For the first time, UC San Diego engineers have performed tests on landing gear components for the aerospace industry. Led by Hyonny Kim, an associate professor in structural engineering at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering, the researchers performed six months of rigorous Federal Aviation Administration tests on the first-ever composite landing gear braces, which will be used for the new Boeing 787 aircraft.
The purpose of the full-scale tests, performed for Messier-Dowty, the world leader in landing gear design and manufacturing , was to prove the strength and capability of these major structural components. These components, made by Messier-Dowty using advanced composite materials (carbon fibers and epoxy), were subjected to loads approaching 1 million pounds using UC San Diego’s unique Caltrans Seismic Response Modification Device (SRMD) test facility. The SRMD’s testing table is 16 feet-long by 12 feet-wide, and can move horizontally and vertically, and rotate (i.e. six degrees of freedom), and shake at velocities of up to 70 inches per second.
Read the full story here, written by Andrea Siedsma.
