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Opportunities for
Systems Engineering to
Contribute to Durability
and Damage Tolerance
of Hybrid Structures
for Airframes
Jean R. Gebman
Prepared for the United States Air Force
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
PROJECT AIR FORCE
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Air Force under
Contract FA7014-06-C-0001. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic
Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gebman, J. R.
Opportunities for systems engineering to contribute to durability and damage tolerance of hybrid structures
for airframes / Jean R. Gebman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-8330-4202-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Airframes—Design and construction. 2. Structural dynamics. 3. Airframes—Materials. 4. Composite
materials. 5. Airplanes, Military—Design and construction. 6. Fault tolerance (Engineering) 7. Systems
engineering. I. Title.
TL671.6.G43 2007
629.134'31—dc22
2007039674
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Summary
Although a general approach to fielding durable, damage-tolerant structures has been well
defined for several decades for metal airframes, the rising use of other materials and the growing role of hybrid structures in airframes are creating a need to tailor the general approach to
deal with new damage mechanisms. This has created opportunities for systems engineering to
contribute to the tailoring and implementation of the general approach to hybrid structures for
airframes. Such implementation can help ensure that an appropriate sequence of investments
is made in time to support key decisions related to the research, design, development, test,
manufacturing, and sustainment of airframes that have hybrid structures. As industry and
operators are tailoring the implementation of the general approach, this may be a good time to
pause and consider how well materials engineers, structural engineers, and systems engineers
are performing as a team in assuring the durability and damage tolerance of hybrid structures
for airframes over their life cycles.
To support such considerations, this report starts by summarizing the Air Force’s general
approach to developing and sustaining durable, damage-tolerant structures for airframes (see
pp. 15–20). Although the details of the approach evolved during an era of metal airframes, its
general framework is broadly applicable to airframes in general. Because hybrid structures that
have multiple classes of materials are accounting for a growing proportion of the structural
assemblies in modern airframes and because they introduce new challenges for durability and
damage tolerance, this report explores how systems-engineering efforts may help tailor implementation of the general approach to hybrid structures for airframes.
The report also identifies technical and programmatic considerations that need to be
addressed by a systems-engineering approach (see pp. 21–24). Next, the report identifies opportunities for materials engineers and structural engineers to collaborate with systems engineers
in ensuring the durability and damage tolerance of hybrid structures in airframes (see pp. 25–
27). Finally, it describes a candidate framework for facilitating such collaboration (see pp. 29–
34). Such a framework may provide a useful basis for considering and continuously improving
the team performance of the materials engineers, structural engineers, and systems engineers
who are responsible for ensuring the durability and damage tolerance of hybrid structures over
an airframe’s life cycle.
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