Hey guys,

Does anyone know of a good textbook for aerospace structural testing?  I found "Handbook on Structural Testing" by Robert T. Reese (Editor), Wendell A. Kawahara (Editor) which covers all fields (civil, electrical, aerospace, etc).  It doesn't seem to have any reviews though.  Does anyone have this one?

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

It may help if you tell us whether you want to learn about testing a particular item, or a general reference for a variety of tests.

A good primer is AC 43.13-2B, the FAA's guidance on structural modifications.

You can also find some general info about full-airframe and sub-structure tests in Michael C.Y. Niu's book Aircraft Structural Design.

If you can be specific enough, you can often find tech papers, research reports on subjects related to your tests.  The authors may explain their test methods and you can figure out if they're applicable to what you need to do.
 

STF

If you were more specific on the type of structural tests, that would help.  It is a fairly broad topic.  Are you concerned with testing of composite materials, fatigue, static loads, dynamics?

Hicketts, Rodney H. NASA TM 84606 "Structural Testing for Static Failure, Flutter and Other Scary Things" 1983 or the references within may just be what you are looking for.
 

Thanks for your help guys!  

I was asking more along the lines of static tests for both metals and composites.  

I'll look into the resources both of you provided.

Thanks again!