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INSTRUCTIONAL TIME
THEORY ....14HRS
COURSE OBJECTIVE
By the end of this course you will be able to understand
Application of wood for aircraft structure
Advantage & disadvantage/limitation of wooden aircraft
structure
Classification and Types of woods and their attributes
Different types of acceptable & unacceptable wood
structural defects and their repair method
Types of glues used for wooden construction
Precaution to be followed during gluing process
CONTENT
Introduction
Aircraft Wood classification and their types
Different terminologies on structure of wood
A/c wood structure
Requirements of a/c wood & evaluating the quality of wood
for aircraft use
Glues and Gluing
Construction & Repair of Wood Structure
Protection and Inspection of Wooden Structure
REFERENCES
Aircraft Maintenance Technician Series
Volume 1 Structures
Chapter 3 Non-Metallic Structure
AC65-9A Airframe Handbook
Chapter 5 Aircraft Structural Repair/Wood Structures
CLASSIFICATION OF WOOD
SOFT WOOD
HENCE SOFT WOODS:
Have needle like or spine like leaves
Ever greens or conifers
Generally have high strength to weight ratio
Used as a solid wood for spars and cap strip
Used as a veneer for plywood cores
Is composed primarily of fibrous cells
Has a smooth, even (uniform) appearance when cut
in cross section.
Spruce
Fir
White Ash/pine
There is also a third
type of tree known as
Monocotyledons
This group includes
the palm and bamboo
trees
They have little or
no structural value
CLASSIFICATION SUMMARY
The two general groups of trees are:
1. Conifers softwood, needle-leaf, evergreen
2. Hardwood deciduous, broadleaf, non-coniferous
Conifers is the most common name applied to the first group
The other names are not all applicable b/c some of the woods
of this group are not soft, some do not have narrow leaves as
indicated by needle-leaf, and others are not evergreen
Coniferous trees wood is comparatively light in weight, is
easy to work, and is obtainable in large, straight pieces
WOOD STRUCTURES
Wood in a/c construction has been largely superseded by
aluminum alloys and steel.
It is still used extensively. Wood propellers are still in common
use . Wood is also used with good effect for interior cabin
paneling and flooring
ADVANTAGES
Wood construction has very definite weight advantages when
parts are lightly loaded as in gliders or light airplanes
Wood has the advantage of large bulk for a given weight,
combined with relatively great strength
The ease of working is also important when only small quantities
of planes being built
ADVANTAGES CONT.
Wood has excellent elastic properties which permit stressing
almost to the breaking point without excessive permanent
deformation
It also has the ability to resist a greater load for a short period of
time than it is capable of carrying for a long period
DISADVANTAGE
The nonhomogeneity of wood is its greatest disadvantage
The properties of wood vary even for two pieces taken from the
same tree
The properties of a pieces of wood are also dependent upon the
moisture content
Moreover the direction of the grain is of prime importance to their
physical properties
PLYWOOD CONT
Made from imported African mahogany or American birch
veneer laminated to cores of poplar or basswood with
waterproof glue
Composed of uneven number of layers (plies) of wood
veneer bonded with special glues
The out side layers are called face and inner layer are
called core. The rest are called cross bands.
Plywood up to 3/16 normally has three plies
Plywood of and higher has 5 plies
Not as strong as solid wood or laminated wood
PLYWOOD CONT
Plywood is used in the construction of box spars for wings, webs
of ribs, wing and fuselage covering, specially for the leading edge
of the wing, as well as for flooring and interior cabin paneling
Ply wood most commonly used for aircraft are made from:
Mahogany
It has a reddish brown appearance
Birch
It has light yellow or cream color
Note :- Mahogany offer better gluing than birch because of its
porosity.
Thermosetting glue is used for aircraft plywood construction
PLY WOOD
PLYWOOD CONT.
