Design of composite pontoon structure of seaplane and verification

As a key component of seaplanes, the structural design of the pontoon plays a vital role in the safety of seaplanes taking off and landing on the water. Combining with the design requirements of a certain type of seaplane, a thick-skinned multi-frame composite pontoon structure and truss-type metal support structure are designed. The finite element model for pontoon structure and supporting structure is established via finite element software, and the strength analysis of metal and composite structure in the structure is carried out in terms of the Von-Mises criterion and Tsai-Wu criterion, respectively. In order to further verify the bearing capacity of the structural design and verify the accuracy of the finite element model, the self-developed testing device for static strength verification of seaplane pontoons and connecting structures was used to verify the static test of the structure. The tested results show that the strength and stiffness of the thick-skinned multi-frame composite pontoon structure and the truss metal supporting structure meet the design requirements, and the finite element model is accurate, which can provide a reference for subsequently designing the lightweight composite pontoon structure.