The Boeing 787 Dreamliner structural fatigue testing has been initiated, for evaluating the durability and fatigue life. The fatigue test frame might look like a crazy construction rig, but think of it more like a time machine because of its huge geometry.
The fatigue rig will put the Boeing 787 through 100,000 simulated flights of the Dreamliner. All the loads encountered by the aircraft in air is simulated on the ground to understand and to ascertain its structural response for the cyclic loads..
The fatigue test rig simulates every part of the flight. From the push back at the airport to the arrival at its destination. This process is called a ground-air-ground (GAG) cycle. Boeing has five different GAG cycles that put the aircraft through different simulations, ranging in duration and flight severity.
While the structural test program already has validated the strength of the airframe, fatigue testing looks at long-term, continued use. It allows Boeing engineers to see what will give over time and create inspection techniques for airlines.
Unlike static tests, where loads are applied to the aircraft 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 aeroplane is likely to experience during a lifetime of service,
Every kid’s dream is to build something and then try to break it, right? In essence, that’s what is done . We take an airplane and we try to put it through its paces and try to break it at the end.”
To create this havoc, 100 mechanical devices have been connected to the exterior of the Dreamliner. Engineers in a control room use the devices to mimic actions the 787 will go through.
The airframe will be subject to three years of continuous testing using the latest hydraulics and pnuematic loading and operating devices and a high standard sensors for monitoring the strain and deflection responses
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