Patent ID: 8479591

Claim:
Apparatus for testing fuselage panels having the form of a cylindrical surface segment, comprising: a plurality of restraining means arranged along the perimeter of a cylindrical surface segment, for retaining the edges of a fuselage panel; a pressurizable chamber having an opening defined by said restraining means and closable by the fuselage panel retained by the restraining means; wherein the pressurizable chamber comprises a curved-wall structure having a concavity opposite the concavity of said cylindrical surface segment and having an elastic behavior configured such that, when under load, the curved-wall structure provides an additional resistance equal to that of a remaining wall of a fuselage, wherein the curved-wall structure is formed by a plurality of rib-like curved members arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction and hermetically connected together; the plurality of restraining means comprising: first and second restraining means arranged along two parallel arcs spaced from one another in a given longitudinal direction and lying on said cylindrical surface, for retaining two respective opposite arched edge portions of the fuselage panel; third and fourth restraining means arranged along two longitudinal straight lines spaced from one another and each joining a respective first point on one of the two arcs with a respective second point on the other of the two arcs; wherein the third and fourth restraining means include gripper-like retaining members mounted longitudinally slidably along a respective longitudinal support bar; and wherein each gripper-like retaining member is slidable along the respective bar independently of the other gripper-like retaining members and at least some of the gripper-like retaining members are mounted freely rotatably about the respective support bar.