For the next three years Boeing will simulate the wear and tear of more than 100,000 flights on one of its 787 Dreamliner airframes. The testing is part of the certification process known as fatigue testing and it started this week at Boeing’s factory north of Seattle.
Boeing says the 787 is designed to have a lifespan of 44,000 take offs and landings, or cycles as the industry calls them. The 787 test airframe will undergo close to triple that number. The tests will include a variety of simulations ranging from bouncing around on uneven ground while taxiing to the gate, to simulations of turbulent storms the plane may experience during flight.
The airframe is attached to a massive test rig with mechanical devices attached to the airframe that will flex, bend, twist and shake the airplane seven days a week for the next three years. The fatigue testing is more about the effects of daily usage compared to the wing bending static tests that see how far the airplane can be pushed before breaking according to Boeing’s Jim Ognowski.
“Unlike static tests, where loads are applied to the airplane structure to simulate both normal operation and extreme flight conditions, fatigue testing is a much longer process that simulates up to three times the number of flight cycles an airplane is likely to experience during a lifetime of service.”
In addition to being a necessary part of the certification process, fatigue testing on the 787 Dreamliner will demonstrate to the flying public whether or not the composite airplane can withstand the same kind of wear and tear its aluminum cousins have experienced for decades.
After the jump is a short video Boeing put together explaining the fatigue testing process.
Photo/Video: Boeing
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