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Structural Safety Evaluation of Test Fixture for Static Load Test of External Fuel Tank for Fixed-Wing Aircraft

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Abstract

The structural behavior and safety of a static load test fixture for a pylon and an external fuel tank of a fixed-wing aircraft currently being developed in South Korea are analyzed. The test loads are calculated via the flight loads applied on the external fuel tank and a whiffletree configuration; subsequently, they are used in the static analysis of the test fixture using the finite element method. Vulnerable components of the test fixture are identified by calculating the von Mises stress, and detailed structural behavior is analyzed. It is confirmed that most components of the test fixture exhibit a factor of safety of 3.0 or greater, which is determined by the calculated von Mises stress and the yield strength of the material. The proposed method is expected to be utilized in the structural integrity evaluation of a static test fixture for the external stores of an aircraft.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NO. 2019R1A2C4070280).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrated Systems Engineering, Hankyong National University, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, 17579, Republic of Korea

    Dong-Hyeop Kim & Sang-Woo Kim

  2. School of ICT, Robotics and Mechanical Engineering, Hankyong National University, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, 17579, Republic of Korea

    Young-Cheol Kim & Sang-Woo Kim

  3. Aeronautics Technology Research Division, Aeronautics Research Directorate, Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Daejeon, 34133, Republic of Korea

    Hyun-Gi Kim & Sungchan Kim

Authors
  1. Dong-Hyeop Kim
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  2. Young-Cheol Kim
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  3. Sang-Woo Kim
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  4. Hyun-Gi Kim
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Correspondence to Sang-Woo Kim.

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Kim, DH., Kim, YC., Kim, SW. et al. Structural Safety Evaluation of Test Fixture for Static Load Test of External Fuel Tank for Fixed-Wing Aircraft. Int. J. Aeronaut. Space Sci. 23, 52–65 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42405-021-00411-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42405-021-00411-w

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