Aircraft Structures

Lecture Topics
Forces on structures Beams and trusses Plates and Shells Wing Skins Aeroelasticity

Structures
Structures are flexible They break They crack They fatigue

Forces on Structures
compression

tension

shear h

Some Definitions
Stress: force per unit area applied to a point Strain: ratio of displacement to original length Tensile strength: stress required to break material

Stress
Stress is like pressure (force per unit area)
area

force Stress = = area

force f

Strain

Stretched length, L Original length, L Strain = Stretched length Original length or e = L L

Hookes Law
The power of any Spring is in the same proportion with the Tension* thereof
* in Hookes time (1676) Tension meant Extension

Stress and Strain are Related

Tensile strength stress

strain

Youngs modulus is a material property constant (modulus of elasticity) Stress E = Strain

Youngs Modulus (examples)

wood Aluminum alloys Al i ll steel diamond 2,000,000 10,000,000 10 000 000 30,000,000 170,000,000

Modulus of elasticity values are in psi

Tensile Strengths
Wood (along grain) Aluminum Steel (commercial) Steel (high tensile) 15,000 20,000-80,000 60,000 225,000

Tensile strength in psi

Beams
Bending
top in compression

bottom in tension

force

Wing is a Beam
lift compression

tension

Trusses
A truss is collection of beams Bridges are good example Fuselages and wings of older airplanes are trusses

Example:

Example: Wing Rib

Wing spar locations

Example: Fuselage Truss

Example: Wing Truss

International Space Station

Voyager

Trusses
Truss members carry loads from member to member Some truss members are in compression, while others are in tension
compression tension

load

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Failures
load

buckling

yielding

cracking

breaking

Plates and Shells

Tube or can (shell)

Plate

Carry shear loads Can be more efficient than rectangular beams Used for fuselages and modern wings

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Shear Loads

load

I-Beam
tension shear

compression

Wing Skin
Early airplanes used fabric which carried very little load (less than 10 lb per sq.ft.) Fabric was replaced by light weight aluminum skins (0.040 inches thick) Corrugated metal makes stronger skin (but higher skin drag) DC-3 was the first airplane to make a major impact with stressed skin

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Skin with Stringers

Stringers stiffen shell or skin Longerons transmit bending loads in fuselage

Corrugated Skin

Ford Tri-motor aka Tin Goose 1925 - 1933 Low weight but high skin friction

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Saturn V

Stressed Skin (Semi-Monocoque)

Wing skin carries some of load Allows l All less i t internal b i l bracing, more efficient structure design Optimum: All structural members experience same stress load

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DC-3 (stressed skin)

The DC-3
To know music you must listen to Mozart To know art you must see Van Gough To know airplanes you must examine the DC-3
all-metal stressed-skin construction variable-pitch propellers retractable landing gear two-engine, low-wing monoplane safe, reliable, and easy to maintain

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DC-3
First successful airliner to incorporate stressed skin Bonus effect of balancing stresses was increased life (lower fatigue) Designed in 1935, many are still flying commercially!

Modern Wing Skins

Shaped to wing

Boeing 777: 0.43 inches thick at root

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Wing Box
Outer skins: shaped to wing

spars

Fuselage Construction

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Structural Dynamics - Aeroelasticity

Structures are elastic D Dynamic l d such as gusts cause i loads h t wings to bounce Aerodynamic forces can interact with the structure (aeroelasticity) Structures have natural frequencies

Flutter
Fluctuations in aerodynamic loads can be out of phase with structure Structural divergence can result
time Aerodynamic load Bending amplitude

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Structural Design Requirements

More than just strength and loads

Design Loads for Airplanes

Limit load is maximum load that an airplane will ever experience Since 1930s: Design load is 1.5 times Limit load, also known as Ultimate load But you have to account for damage

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Summary
Stress and Strain Elasticity and Strength Beams and Trusses g Wing Skins Structural Dynamics

Discussion
Why is it important to study vibrations in airplanes and in all airplanes, structures generally ?

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