DSTO
Hawk
(MPEG video 7.45 MB)
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The
Hawk airframe being prepared for the full-scale fatigue
testing at DSTO’s new facility in Victoria.
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A
NEW testing facility will identify when and where aircraft structural
failures are likely to occur so that repair and maintenance programs
can be implemented to extend the life of the aircraft.
The Hawk is one of the first aircraft to be tested at the new
facilities at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation
(DSTO) in Fishermens Bend, Victoria.
Defence stands to save millions of dollars on through-life management
costs of ADF combat platforms over the next decades following
the opening of the H.A. Wills Structures & Materials Centre on
August 26.
The facility is named after Arthur Wills, a pioneer of work on
structural fatigue in aircraft.
The $10 million complex has a fatigue and fracture laboratory
and a structural test laboratory.
The former will be used for fatigue and static testing of samples
and materials and to analyse cracks. The latter will be used for
structural tests of larger items, such as aircraft wings, ships,
submarines and land vehicles.
These require the construction of special test rigs. DSTO has
been contracted by manufacturer BAE Systems to conduct the Hawk
tests in Australia rather than in the UK.
According to Tim Bussell, the project manager for the Hawk LIF
fullscale fatigue test, the tests will start in August 2005.
“We
obtained a test aircraft from BAE System’s assembly line in the
UK, which is representative of an Australian Hawk,” Mr Bussell
said.
“The test preparations include fitting some 589 strain gauges
and 84 sets of hydraulic load application linkages to the aircraft
and the installation and commissioning of an advanced computerised
control and data acquisition system within the nine metre high
test rig.
Our aircraft will never actually fly, but it will experience
representative loading based on actual fleet usage as we ‘fly’ it on the ground in the test rig.
It will age in the same way as the fleet aircraft and therefore
tell us in advance where to look for potential fatigue issues
in the fleet. Also, it allows BAE Systems to design modifications/repairs
in advance of any requirements in the operational fleet.”
Mr Bussell said the Hawk would be tested to 50,000 equivalent
flying hours, which equates to about 10,000 to 12,000 actual
rig-testing hours.
“This is expected to take up to seven years, of which more than
half will be devoted to inspections of the test aircraft,” he
said.
“The test will conclude in late 2012, eight years before the planned
withdrawal date of the fleet.
The fatigue test will be followed by a residual strength test
which will load the aircraft to 80 per cent of the design ultimate
load and then a teardown involving the complete dismantling of
the main load carrying structure of the airframe to allow detailed
analysis of up to 500 critical locations.”
Mr Bussell said there was only the one fatigue test, although
follow-on tests might be identified based on fleet usage.
These follow-on tests might only be conducted on specific sections
of the aircraft – such as a tailplane or wing – to gather additional
information if operations indicated they were needed.
The new centre is part of a $56 million redevelopment program
in which DSTO’s Melbourne facilities will relocate to Fishermens
Bend.
It provides Defence with a world-class capability and carries
on from existing programs, such as fatigue work on the Hornets.
