Investigation of Static and Fatigue Characteristics of Thermoplastic CF-UD/PEKK Material for Rotorcraft Lug Parts

Abstract

In rotary wing aircraft, composite lug structures are perforated structures that connect the rotor and blades. They play a significant structural role in rotary wing aircraft. In this study the effect of lay-up parameters on mechanical strength of a thick composite part that represents a blade root. This part is autoclave manufactured polyetherketoneketone matrix carbon fiber reinforced (CF/PEKK) composites, which have recently been researched for usage in defense and aerospace is investigated. The chosen material carbon-fiber-reinforced polyetherketoneketone composites (CF-PEKK) have an excellent mechanical, physical, thermal performance. Aerospace sector has a special interest on this material due to material’s low density and versatility. In this study, static and fatigue performance of rotorcraft lug part were investigated by applying non-destructive-test (NDT) methods and the mechanical strength values were discussed according to the experimental results. It has been observed that the component parts with ∓45° layup has the highest mechanical strength. As a result of the static and fatigue tests, it is seen that satisfactorily performance in the view of the both static and dynamic loading states.