Aircraft
Airbus finishes second A350 test barrel
Airbus has finished fabricating the second all-composite test barrel for the

Airbus has finished fabricating the second all-composite test barrel for the
A350XWB program, the company announced today. Measuring some 59 feet (18 meters) in length and about 20 feet (more than six meters) in diameter, the test barrel consists of three sections built to validate the complete process chain, from the manufacture of individual panels, frames and clips, to shell assembly and section assembly and the production of circumferential joints. Its shape therefore closely mimics the planned final design of what will become the actual A350 fuselage.

Airbus plans to use Barrel 1B to support the validation of design principles and sizing methods. The tests performed on the barrel will center mainly on the fatigue properties and damage tolerance of composite structures.