Aircraft cabin pressurisation prototype testing

Cabin pressurisation is a vital safety function that needs to be tested repeatedly on the fuselage prototype for every new line of aircraft.

When aircraft manufacturers run the tests, they gauge the effect that internal pressure changes have on an aircraft’s structure by measuring the deformation of cabin doors. In a mid-size aircraft this typically involves measuring approximately one hundred points within an unstable environment. Without the right tools, each test can take a couple of days to complete.

Aircraft manufacturers can reduce the length of each test to a few hours by using Hexagon’s photogrammetric measurement solutions, which can simultaneously measure multiple points in 3D; provide a real-time easy-to-view display of the displacement caused by pressure changes; and synchronise with sensors that measure force and pressure for a complete picture of the aircraft cabin’s behaviour during pressurisation testing.