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| Aerospace |
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The aerospace industry covers a wide range of civilian
and military vehicles, operating conditions and requirements for materials.
MERL utilises all areas of its materials and structures ability to
work on studies for: |
- Fixed wing aircraft
- Rotorcraft
- Aero. engines
- Space applications (e.g. satellites)
- Missile applications
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| MERL applies combined capabilities of finite
element analysis, materials testing and structures testing to offer
techniques to assess the life of composite material, and adhesively
bonded structures. Work undertaken includes
developing methods to assess delamination resistance in high cycle
fatigue applications such as rotorcraft hubs, evaluating the use
of coatings to protect against impact damage, measuring qualification
properties of primary and secondary structures.
MERL conducts mechanical tests on rubbers, adhesive bonds and composites
to simulate in-service conditions (e.g. hot / wet or cold / dry conditions).
Novel analysis methods have been used to model
defects including delaminations, matrix cracks and debonds in aerospace
structures, with a focus on durability and damage tolerance.
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MERL’s expertise in the dynamics of rubber allows it to help
clients with the selection, modelling and life assessment of elastomers
in applications such as isolation mounts, bushes, and laminated bearings
used throughout aircraft structures. MERL can offer experience in the
selection and evaluation of rubber components such as seals in critical
aerospace applications thus helping to prevent loss of sealing force
through setting, ageing, swelling, etc.
Through its extensive work on adhesively bonded joints, MERL offers
services to evaluate the durability of bonded structural joints using
a combination of analysis and mechanical testing. The use of MERL’s
multi-station fatigue test equipment has allowed bond durability
under fatigue and combined hot / wet and cold / dry environments.
The bonded work has extended to the bonding of metal alloys, composites
and thermoplastics such as polycarbonate.
MERL's dynamometer is configured to test the friction and wear properties
of carbon-carbon composite brakes used in modern commercial and military
aircraft. The dynamometer tests scaled down rotors and stators with
speeds up to 5000 rpm. |
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