Boeing has given a $600,000 grant to the University of Texas at Arlington to test composite components that officials believe will pave the way towards longer-lasting aircraft as well as help identify when those components might fail.

The project’s title is “Advanced Inspection and Analysis of Common Feature Test Component for Composite Airframe Life Extension Program.”

Andrew Makeev, UTA Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Advanced Materials and Structures Lab, will lead the project. Endel Iarve, a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering who works in the UTA Research Institute’s Institute for Predictive Performance Methodologies, is the Co-principal Investigator.