Except for 2 ply plywood, all plywood is manufactured with
an odd number of plies to obtain symmetry
The center ply or plies are usually made of a soft wood
and are considerably thicker than the two face plies made
of a hardwood
A hard wood is used for the face plies to resist abrasion,
to furnish a better contact for washers and fittings, and to
take a better finish
A plywood with a metal sheet cemented to one face to take
excessive wear is often used for flooring
PLY WOODS
ADVANTAGE OF PLY WOODS OVER SOLID WOOD
LAMINATED WOOD
Used to form a specific shape or size
Used for:
Components that require curved shape like
Wing tips
Fuselage formers
Components which are difficult to manufacture from single
piece
Can be used in place of any solid wood provided it meets
quality specifications
Created from wood that may not have met solid wood
specifications but has had all defects removed
Subject to the same specifications as solid wood
LAMINATED WOOD
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
Bark is the external cover
Sapwood is part of the
tree which is alive or
partially alive and still
carries sap/liquid
Heartwood is part of the
tree which is dead and
does not carry any sap. It
supports the tree
Annual ring
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
ANNUAL RINGS concentric layers of wood that can be seen at
the end of a tree trunk/stem that has been cut perpendicular
to its length.
(Concentric rings called annual rings of alternately light and
dark represents growth)
SPRINGWOOD formed in the first season of the year, has large
cells. Light rings Spring wood representing fast growth.
SUMMERWOOD formed in the later growing season, denser
and stronger. Dark rings Summer wood - Represent slow
growth
SHAKE a separation between the annual ring layers
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
Annual rings
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
GRAIN indicates the direction of the wood fibers relative
to the axis of the tree or longitudinal edge of a piece of cut
lumber (wood, timber, board, plank).
COMPRESSION WOOD a wood in which the fibers have
been damaged by compression load
KNOT a portion of a branch or a limb/member of a tree
which has been incorporated in to the body of the tree (is a
deformation of grains caused by the growth of a branch)
PIN KNOT a knot resulting from growth of a twig/branch
CHECK a radial crack that runs across the grain line
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
DECAY disintegration of actual wood substance by the
action of fungi
SPLIT lengthwise separation of fibers
SPIKE KNOT a knot that runs through the depth of a
beam perpendicular to the annual ring
COMPRESSION FAILURE a structural failure in wood
caused by the application of too great compressive load
KNOT is a deformation of grains and structure in a tree
trunk/stem caused by the growth of a limb/branch
STRUCTURE OF WOOD
A tree trunk/stem is composed of four distinct parts:
1. A soft central core called the pith
2. concentric rings immediately surrounding the pith called
heart wood, which in turn surrounded by
3. Sapwood followed by
4. The bark
TERMINOLOGY OF WOOD
GRAIN CONT.
Diagonal grain is produced when the direction of sawing is
not parallel to the bark
Interlocked grain occurs when adjacent layers of wood are
spirally inclined in opposite direction. This condition is found
mostly in hardwood trees
Wavy and curly grain are the result of the wood fibers in a
tree following a contorted/distorted course
The grain is always distorted when knots or wounds are
grown over
These type of irregular grain weaken the wood and cause
irregular shrinkage and rough surfacing when machined
STRENGTH OF WOOD
The strength of wood depends upon a great many factors:
The absence or limitation of defects is a primary
consideration
The density of the wood as indicated by its specific gravity
is a very definite indication of its quality and strength
Its moisture content affect its strength probably more
than any other one item
SAWING/CUTTING WOOD
In sawing logs into planks, the wood can be sawed in either
of two ways:
1. Radial sawing - along any of the radii of the annual rings
which will expose the radial or vertical grain surface or
2. Tangential sawing - tangent to the annual rings.
Tangentially cut lumber is commonly called plain-sawed or flat
grain surface. Plain sawing (unacceptable for aircraft)
A modification called quarter sawing is actually used
Quarter sawed lumber shrinks and swells less than
tangential lumber, and develops fewer flaws in seasoning
Quarter sawing also wastes considerable material and is
therefore more expensive than tangential sawing
TYPE OF CUT
KILN DRYING
It is a process of drying wood in an oven controlling the
temperature and the humidity
Aircraft woods moisture content
Free water - none
Cell water - between 8 and 12 percent .
