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Article

Soft tests for autonomous vehicles

2018-03-15

Statistics may point to human fallibility being the cause of almost all road accidents, but the switch to a connected robotic environment must ultimately deliver every nano-second of every day on the promise of a guaranteed near-total safety highway environment. Today’s grudging acceptance by the global public of the inevitability of deaths and injuries on the road will not continue in a driverless environment.

SAE International

2018-03-27

With successes in the 50-shp class gas turbine engine class for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), UAV Turbines has reached an agreement with the U.S. Army’s Reliable Advanced Small Power Systems (RASPS) program to design, manufacture and test a 200 shp class advanced technology turbine engine.

Article

Uber, Toyota suspend AV testing after Arizona fatality

2018-03-20

The first-ever accident in which a pedestrian was killed by an autonomously piloted vehicle prompts Uber and Toyota to suspend public testing of full-autonomous technology.

Article

Boeing extends use of Siemens’ Mentor Graphics technology for electrical systems design, electronic products design, and mechanical analysis

2018-10-09

Boeing officials are expanding the company’s use of Siemens’ Mentor Graphics software as part of its Second Century Enterprise Systems (2CES) initiative, an effort to transform the company and aerospace industry to meet future challenges and achieve maximum value from end-to-end integration of supply chain, manufacturing, engineering, product support, and more. Boeing is harnessing a set of Siemens technologies to enable the next generation of design and manufacturing through increased automation and digitalization.

Article

Air mobility innovations take center stage at Aerospace Systems and Technology Conference 2018

2018-11-06

Hundreds of aerospace executives, engineers, scientists, and academics are gathering in London this week for Aerospace Systems and Technology Conference (ASTC) 2018 from SAE International in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Discussions during the three-day industry event center on the theme of innovating air mobility. Aerospace thought leaders are at ASTC discussing current challenges, the latest enabling technologies, and future opportunities, including those related to urban air mobility (UAM) and supersonic aircraft.

Article

Zwick Roell provides flexible materials testing over a wide temperature range

2018-10-19

To enable the tests required for development work to be performed with maximum efficiency, the Zwick Roell Group (ZwickRoell) – a global supplier of materials testing machines based out of Ulm, Germany – developed a materials testing machine that can be equipped with both a temperature chamber and a high-temperature furnace.

Article

Airbus, U.S. airline flight test GKN Aerospace hydrophobic coating for cockpit windows

2018-10-22

Officials at an as-yet-unnamed airline in the U.S. is assessing a new hydrophobic coating developed by GKN Aerospace materials science and engineering specialists in Garden Grove, Calif., for cockpit windows on its commercial passenger aircraft. GKN Aerospace debuted the new materials science technology, which Airbus engineers are also flight-trialing on the airframe manufacturer’s flight-test aircraft, during Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England, in July 2018.

Article

Aerospace & defense systems engineering undergoes digital transformation with MBSE

2018-10-16

A growing number of organizations, including leading aerospace and defense (A&D) companies, are implementing model-based systems engineering (MBSE), a practice developing and exploiting a set of related system models that help define, design, and document a system under development – and reaping the benefits of not only increased productivity, agility, and efficiency, but also time and cost savings.

Article

Fokker uses ZwickRoell creep testing machines to test for hydrogen embrittlement on landing gear components

2018-10-17

Aerospace manufacturers walk a metaphorical balance beam to continually develop and produce stronger, more efficient materials and components, while addressing all potential failure modes. This is true for safety-critical aircraft components like landing gear systems. Fokker Landing Gear B.V./GKN Aerospace recently equipped its mechanical laboratory with three creep testing machines to verify its manufacturing process control of zinc-plated bolts for aircraft landing gear systems.

Article

Barker approaches aircraft as system of systems in latest SAE International book

2018-10-17

Today’s airframe manufacturers have taken on more of the role of systems integrators, putting the focus on the aircraft as a system-of-many-systems. Sean Barker, FBCS CEng and a former research scientist at BAE Systems in the UK, approaches aircraft as a system of systems (SoS) from a business process perspective in his new book from SAE International in Warrendale, Pa.

Article

First Airbus A330-800 airliner becomes airborne for maiden flight

2018-11-06

The first Airbus A330-800 commercial jet, flight test aircraft MSN1888, took off today from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on its maiden flight over southwestern France during which the aircraft performed dedicated flight-physics tests required for the variant.

Article

Designing composite engine cowling for improved heat resistance

2018-02-05

Thermal imaging data obtained from a FLIR high-performance camera shows that the expected turbine output temperature is approximately 285°C when the helicopter is in forward flight. However, during hover operations a steady state temperature of about 343°C will be reached.

Danfoss employs ADCs to accelerate product development

2018-02-20

The supplier works closely with off-highway OEMs throughout the development process, testing and demonstrating machines packed with new technology features.

Article

Ensuring aircraft safety requires right wheel inspection equipment

2018-10-18

To ensure safe aircraft takeoffs and landings, one of the most vital areas to inspect for possible fatigue cracking and heat damage is the wheel bead seat. Comprehensive examination of this critical area, where the rubber edge of a tire contacts the wheel, requires having the right wheel inspection equipment on hand for the job – and not all maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities do.

Article

NASA to test quiet thump supersonic propulsion technique, measure sound levels and community response

2018-11-05

NASA officials and engineers are prepping to fly the agency’s F/A-18 research aircraft over Galveston, Texas, using a “quiet thump” technique designed to reduce loud sonic booms typically associated with supersonic flight. This week’s test flight sets off a series of quiet supersonic research flights off the coast of Texas to test ways to measure supersonic aircraft sound levels and the community’s response to the supersonic acoustic experience.

Breaking bonds

2018-03-07

For the past decade, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Wright-Patterson Airforce Base—in conjunction with Boeing and LSP Technologies—has been developing a process called laser bond inspection (LBI), a nondestructive testing (NDT) methodology for inspecting composite structure bonds. This process, combined with bond process control, is an enabling technology to transition lightweight primary bonded composite structures.

Article

Aerospace materials testing could have medical-grade digital traceability through ZwickRoell

2018-10-16

The future of the aerospace industry relies on innovative materials to improve aircraft performance, weight, and strength. Beyond materials innovation, proper and thorough testing is required to ensure new materials can withstand the rigor of operational use over a long life in varied environments. ZwickRoell calls it design qualification (DQ), installation qualification (IQ), and operational qualification (OQ), but aerospace engineers call it the “digital thread.”

Article

US Army tests avionics in effort to upgrade Black Hawk helicopters from analog to digital glass cockpit

2018-09-19

US Army officials and engineers continue work to modernize the defense organization’s fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with a more modern digital cockpit, conducting a Limited User Test with two prototype aircraft at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. They selected for a Limited User Evaluation (LUE) a Crew Mission Station (CMS) aligned with The Open Group Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) technical standard that combines Core Avionics & Industrial Inc.’s (CoreAVI’s) compositor and graphics suite, Avalex smart display, Intel hardware, Wind River operating system, and Presagis server.

Article

SAE International debuts AS13006, Process Control Methods aerospace standard

2018-09-14

SAE International in Warrendale, Pa., has published AS13006: Process Control Methods, a new standard with guidance material to support specific aerospace engine applications, with a focus on the practical application of control methods for many different situations, to improve process control, process capability, and product quality, benefiting both the organization applying it and its customers.

Article

Final Orion capsule parachute system test successful

2018-09-28

A team of engineers from NASA and Dallas-based Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. successfully completed the eighth and final test of the Orion spacecraft Capsule Parachute Assembly System at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Ariz.