Al-Li alloy and aluminum honeycomb panel (AHP) are both excellent materials for aeronautical structures. In this paper, a plate-type aeronautical structure (PAS), which is a base mounting structure for 172 kg functional devices, is selected for comparative analysis with different materials. To compare system-level performance under multidisciplinary constraints, mathematical models for optimization are established and then structural optimization is carried out using Altair OptiStruct. For AHP, its honeycomb core is regarded as orthotropic material and its mechanical properties are calculated by Allen’s model in order to establish finite element model (FEM). The heights of facing sheet and honeycomb core are selected as design variables for size optimization. For Al-Li alloy plate, topology optimization is carried out to obtain its most efficient load path; and then a reconstruction process is executed for practical manufacturing consideration; to obtain its final configuration, accurate size optimization is also used for reconstructed model of Al-Li alloy plate. Finally, the optimized mass and performance of two PASs are compared. Results show that AHP is slightly superior to Al-Li alloy.

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Due to the high capacity and low loss, high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable using Liquid N2 as the coolant has attracted the widespread attention in the field of the modern power technology. A 35 kV/1 kA cold dielectric (CD) high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable demonstration line, which is in the length of 100 m, has been established. To verify the design of the superconducting cable structure, the witness samples in the length of ∼1.0 m were fabricated to evaluate the current capability and insulating properties, such as lightning impulse voltage and alternating voltage tests. The results showed that the critical current (IC ) of the superconducting layer and superconducting shield layer was measured to be 1650 A and 3000 A respectively, and the voltage waveform of superconducting layer revealed no apparent increase during the testing process. Meanwhile, it could be also indicated from the results of high voltage tests that the insulating properties of HTS cable conform to the requirements of the standard GB/T3048.8-94.

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