A
MAJOR step has been taken toward the airworthiness certification
of Composite Replacement Panel Technology (CRPT), a Defence Science
and Technology- led initiative to extend the use of composite
materials in ADF aircraft.
CRPT enables the replacement of high-maintenance metallic aircraft
panels with those manufactured from advanced fibre composite
materials.
This technology has been developed over the past eight years by
DSTO’s Air Vehicles Division (AVD) in collaboration with the Cooperative
Research Centre for Advanced Composite Structures (CRC-ACS).
Eventual introduction of CRPT into service will produce major
benefits by reducing the through-life-support costs of structural
aircraft panels and, potentially, enhancing platform capability.
The experimental data required to validate a major element of
the airworthiness approach was obtained on June 26 when the strains
in a demonstrator panel installed on a F-111C aircraft were successfully
measured during a Cold Proof Load Test at RAAF Base Amberley.
Senior Research Scientist Paul Callus said that bonded honeycomb
panels comprised a significant proportion of the outer surface
of the F-111 and “acceptance of the CRPT will provide the ADF
with greater options when replacing existing metallic panels that
have deteriorated beyond normal repair limits”.
Potential extension of this technology to enable the production
of light-weight composite panels containing ballistic protection
is being explored by AVD in collaboration with Maritime Platforms
and Weapons Systems Divisions.
Chief of AVD Chris Guy said the success of the project was testimony
to the vision shown by the office of the Director General Technical
Airworthiness in sponsoring and supporting DSTO to develop emerging
technologies.
