Extreme Aircraft Structures

Extreme Aircraft Structures

Extreme Aircraft Structures

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 Aircraft Structures - Like No Other Structure!

B-52 wing flexes 10 feet down (on ground) to 22 feet

up (in flight) - the span is 185 feet
The Concordes Aluminum alloy frame stretches 7
inches during flight due to aerodynamic heating
Space shuttle Columbia failed in flight due to a
breach in the wings leading edge during the
hypersonic flight phase - the internal aluminum
structure melted and the wing sheared off
All wings not only bend in flight, but also twist, from
aerodynamic loads leading to a change in
aerodynamic forces coupled with wing aeroelasticity
Safety factor for aircraft is typically 1.2-1.5, for
bridges and buildings it is typically >3, can be 10+!

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 Aircraft Structures

The structure must meet a number of conflicting

requirements, namely
Low weight
Acceptable material and manufacturing costs
Adequate strength to meet maximum expected loads
with a suitable safety margin
Adequate stiffness so that bending, torsion, and other
distortions are kept within acceptable limits
Adequate in-service properties such that fatigue,
corrosion, cyclical heating and pressurization, etc., do
not result in structural failure

Example: North American F-86H Sabre

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Example: General Aviation

Example: JSF

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 Example: A-380

Weight

Structural weight for manned vehicles typically

around 30% across a large range of aircraft - scales
with GTOW

Stinson

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 cf. Cost of Aircraft

Specific cost (cost by weight)

Commercial aircraft: $50,000,000/50,000 lbs ~ $200/kg
Advanced stealth aircraft: $1,000,000,000/330,000 lbs ~ $50,000/kg
Diamonds: $1,000/carat ~ $50,000,000/kg
Electricity: $.07/kW-hr ~ $1.7x1054/kg

Weight

Need to assure structural integrity while minimizing

cost, so how much to save?
Why?
Saving weight means more
Payload (passengers, satellites, etc.)
Fuel (longer range, endurance)
Amount industry (civilian) is willing to pay to save a
pound of weight
Automobiles $0
General Aviation $25
Transport $100-200
Satellites $10,000-$20,000+

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 Regulations

Aircraft structures are regulated by FAA Federal

Aviation Regulations (FARs)
FAR Part 23: GTOW < 14,000 lbs
FAR Part 25: GTOW > 14,000 lbs
FAR Part 29: Rotary Wing Aircraft
FAR Part 21: Experimental Aircraft
FAR Part 103: Ultralights, GTOW < 155 lbs (unpowered) or
GTOW < 254 lbs (powered)
UAVs?
No current FAR, use Part 103 until further notice

Forces (Loading) on Aircraft

Forces from pressurization (cabin, cockpit)

Forces in level and steady flight
Forces in attitude varying flight
Forces imparted by control surfaces, flaps
Forces imparted by gusts
Forces on doors, gear
Forces due to rapid change in weight

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 Aircraft Loads
Aerodynamic loads: maneuver, gust, control deflection,
component interaction, buffet, hail
Inertial loads: acceleration, rotation, dynamic, vibration,
flutter
Landing: vertical load, spin-up, spring-back, crabbed,
one-wheel, arrested, braking
Takeoff: catapult, aborted
Taxi: bumps, turning
Powerplant: thrust, torque, gyroscopic, vibration, duct
pressure, hammershock, prop/blade loss, seizure
Other: towing, jacking, pressurization, bird/foreign object
strike, actuation, crash, fuel pressure
Raymer

Aerodynamic Forces

In level and steady flight, L=W

In other flight modes (turning, climbing, etc.), L=nW where n is
the load factor measured in terms of multiples of gravitational
acceleration, i.e. 5gs
Negative loading implies the aerodynamic lift is downward
Typical loading ranges are: D
Tailward loading
L (normal)
npositive nnegative
GA normal 2.5 to 3.8 -1 to -1.5
GA utility 4.4 -1.8
GA acrobatic 6 -3
D
Homebuilt 5 -2
Transport 3 to 4 -1 to -2 L

Strategic Bomber 3 -1
Tactical Bomber 4 -2 Forward loading
(unusual)
Fighter 6.5 to 9 -3 to -6

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 V-n Diagram

The FAA FARs define structural integrity by the V-n

diagram
S Vdive 1.5Vcruise (subsonic)
n=q C L,max
W M cruise + 0.2M (supersonic)

q max
nmax

n=
L
1 Ve = ( )
/ SL Vactual
W
Vdive Ve
nmin
Vstall Vcruise
See http://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/structures/ivn.html
for interactive V-n diagram

Gusts

Gusts add an additional velocity component and a

change in angle of attack. This adds an incremental load
factor: uVC L
n = , n peak = n + n
2(W / S )

The normal gust velocity, u, is a function of altitude, flight

mode, and aircraft frequency response. An example
mass loading
calculation is: 0.88
(subsonic)
5 .3 + 2(W / S )
u = Ku g , K = , =
1.03 gc C L
(supersonic)
6.95 + 1.03
with the overall gust velocity, ug, treated as a tabulated
function of flight mode (dive, cruise, high AoA, etc.) and
altitude. Gust velocity is typically higher at lower altitudes
and is on the order of 10-70 fps.

