Structural Panel Testing

Structural panel testing is essential to optimizing airframe design. Information generated about structural panels helps engineers reduce the airframe’s weight or streamline its manufacturing processes to remove cost. Panels tested include shear panels and wing ribs, among others. Typically conducted prior to full-scale structural certification testing, panel testing focuses on precise characterization of smaller subsections to generate reliable data about the larger structure.

MTS has worked closely with leading aerospace engineers for more than four decades. As a result, we are uniquely positioned to provide special expertise in structural panel testing as well as all the technology required to perform these tests with exceptional accuracy and repeatability. We understand both traditional panel testing as well as the special challenges posed by composites and other new materials. Offerings for structural panel testing include:

• High-performance, fatigue-rated actuators and custom fixturing
• Highly stiff, floor-standing servohydraulic load frames for a range of force
   requirements
• Specialized fixturing for shear testing
• Intuitive, versatile and user-friendly software with powerful test design capabilities
• Versatile digital controllers for high-speed, real-time closed loop control, data
   acquisition, function generation and transducer conditioning
• Clean, quiet hydraulic power units