite performance.
- Why manufacture aircraft from polymer composites?
- Which manufacturing process?
- Manufacture-structure-performance relations
- Airworthiness regulations.
Day 2 - Structural Analysis
To introduce techniques for structural analysis in composites. Approaches for calculation of stiffness, stress fields and strength of simple laminates and more complex structural elements will be outlined. Calculation of stress fields for design features such as joints and holes will be covered. Tutorial sessions will be given.
- Calculations of stiffness and stress
- Failure process and strength calculation
- Structural elements
- Metals/composite performance comparison.
Day 3 - Damage Tolerance
To understand processes of composite degradation and provide tools to predict response to damage threats in service, including impact damage and fatigue loading. The day concludes with sessions on measurement of composite properties relevant to prediction of service performance. Sessions on the influence on:
- Service damage
- Lightning
- Moisture and temperature
- Impact, fatigue and damage tolerance.
Day 4 - Design Applications
To consider design of composite structures for airworthiness certification and for optimum performance. Industry specialists will provide practical examples of the implementation of polymer composites in aircraft for a range of structure types.
- Aerospace structures
- Structural testing
- Regulation issues.
Day 5 - Operational Issues
To introduce factors influencing service performance of polymer composites in aircraft. Operational issues are considered, with examples of in service failures and repairs. Operator experience with polymer composites will also be covered.
- Continued airworthiness
- Inspection techniques
- Repair.