Too low cell water causes
Poor glue penetration
Too much cell water causes
Weak wood structure
Unnecessary weight
Easy attack by fungus
GRAIN ARRANGEMENT
- The grain lines should be
parallel to the edge of the
board but a deviation or
slope of 1:15 is allowed.
-
NOTE
It has been determined through research that Sitka spruce is
generally the best wood for aircraft structure due to its
Strength
Lightness
Stiffness per unit weight
Toughness when compared to other species
Other substitutes
Douglass fir
Noble fir
Western hemlock
White cedar
1.
Resorcinol formaldehyde
2.
Urea formaldehyde
3.
Phenol formaldehyde
4.
Epoxy formaldehyde
OPEN ASSEMBLY
2.
3.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
GLUING WOOD
GLUING PRESSURE
PRESSRE APPLICATION
GLUING PRESSURE
96
CUTTING SAWS
SAWS :- There are many varieties of manually operated saws designed
for all kinds of cutting
Wood saws are generally made with one of the two type of teeth: Teeth for Crosscut saws and Teeth for Ripsaws
SAWS CONT.
CROSS CUT SAWS :- are designed for cutting across the
grain of the wood.
The teeth of the crosscut are filed at an angle to produce
sharp and knifelike edge and are alternately bent out wards
One tooth bent to the left and one to the right
The bending of the teeth is done to provide set for clearance
This set causes the saw to make a cut, a little wider than the
saw blade so there will be adequate clearance for free
movement
100
SAWS CONT.
RIPSAW:- The teeth of ripsaw are filed to form small chisels
Designed to cut parallel to the grain of the wood
The ends of the teeth are almost straight across
The chips are carried out of the cut by the teeth.
Unlike cross cutting, which shears the wood fibers, a ripsaw
works more like a chisel, lifting off small splinters of wood
NOTE: if a ripsaw is used for
crosscutting, a very rough
cut will result . If a crosscut
saw is used for ripping the
teeth will load up and cause
the saw to cut very slowly
102
The most critical part of the bit are:- feed screw, cutting edge and
spurs (cutting parts).
When the cutting parts are kept sharp & even in dimension, the bit
will cut most effectively
103
CLAMP
C-clamp :- is used to hold two or more pieces of materials together
temporarily while glue or other adhesive is setting and also used to hold a
workpiece aganist the bench when performing different activities
Parallel clamp :- is used to hold a spliced spar in position and under
pressure while the glue is drying
104
NOTES
1. When boring with an auger bit:
Clamp a flat piece of scarp wood tightly against the back side of
the wood
Bore through from one side until the feed screw breaks through
the other side. Then back the bit out and bore through from the
other side
2. The pressure of the C- clamp must be evenly distributed over an
area of the C- clamp jaws.
3. The pressure should never be released once it has been applied to
prevent air from entering the joint and reducing the effectiveness
the bond
105
HAMMERS
106
PLANE
One of the most essential
tools for the woodworker
Used to smooth the
surface of wood by
shaving.
There are three common
types of bench plane which
are categorized by their
length
block plane
7 in.
smooth plane
Jack plane
7-9 in.
11-15 in.
107
108
POWER TOOLS FOR WOOD WORKING The following power tools are some of the many which have
great importance
1. Circular saw :- is employed principally for:
- Ripping:- cutting parallel to the grain of wood; Beveling;
Crosscutting
2. Bench saw:- is provided with an adjustable fence & a
protractor to provide for a wide variety of sizes and angles
- The fence (rip fence) is designed to the board being ripped
- The work moves against (in a direction opposite) the
rotation of the saw
109
CIRCULAR SAW
The saw blade for a
circular saw is a disk of
steel with teeth cut on
the rim.
