Vibroacoustic analysis in the assessment of the technical condition of the aircraft airframe composite elements

Abstract

The paper presents the method of assessment of the technical condition of the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer of an F-16 Block C aircraft made from composite materials. The described method was an experimental measurement of the acoustic pressures generated by the technically operational element and the element with the distorted structural continuity and then a comparison of these pressures in the curves of time and frequency in order to assess how the damage impacts the parameters of the acoustic wave. The test was performed in a dual-channel system, the pressure was induced through impacts on the investigated element with an impact hammer and then, based on the measured induction parameters and the generated acoustic wave, the function of frequency response was calculated, based on which the authors assessed how the structural damage influenced the curve characteristics of the acoustic pressure in the domain of frequency. The described method may be used as an efficient method of non-destructive diagnostics of the airframe elements of an aircraft.

Keywords

• composite materials
• acoustic pressure
• airframe
• vibroacoustic analysis
• frequency response function