This paper discusses the development and underlying requirements of a multifunctional lower fuselage demonstrator for a new single aisle aircraft undertaken as part of the Clean Sky 2, Large Passenger Aircraft – Platform 2. The demonstrator will validate high potential combinations of airframe structures, systems, cargo and cabin technology concepts using advanced materials and innovative design principles.

This paper summarizes the implementation of a Virtual Testing methodology in an industrial environment to predict the mechanical behaviour of composite material through the different scales of the conventional physical testing pyramid. A robust Virtual Test Lab allows for the generation of virtual allowables, while advanced interface models ensure accurate simulation of critical interfaces up to structural level. Hybrid simulation-physical testing approaches, that can support both conventional rapid sizing and high-fidelity analysis methods, have been applied during the development of a thermoplastic orthogrid fuselage shell and will be coupled with the manufacturing process though a virtual process chain for the development of a thermoplastic fuselage for the next generation aircraft.