Impact Testing and Simulation of a Crashworthy Composite Fuselage Concept

Abstract A composite fuselage concept for light aircraft and rotorcraft has been developed to provide improved crash protection. The fuselage consists of a relatively rigid upper section, or passenger cabin, including a stiff structural floor and a frangible lower section which encloses the crash energy management structure. A 60-in diameter full-scale fuselage section was manufactured using a composite sandwich construction. Vertical drop tests were conducted at both 0°- and 15°-roll impact attitudes to evaluate the crashworthy features of the fuselage design. The experimental data are correlated with predictions from a finite element model developed using the non-linear, explicit transient dynamic code, MSC.Dytran.