Case Study: Boeing Research and Technology reduces thermal stress risk in aircraft composites with COMSOL Multiphysics

Boeing Research and Technology improves composite crack resistance with COMSOL Multiphysics

Boeing Research and Technology (BR&T) faced a challenge in ensuring the integrity of protective coatings on expanded metal foil (EMF) used within carbon fiber composites for aircraft. These composites, used on aircraft like the 787 Dreamliner, are protected by EMF from lightning strikes, but the thermal stress from flight cycles risked causing cracks in the coatings. To address this, they turned to vendor Comsol and used the COMSOL Multiphysics® software for simulation.

Using Comsol's multiphysics simulation, Boeing engineers were able to evaluate how EMF design parameters impacted stress and displacement within the composite structure layers. The simulation results correlated well with physical experiments, confirming that designs characterized by lower displacements have a reduced likelihood of crack formation. This solution from Comsol provided a validated method to improve the reliability and safety of aircraft lightning protection systems.

Boeing Research and Technology (br&t)