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 V-n Diagram

The V-n diagram is then corrected for gusts, assuming

that gusts will occur with steady level flight (n=1)
S Vdive 1.5Vcruise (subsonic)
n=q C L,max
W M cruise + 0.2M (supersonic)
nlimit
nmax
q max

n=
L 1 Ve = ( )
/ SL Vactual
W
Ve
Vdive
nmin
Vstall Vg Vcruise
The limit load factor is the highest load factor including
gusts. The design load factor is typically 50% higher.

Aerodynamic Forces Wing Loading

Since load is distributed along wing, need to find equivalent

loading for forces and moments as a function of span
Lift distribution is typically related to the local chord distribution

1 (2 y / b )2 , CT = C r 1
4S 2y
C E ( y) = (1 )
b b

Elliptical lift distribution is given by

1 (2 y / b )2 = 1 (2 y / b )2
4L 4nW
LE ( y ) =
b b
For a trapezoidal wing, the lift distribution
can be approximated by
2nW 2y
LT (y) = 1 (1 )
b(1+ ) b
where = c t /c r

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 Forces on Wing in Roll

Change in lift related to roll control power:

CL
2K f f Yi Si cos
Cl =
a
Sw b
C L
= slope
f

Side forces (induced both in roll and cross-winds)

Wing as a Cantilever Beam

Basic forces,
bending moments Semi-span Lift Distribution
and torques on wing
Shear load
Bending moment M x = Wx /2
Torque T = Wy /2

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 Wing as a Cantilever Beam

dM dV
( w L w a ) x aw V = , W=
2
0
V = F x a f w a x aw dx dx
2 ( L aw )

( w L w a ) x aw
2 3
w a x aw 0
M = M A + R Ax F x a f + M x am
2 6 ( L aw )

( w L w a ) x aw
2
F x af
3 4
x 2
w a x aw M x am
= A + M A + R Ax +
EI 2 EI 2 EI 6 EI 24 EI ( L a w ) EI

( w L w a ) x aw
3
F x af w a x aw M x am
4 5 2
2 3
= A + Ax + M A x + R A x +
2 EI 6 EI 6 EI 24 EI 120 EI ( L a w ) 2 EI

Wing as a Cantilever Beam

Loads and moments determined by superposition of

all loads including aerodynamic forces (wing, flaps,
and control surfaces), wing structural weight, fuel,
engines, and hard point loads

Note that wings tend to be inherently strong in the

drag direction and therefore is less critical for design

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 Predicting Structural Wing Requirements

Lift determined using Schrencks Lift Distrbution

method - average of elliptical and 900

800
trapezoidal lift loads from wing 700
600
Fuel and structural weight are 500
400
300
distributed loads 200
Elliptical
Trapezoidal
100
Average
Engines are point loads 0
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00

See plots for example b/2

Aerodynamic Load and Moment Distrbution Total Load and Moment Distrbution

300000 100000
V-lift (lb) 90000 Total V
M-lift (ft-lb) 80000 Total M
70000
200000 60000
50000
40000
100000 30000
20000
10000
0
0 -10000
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
b/2 b/2

Load Carrying Methods

In designing the structure, you are in essence

designing the load carrying path - these are of course
Tension
Compression
Shear
Bending
Torsion

Stinson

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 Stress

P
pt =
A
= pc

Strain
L
et =
L
= ec

Stress-Strain Diagram

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 Materials

Materials run the range from commonly used to exotic, with the
previous guiding principles in mind
Wood
o Traditional - still used for homebuilt aircraft; light, medium strength,
limitation is usually glue and resin
Aluminum alloys
o Strong and lightweight, temp. limited, poor fatigue characteristics - made the
modern aircraft and aircraft industry viable!
Titanium
o Strong, lightweight, expensive, hard to machine - used for firewalls
Magnesium alloys
o Strong and lightweight, poor corrosion properties, hard to weld
Steel
o Strong but heavy, used when high temp and strength is required
Composites
o Currently limited in use to small aircraft and some sections (such as fuselage
components) of large aircraft

Materials

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 Aircraft Material Comparison

A comparison of some of the aircraft materials are shown below,

including the relative weights for different loading scenarios
Material u E W1/W2 W1/W2 W1/W2
[103 psi] [103 psi] [103 psi] Tension Buckling Bending

Stainless 185 0.286 26.0 1.23 2.12 1.72

Steel
2024-T3 Al 66 0.100 10.5 1.00 1.00 1.00

7075-T6 Al 77 0.101 10.4 0.87 1.01 0.93

Magnesium 40 0.065 0.5 1.07 0.77 0.83

Alloy
Laminated 30 0.050 2/5 1.10 0.83 0.74
Plastic
Spruce Wood 9.4 0.016 1.3 1.09 0.31 0.42

