Test rig design and manufacture - RTP103.014 FFI 6.2 WP 1 01

In the WEAO project Europa 103.014 “Lightweight low cost carbon fibre composite materials and structures for Armour Fighting Vehicle Platforms – CAFV”, each nation will build an Application Case. The Norwegian Application case (NOAC) will add a new hull of carbon fibre sandwich panels, onto an existing BV-206 chassis. The NOAC will be equipped with add-on ballistic protection. It is necessary to run a test program on the NOAC to ensure that the structure will withstand the loads applied to it during operation. It is desirable not to perform destructive tests on the NOAC itself. Therefore some of the tests will be performed on separate structure panels mounted to a test rig. The test program includes shock and vibration test, repair test and testing of glued joints. The test rig is based on an aluminium frame welded together from extruded aluminium profiles. It has the shape of a side panel, and is mounted on a massive aluminium base plate, that is the interface to the shaker table. The design is verified through Finite Element analyses.