For two years, the Boeing Dreamliner has been on the verge of a dramatic unveiling. A bit behind schedule, thanks to a few engineering mishaps (namely damaged wings), Boeing has made strides to find solutions. Now, it may have remedied one of its largest setbacks.
The high-tech materials on the plane have resulted in delays and a postponing of its maiden flight. This summer, the damage to the area where the plane’s wings join the plane’s body became another setback, and Boeing had to stretch to make up for lost time.
The science of the crisis is actually quite simple:
Material: What’s going to make the Dreamliner 787 so dreamy and innovative is its wide use of composite materials. While other planes have used composite materials in the past, none have so ambitiously tried to use it entirely on such a large plane. The material is made of carbon fibers and epoxy, which is lighter and more fuel efficient.
Bolts: The damage occurred because of metal bolts that cracked the new material. The bolts, also called “freeze plugs” are frozen in liquid nitrogen and then installed. Once installed, they begin to thaw, and as they thaw, the plugs expand and create a tighter fit. Unfortunately, the bolts expanded so much, it cracked the composite, endangering the wings’ attachment to the rest of the plane.
The crack was found in one of six planes, and then made to forego flight testing in favor of ground testing only.
Yesterday, Boeing installed new fittings for each wing joint, and plans to endure flight testing in the next few days, and a full-scale static test airframe later this month. Since the adjustment, all flight-test activities with the exception of a single high-speed taxi test have been successfully completed on the first test plane.
Boeing currently has orders for 840 Dreamliners.
© Cheapflights Ltd Andrea Mooney
