APPLICATION OF METAL LAMINATES TO AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES - PREDICTION OFPENETRATION PERFORMANCE

A major thrust of the transportation industries in the US is the incor poration of advanced structural materials in airplanes and automobiles . These advanced materials include metal matrix composites, where part iculate or whisker reinforcements stiffen and strengthen a ductile pha se matrix. In aerospace structures, specific stiffness, improved stren gth, and weight reduction are key factors. Both in the certain parts o f the airframe structure and in the engine fan containment area, incre ased emphasis is being given to the ability of the material to resist penetration from engine debris and other projectiles which might impac t the aircraft structures. Experimental measurements of the ballistic limit velocity of a material versus material thickness gives a method to rank the relative penetration performance of aircraft structural ma terials. Dynamic finite element analysis aids in understanding the exp erimental results and in predicting the aircraft debris containment re sponse. For certain aluminum alloys and metal laminates, the relations hip between the ballistic limit velocity and plate thickness is linear , while for an aerospace titanium alloy, the ballistic penetration res ponse is more complex.