ROME,
March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alenia Aeronautica, a
Finmeccanica company, has successfully completed the "ultimate load testing"
of the
Boeing 787 Dreamliner horizontal stabilizer. The test has been carried
out at the Laboratory of Structural Tests at Alenia's Pomigliano plant in
Naples in the presence of
Boeing (NYSE: BA) engineers.
The test is a fundamental step as part of Boeing's 787 certification
efforts, and is key to clearing the Dreamliner for first flight. During the
test, the stabilizer is subjected to the aerodynamic loads that could be
experienced by the aircraft during flight in the most severe circumstances.
Using a complex system of hydraulic jacks activated by specifically
developed software, the test proves that the 787's horizontal stabilizer is
capable of withstanding 150 percent of the load it is expected to see in its
lifetime.
"Our entire 787 team is fully committed to safety and reliability as
demonstrated by this robust test program," said Mark Jenks, Boeing Commercial
Airplanes vice president of Development for the 787 Program. "The successful
testing of the horizontal stabilizer proves the capability of the composite
material, design and construction."
"Thanks to this test, the last of a series that has shown the compliance
with the project's parameters," commented Nazario Cauceglia, Alenia
Aeronautica's chief technical officer, "we have once again verified the
effectiveness of the innovative structural and technological solution adopted
for the 787 stabilizer. This is a testament to our company's capability of
managing the whole process of design, development, production and testing of
complex composite material components."
Over the past three months, static tests in the laboratory at Pomigliano
have successfully bent the 787 stabilizer up and down and asymmetrically at
maximum load, simulating three critical design conditions for the stabilizer.
Designed and manufactured by Alenia Aeronautica at its Foggia facility,
the horizontal stabilizer is made of two monolithic co-cured side pieces and
one central element, is 20 meters long and, like the 787 fuselage and wings,
is made of carbon fiber materials. The co-cured box of the 787's horizontal
stabilizer is, to date, one of the biggest composite monolithic structures
ever built for a commercial airplane; and is manufactured in a one-shot
autoclave cure cycle starting from 27 uncured components. This process was
developed from Alenia Aeronautica's proprietary technology and represents an
innovative production process, making the Foggia facility one of the most
important plants in the world for composite material production.
The first production horizontal stabilizer was shipped to Boeing in April
2007.
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