Design and testing of crashworthy aerospace composite components

The chapter presents the current state of the art in the design, analysis, and test of crashworthy composite aircraft structures. It describes a methodology based on the test/simulation pyramid adopted for aircraft structures in which test and analysis methods for crashworthy structures are developed and validated on structural elements and aircraft subfloor structures. Special attention is given to design, manufacture, and crash test of a helicopter frame concept structure in advanced composite materials having high specific energy absorption, where design rules are still under development.