MIL-HDBK-17-3F Volume 3,Chapter 1 General Information CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 INTRODUCTION This standardization handbook has been developed and is maintained as a joint effort of the Depart- ment of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration,with considerable participation and input from industry,academia and other government agencies.It is oriented toward the standardization of 1)meth- ods used to develop,analyze and publish mechanical property data for composite materials,2)proce- dures to allow design organizations to effectively use the property data published in Volume 2 of this Handbook and other similar databases,and 3)general procedures for designing,analyzing and testing composite structures.In many cases,the standardization is intended to address the needs and require- ments of the customer and regulatory agencies,while providing efficient engineering practices. The standardization of a statistically-based mechanical property data base,procedures used,and overall guidelines for the characterization and use of composite material systems is recognized as being beneficial to both manufacturers and government agencies.A complete characterization of the capabilities of any engineering material system depends on the inherent material physical and chemical composition, which are independent of specific applications.Therefore,at the material system characterization level, the data and guidelines contained in this handbook apply to military and commercial products and provide the technical basis for establishing statistically valid design values acceptable to certifying or procuring agencies. 1.2 PURPOSE,SCOPE,AND ORGANIZATION OF VOLUME 3 For Department of Defense purposes,this handbook is for guidance only.This handbook cannot be cited as a requirement.If it is,the contractor does not have to comply.This mandate is a DoD require- ment only;it is not applicable to the Federal Aviation Administration(FAA)or other government agencies. Volume 3 of MIL-HDBK-17 provides methodologies and lessons learned for the design,analysis, manufacture,and field support of fiber-reinforced,polymeric-matrix composite structures.It also provides guidance on material and process specifications and procedures for utilization of the material data pre- sented in Volume 2.The information provided is consistent with the guidance provided in Volume 1 and intended to be an extensive compilation of the current"best knowledge and practices"of composite ma- terials and structures engineers and scientists from industry,government,and academia.This volume will be continually updated as the"state-of-the-art"of composites technology advances. Volume 3 contains the following chapters,which are arranged in an order,which approximately fol- lows the traditional "building-block"development approach: Chapter 2,Materials and Processes,defines major material systems and processing methods.Ef- fects of various processing parameters on final composite product performance are emphasized. Chapter 3,Quality Control of Production Materials,reviews important issues related to quality control in the production of composite materials.It reviews recommended manufacturing inspection pro- cedures and techniques for material property verification and statistical quality control. Chapter 4,Building Block Approach,outlines the rationale for the traditional multi-level testing and analysis development approach used for many metallic and composite structures programs,particularly in the aerospace industry.It also contains guidance and example building block test programs for various applications,including DoD/NASA prototype and production aircraft,commercial transport aircraft,busi- ness and private aircraft and rotorcraft. 1-1MIL-HDBK-17-3F Volume 3, Chapter 1 General Information 1-1 CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 INTRODUCTION This standardization handbook has been developed and is maintained as a joint effort of the Depart￾ment of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration, with considerable participation and input from industry, academia and other government agencies. It is oriented toward the standardization of 1) meth￾ods used to develop, analyze and publish mechanical property data for composite materials, 2) proce￾dures to allow design organizations to effectively use the property data published in Volume 2 of this Handbook and other similar databases, and 3) general procedures for designing, analyzing and testing composite structures. In many cases, the standardization is intended to address the needs and require￾ments of the customer and regulatory agencies, while providing efficient engineering practices. The standardization of a statistically-based mechanical property data base, procedures used, and overall guidelines for the characterization and use of composite material systems is recognized as being beneficial to both manufacturers and government agencies. A complete characterization of the capabilities of any engineering material system depends on the inherent material physical and chemical composition, which are independent of specific applications. Therefore, at the material system characterization level, the data and guidelines contained in this handbook apply to military and commercial products and provide the technical basis for establishing statistically valid design values acceptable to certifying or procuring agencies. 1.2 PURPOSE, SCOPE, AND ORGANIZATION OF VOLUME 3 For Department of Defense purposes, this handbook is for guidance only. This handbook cannot be cited as a requirement. If it is, the contractor does not have to comply. This mandate is a DoD require￾ment only; it is not applicable to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or other government agencies. Volume 3 of MIL-HDBK-17 provides methodologies and lessons learned for the design, analysis, manufacture, and field support of fiber-reinforced, polymeric-matrix composite structures. It also provides guidance on material and process specifications and procedures for utilization of the material data pre￾sented in Volume 2. The information provided is consistent with the guidance provided in Volume 1 and intended to be an extensive compilation of the current "best knowledge and practices" of composite ma￾terials and structures engineers and scientists from industry, government, and academia. This volume will be continually updated as the "state-of-the-art" of composites technology advances. Volume 3 contains the following chapters, which are arranged in an order, which approximately fol￾lows the traditional "building-block" development approach: Chapter 2, Materials and Processes, defines major material systems and processing methods. Ef￾fects of various processing parameters on final composite product performance are emphasized. Chapter 3, Quality Control of Production Materials, reviews important issues related to quality control in the production of composite materials. It reviews recommended manufacturing inspection pro￾cedures and techniques for material property verification and statistical quality control. Chapter 4, Building Block Approach, outlines the rationale for the traditional multi-level testing and analysis development approach used for many metallic and composite structures programs, particularly in the aerospace industry. It also contains guidance and example building block test programs for various applications, including DoD/NASA prototype and production aircraft, commercial transport aircraft, busi￾ness and private aircraft and rotorcraft