The structural wing assembly, also known as a wing box, includes the wing’s spars, ribs, stiffeners and skins. The all-composite device was manufactured at the new Gulfstream Research and Development Center (RDC) II Laboratory Building by the company’s Advanced Composites group.
Gulfstream engineers and technicians were involved in the design, development, manufacturing and testing of the wing assembly. The 18-foot structural wing assembly, which weighs 465 pounds, is similar in size and shape to the outboard section of the Gulfstream G650 aircraft with a 35 percent weight reduction. It is the biggest section of a wing that could fit in the RDC II Laboratory’s autoclave, a high-pressurized oven used to cure composites.
The Advanced Composites team performed a number of tests, including one to design ultimate loading with the wing in good condition and again after the wing had been damaged intentionally. The test program confirmed that the team was able to accurately predict non-linear behavior and eventual structural failure by analysis.Using composite materials instead of metal reduces an aircraft’s weight and cost, the fuel it burns and the carbon dioxide it emits.
Composites also improve the aircraft’s efficiency, durability and skin appearance. In new aircraft designs, weight reduction influences the size and thrust of the engines, which further adds to the reductions in fuel burned and carbon dioxide emitted.Gulfstream has incorporated modest levels of composites in its planes for more than 20 years. They are used in floor panels, furnishings, fairings, cover pieces and the aft pressure bulkhead section of the fuselage.
Source and Photo Credit: Gulfstream
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