Case Study - Ruag Space

Moon

Exova has considerable expertise in aerospace composite analysis and manufacturing.

Like several of Exova’s laboratories worldwide, the company’s European Technology Centre (ETC) in Linkoping, Sweden is a leading test provider to the aerospace sector, and has particular expertise in aerospace composite analysis, repair, and manufacturing.

Aerospace Composite Analysis - Scope

As part of an overhaul of its Space Bus, Ruag Space (formerly Saab Space) wanted to redesign the central tube, but when it became clear that this would be very costly, the aerospace composite team at Exova’s ETC was called in to come up with a solution.

Exova's aerospace composite experts developed a method to repair the exiting central tube by manufacturing a patch which could be bonded to the tube. The team not only manufactured the mould, but also the patch which was then tested and verified using NDT methods. The new repair method developed also included the way in which the patch would be bonded to the central tube and verification of the total repair by NDT. A new NDT-method had to developed, using airborne ultra sonic testing, to be able to inspect the tube.

Aerospace Composite Repair - Benefits

The main benefit was that a costly redesign of the central tube could be avoided by using a bonded repair patch. The new NDT technique used is a non-contact method with no coupling agent needed and can therefore be used in production of space applications. This technique is now used on a regular basis in the customer’s production to verify the quality of the tube.