The initiative, developed by the Andalusian companies Alestis and TEAMS, has set a new technology achievement for the industry, since the structure successfully passed Airbus authorization to perform its first flight
CATEC facilities host the Full Scale Test of the tail cone or section 19.1 of the new aircraft Airbus A350XWB, the first test results were satisfactory and allowed to obtain the authorization of the flight of the component, then fatigue tests of the same component will begin, that will allow to certify the adequacy of the design and manufacture of this ensemble of the plane A-350 XWB. The initiative has been developed by the Andalusian companies Alestis Aerospace, which designs and manufactures the structure for Airbus, and TEAMS, that is in charge of the trials of this “tail cone”, and represents a new technological success for the Spanish and Andalusian aeronautical industry.
This is the first time that full scale trials are made on an item of this size in our country and the first time that a trial of this type is performed on a tail cone designed and manufactured in carbon fiber with the new technology “fiber placement”. The tests consist in reproducing the states of static and fatigue charges that this element can suffer in its lifetime. The goal is to certify the integrity of the element to these charges, so it is a safety guarantee of the component.
To achieve this, companies needed three years of intensive work which included the design, calculation and configuration of a component that would emulate the actual structure and allow to bear the test requirements, and the manufacture of the part. In addition, we have developed a test tool 10 meters high, in which the tail cone is assembled, connected with over 7 kilometers of cables and dozens of sensors, and in which CATEC has collaborated. In our center we have installed this infrastructure and tests are being developed.
To celebrate this milestone, representatives of Airbus, Alestis, TEAMS, CATEC, the School of Engineering, Clúster Hélice and several aerospace companies met in the center’s facilities. At the meeting attended, among others, the general director of the IDEA Agency and president of the Board of Directors of Alestis, Antonio Valverde, the general director of Alestis, Jesús García Argüelles, and CATEC general director, Juan Pedro Vela.