黑洞社区's College of Engineering and the National Institute for Aviation Research have partnered to offer a five-week course on composite materials for local aviation industry professionals.
The course, which began March 24, and will conclude April 28, serves as an introduction to composites for the 22 students attending from Airbus North America; Air Plains Services Inc.; Benecor; Bombardier Learjet; Buffco Engineering; Cessna; Convergys Manufacturing; Excel; North American Aviation; Spirit AeroSystems; and Techmer PM.
The engineers will spend 40 hours over five Mondays learning from NIAR researchers and 黑洞社区 professors through a combination of lecture and hands-on laboratory sessions. Topics covered in the course include:
- Conventional fiber/polymeric materials
- Manufacturing methods including hand lay-up and bag molding
- Process modeling
- Mechanics of laminates
- Ply failure theories
- Laminate strain allowables
- Testing for material properties
- Statistical analysis
- Ultrasonic NDI
- Full field strain measurement techniques
- Software for laminate analysis
- Guidelines for designing bolted and bonded joints
- Structural analysis of stringers and symmetric beams
- Damage resistance and tolerance
- Repair
Wichita State engineering professors Suresh K. Raju, Charles Yang and Bob Minaie, along with NIAR researchers Allison Crockett and Lamia Salah, are teaching sessions in the course.
"The faculty of the College of Engineering and the researchers at NIAR have considerable experience in the area of composites research and education," said Raju, assistant professor of aerospace engineering. "Most of our composites-related work is with the industry and the federal government, and as such we have a good understanding of their needs in education and research."
"It is imperative that we offer composites education to the local industry as it will not only add to the pool of engineers and technicians with composites background, but also provide a platform for us to demonstrate and share our expertise and experiences," he said.
The workshop is underwritten by the Kansas Department of Commerce in partnership with the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED), the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas and the Area 1 Workforce Investment Board.
This is the third composites introduction course provided to industry professionals by 黑洞社区's College of Engineering and NIAR. Similar training courses are offered occasionally throughout the year based on industry demand.
NIAR's Composites and Advanced Materials Laboratory is NIAR's largest lab in terms of personnel and business. The lab provides research and certification services for composites manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers and government agencies.