Structural Integrity and Durability of Advanced Composites

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Maintenance and monitoring of composite helicopter structures and materials

M. Martinez¹, M. Yanishevsky², B. Rocha², R.M. Groves¹,  and N. Bellinger^2     1Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands     ²National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

Abstract

This chapter contains a brief description of current maintenance philosophies and processes that are in use by aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators/maintainers as a means of reducing maintenance cost and increasing aircraft availability, while maintaining structural integrity. A description of the different types of damage found in composite structures is described. A case study on the maintenance of helicopter floorboards with recommendations ...