Automated manufacturing of thermoplastic composites has found increased interest in aerospace applications over the past three decades because of its great potential in low-cost, high rate, repeatable production of high performance composite structures. Experimental validation is a key element in the development of structures made using this emerging technology. In this work, a $750\times640\times240$ mm variable-stiffness unitised integrated-stiffener out-of-autoclave thermoplastic composite wingbox is tested for a combined shear-bending-torsion induced buckling load. The wingbox is manufactured by in-situ consolidation using a laser-assisted automated tape placement technique. It is made and tested as a demonstrator section located at 85% of the wing semi-span of a B-737/A320 sized aircraft. A bespoke in-house test rig and two aluminium dummy wingboxes are also designed and manufactured for testing the wingbox assembly which spans more than 3m. Prior to testing, the wingbox assembly and the test rig were analysed using a high fidelity finite element method to minimise the failure risk due to the applied load case. The experimental test results of the wingbox are also compared with the predictions made by a numerical study performed by nonlinear finite element analysis showing less than 5% difference in load-displacement behaviour and buckling load and full agreement in predicting the buckling mode shape.

中文翻译：

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变刚度热塑性复合材料翼盒在剪切、弯曲和扭转下的静态试验

在过去的三十年里，热塑性复合材料的自动化制造在航空航天应用中引起了越来越多的兴趣，因为它在低成本、高速率、可重复生产高性能复合材料结构方面的巨大潜力。实验验证是使用这种新兴技术开发结构的关键要素。在这项工作中，一个$750\times640\times240$毫米可变刚度组合式集成加强件热压罐外热塑性复合材料机翼箱针对剪切-弯曲-扭转引起的组合屈曲载荷进行了测试。翼盒是使用激光辅助自动胶带放置技术通过原位固结制造的。它是作为演示器部分制造和测试的，位于 B-737/A320 大小飞机机翼半展的 85% 处。还设计和制造了一个定制的内部测试台和两个铝制假翼箱，用于测试跨度超过 3m 的翼箱组件。在测试之前，使用高保真有限元方法对翼盒组件和试验台进行了分析，以最大限度地减少由于施加载荷情况导致的故障风险。