AFRL scientists, in a collaborative effort with UDRI and UTRC, recently transitioned the BSAM tool to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. Sikorsky engineers will use the code to design and evaluate key composite parts for future Department of Defense and civilian rotorcraft. Sikorsky is an established leader in the design and manufacture of advanced helicopters for commercial, industrial, and military uses and provides aircraft to all 5 branches of the US military, as well as to military and commercial operators in more than 40 nations.

With technology transition in mind, AFRL and its government and aerospace industrial partners also formed an alliance to guide the development of BSAM-related technology. Thus far, the emphasis has been on understanding and accurately predicting the strain distribution near open fastener holes (i.e., the hole size effect) and bolted joints (i.e., the laminate stacking sequence effect). As a result of this technology’s transition, the BSAM code is rapidly evolving into a functional design tool that more efficiently addresses a broader diversity of fiber-reinforced composite materials problems than standard FEM analysis is able to accommodate.

Dr. David H. Mollenhauer and Dr. Peter S. Meltzer (General Dynamics), of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, wrote this article. For more information visit http://www.afrl.af.mil/techconn_index.asp. Reference document ML-H-04-37.

Reference

¹ Mollenhauer, D. H., Schoeppner, G. A., and Iarve, E. V. “Experimental/Analytical Examination of Residual Strains in Composite Bonded Joints.” Society of Manufacturing Engineers (Feb 04): 1.