Documented herein is a review of progress for the recently completed 'Smart Skin Structure Technology Demonstration' (S3TD) contract number F33615-93-C-3200 performed by Northrop Grumman Corporation, Hawthorne, California and TRW/ASD, Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, California under the Air Force Research Laboratory, Flight Dynamics Directorate, Structures Division's direction and sponsorship. S3TD was conceived as the first serious attempt, to made a complex antenna become a bone fide aircraft structural panel, without loss of overall structural integrity or electrical performance. The program successfully demonstrated the design, fabrication, and structural validation of a load bearing multifunction antenna component panel subjected to realistic aircraft flight load conditions. The final demonstration article was a structurally effective 36 by 36 inch curved multifunction antenna component panel that withstood running loads of 4,000 pounds per inch, and principal strain levels of 4,700 microstrain. Testing the structural component to ultimate, the panel failed at the predicted limit of 148 kips equating to 150 percent design limit load, after successfully completing one lifetime of fatigue. The load conditions were representative of a mid-fuselage F-18 class fighter component panel installation. The panel was designed not to buckle at ultimate failure, and the dominant failure mode was face sheet pull off, as predicted. Structural test data correlated closely with analysis. Wide band electrical performance for the component antenna panel was validated using anechoic chamber measurements and near field probing techniques, covering avionics communication navigation and identification and electronic warfare functions in the 0.15 to 2.2 GHz frequency regimes.
Further proof-of-concept development for structurally integrating communication antennas in the vertical tail of a military aircraft at Northrop Grumman is presented. Bread board testing on a full scale dual tail aircraft mock-up of a structurally integrated multifunction tail tip antenna, in the VHF-FM, VHF-AM, and UHF-AM frequency regimes, has confirmed earlier simulation results, where it was suggested that smart skin installation electrical performance gain and radiation characteristics might compare favorable to conventional dorsal deck mounted blade installations. Scale model, and eventually full scale ground mock-up testing encouraged further development leading to fabrication of a preliminary flight test of a smart skin tip demonstration article. A low cost flight test program in the VHF SINCGARS band (30 to 88 MHz) has illustrated that structural integration, fabrication and manufacturing issues can be addressed for full feasibility with minimum penalties despite the hostile vibro-acoustic, moisture and electromagnetic environment. Salient features of the engineering technical design effort and recommendations for future concept development are discussed.
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