The teeth of a ripsaw
have the appearance of
sharply angled chisels
The teeth of a crosscut
saw are ground with a
bevel on opposite sides
of the alternate teeth
110
Tip bows
Former
Bulkheads
WOODEN FUSELAGE
CRACKS
Caused by shrinkage of the wood or stress applied to it
SURFACE CRUSHING
Caused when the wood is struck by hard object
COMPRESSION FAILURE
Caused by a compression force acting essentially
parallel to the grain of the wood
STAINING
Caused by moisture indicating that a glue joint has
failed or that the protecting coating is deteriorating.
CORROSION
Caused due to the presence of moisture in attachment
points of hard wares
INSPECTION METHODS
Visual inspection
Likely locations are any possible points for moisture
entry
Overall check for swelling or warping
Check finish for any cracking or defects that may expose
wood to outside environment
Tapping/beating
Suspected areas will sound hollow or be soft
Probing/questioning
If soft or mushy/sappy then the wood is rotted.
INSPECTION METHODS
Odor
Musty or moldy smells when removing access panels
indicates moisture or fungal growth
Moisture meters
Any reading over 20% indicates probable fungal growth
Destructive testing of sample bonded joints
Testing sample bonds after making repairs is highly
recommended to test adhesive strength
RIBS CONSTRUCTION
Two types of construction
Three piece construction
Nose, center and trailing edge sections are built separately
and fastened with glue and nails.
Single piece construction
Ribs are constructed in one unit and slipped over the spars
Wood rib is usually assembled in a rib jig to facilitate production
and ensure accuracy without making repeated measurements.
During rib assembly, cap strips are inserted between the blocks
to hold them in proper position for attachment of the vertical
and diagonal members and the plywood gussets.
Gussets are attached to the cap strips, vertical and diagonal
members with nails and glue.
SURFACE PATCHES
Applied to outer surface of a plywood skin
Applied where damage occurs between or along framing members
It is trimmed to triangular or rectangular shape with corners
rounded
Doublers at the bottom and fabric at the top are applied
The angles of the triangle/rectangle should be rounded with a
radius of at least five times the thickness of the skin
The leading edge of the surface patch should be beveled with an
angle of at least 4:1
Surface patches are not allowed in the range 10% of the cord
length from the leading edge
SPLAYED PATCH
Is a patch fitted into a plywood to provide a flush surface.
The slope of the edges/ mating surfaces is cut at a 5 : 1 angle
Used where the largest dimension of the hole to be repaired is
not more than 15T & thickness is not more than 1/10 (0.1)
inch. No reinforcement behind the splayed patch
Two concentric circles are drawn around the damaged area with
the difference b/n the radii of the circles 5T.
The inner circle is cut out and a patch is cut and tapered to fit
the hole
After a patch is in place, a pressure plate cut to the exact size
of a patch is centered over the patch, with waxed paper b/n the
two
SCARF/FLUSH PATCHES
PLUG PATCH
The edge is cut at right angle/ perpendicular to the surface of the
skin
Because the plug patch is only a skin repair, use it only for
damage that does not involve the supporting structure under the
skin. Doubler (reinforcement ) required
The skin is cut out to round or oval hole and the patch is cut to
the exact size of a hole, and when installed, the edge of the patch
forms a butt joint with the edge of the hole.
Approved circular (round) patches have been designed for holes of
circles with diameter not more than 6 inch.
6 inches for large patches ; - 4 inches for small patches
The steps to be followed during installation are given in
OJT w/s
ASSINMENTS
1. Discuss about Protection (care of a/c with wood
structure) and Inspection of wooden aircraft structure
2. Discuss and characterize the different types of glues
commonly used in a/c assembly operations which
possess the necessary properties to a satisfactory extent
3. Explain in detail about the classification and types of
wood which are employed for construction of a/c
structure
THE END
THANK YOU