Multiaxial loading of aeronautic composite structures at intermediate scale: A review of VERTEX developments

The certification of aeronautical composite structures is based on a pragmatic approach, which is intended to be safe and essentially experimental but with a strong test/calculation dialogue called the “Test Pyramid”. However, this has proved to be extremely expensive and it appears necessary to reduce its cost either by developing Virtual testing, or by developing richer tests on an intermediate scale between coupon specimens and structural parts. It was in the aim of meeting this objective that the VERTEX program (French acronym for “Experimental modeling and Validation of compositE strucTures under complEX loading”) was launched in 2012. After positioning the VERTEX program in relation to the literature, this review will explain the methodology and present the measurement methods specifically developed for this scale. Then, three scientific themes that have been studied will be detailed (large notches, impact and wrinkling case studies). Finally, a proposal for validating the structures using envelope curves will be put forward, an assessment made, and perspectives presented.