Design of Filament-Wound Graphite/Epoxy Containment Shield for Jet Engines

The purpose of this study was to design and test a composite “Jet Engine Containment Ring” made by filament winding. The design process first involved the establishment of design parameters and geometry of a prototype on which all the future studies were based. The high velocity dynamic loading conditions and the resulting stresses on the composite containment ring structure were analyzed, and the maximum load and moment values in basic loading modes such as in-plane loading and pressurized vessel loading were interpreted next. The lay-up configurations, fiber/resin types, part thicknesses and the winding angles were optimized using the MIC-MAC ^® composites design software. The modes of impact damage in the composite component were determined and analyzed using energy balance models for different modes. Scaledown was accomplished next based on the concept of constant energy per unit volume of the ring, and scale models were prepared by filament winding. These scale models were tested subsequently using falling dart impact tests.