SAFE STRENGTH/DAMAGE TOLERANCE ASSESSMENT VS A FAIL-SAFE APPROACH IN THE DESIGN OF THE SH-2G ENGINE MOUNT STRUCTURE

A safe strength/damage tolerance analysis of the model SH-2G helicopter engine mount structure was undertaken in order to avoid the weight penalty and structural/maintenance complexities of a fail-safe design. The conservative nature of the safe strength assessment methodology resulted in reduction of the specification required tests while adding less than ten percent of the structural weight that would have been required by the fail-safe approach. This paper describes the structural arrangement of the two designs (safe strength and fail-safe) and the analytical process used to assess the safe strength/damage tolerance approach.