Carbon 180 0.056 21 - - -

Epoxy Corke

Example

Compare min. thickness for a fuselage skin for

Titanium 6AL-4V, Magnesium HK 31A and S-
fiberglass-epoxy using 2024-T3 Al as a reference
Material u t/tref
t min 1/ tu [103 psi]

t tu ref Titanium 6AL-4V 160 0.363

=
t ref tu Magnesium HK 31A 34 1.706

S-fiberglass-epoxy 219 0.264

Fiberglass has best performance, but has the lowest

temperature limit and is difficult to repair
Titanium has high temperature limit, but is expensive
and difficult to machine
Magnesium can also withstand high temperatures,
but will have a higher thickness than the Al

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 Example

A 6 steel rod 1/4 in diameter is used

as the shaft in an unmanned
helicopter; how much does the bar
stretch if the helicopter weighs 500
lbs? What about twist (torsion)? Yield? For steel:
Steps: (1) solve for the stress, (2) find Youngs E = 190 GPa
modulus, (3) solve Hookes law, (4) solve the = 1.9 1011 Pa
strain equation = 27.5 10 6 psi

= P A = 500lb /(.05in 2 ) = /E
= 10,000psi/27.5 10 6 psi
= 10,000 psi
= 3.6 104
L = Lo
= 3.6 104 (6in) = .0022in

Softer, lighter, Al alloys suffer from fatigue failure

more readily than other heavier materials

Stinson

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 DeHavilland Comet, first large production commercial
jet liner - innovative design, used primarily by BOAC
Used high strength 7000 series Al alloys which suffered from
fatigue failure (unknown to designers at the time)
Repeated pressurizations led to inflight destruction of 2 aircraft

Design Problem

How to support weight of 1000 lbs with a bungee

cord and chain, each with 600 lbs limits? (Block can
be temporarily supported in any way.)

Connect bungee and lower weight until it carries a

load of 550 lbs, then connect chain until strain is
reached; loads are 551 lbs and 449 lbs (for example).

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 Supporting the Wing

Simple cantilever beam

For a 100 lb load, strut carries
141 lbs and wire 100 lbs

Raymer

Bracing and Load Distribution

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 Replace beams with sheet

Load Distribution

Wing carries more stress near the thicker locations

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 Typical Wing Cross-Section

Typical wing components are shown

Forces are distributed from point loads along skin

and stiffeners to spars and then wing root

Typical airfoil cross section

Note location of fuel - as fuel is burned, W changes,

but c.g. does not

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 Composite construction can also be used to make
coreless wings where the sandwich is the skin
constructed around a traditional spar design

Sandwich design prevents buckling of the skin (high

compression loads allowed)

Joining Layers

When joining, ensure that the load is well distributed

across the joint

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 Joining

For point loads (such as hard points for gear,

munitions, spar attachments, etc.), inserts are usually
used to distribute the loads uniformly

Composite structures

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 Composite construction

Composite Designs

Rutans composite sandwich design distributes the

load over a very large volume, meaning that
individual material properties dont have to carry as
much load individually

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 Composite Sandwich

Vary the skin thickness to carry more of the stress at

the thicker parts of the airfoil - an outer spar design;
allows a larger load

We can add skin without limit to meet the tension and

compression requirements, but there will be a
maximum load at which the lightweight core fails
before the skin fails

When even larger loads are required, one can vary

the core material as well to make a virtual spar

Divinycell PVC: 3 lbs/ft3, Urethan/polyester: 4.5 lbs/ft3

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 Actual full-scale composite aircraft do use a spar
imbedded in the core, either single or multiple c-
shaped webs with spar caps to carry more load; foam
serves to stabilize the shear web against buckling

Core may comprise all or only part of the internal

volume

Composite shear-strain diagram - note that

composites tend to fail in straight fracture rather than
ductile fracture

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 Composite Failure Modes

Failure modes: collapse, buckling & shear

Aeroelastic Issues

Aileron Reversal - speed at which the airfoil torsions

enough such that the effect of the aileron is reversed!

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 Fuselage Structure

Typical fuselage construction is semi-monocoque in

which a shell (monocoque) resists tensile loads and
a lightweight frame resists compressive loads.
Fuselage frames consist of long elements that run
along the length called longerons and the perimeter
elements are the bulkheads.
Under positive loading which tends to be the largest
(remember the V-n diagram), tensile loading is on the
top surface.
Spacing of the longerons and bulkheads is typically
defined by the need to prevent buckling of the
fuselage.

Fuselage Structure

Tensile loading on the skin is due to the moment at

the center of lift. For a circular fuselage, the required
tensile stress and approximate thickness required for
the skin is:
2M xCL 2M xCL ndesign
T = Tu t min =
R t
2 ndesign R 2 Tu
For an elliptical fuselage (major-axis vertical), this
becomes:
4 M xCL ndesign
t min =
( ab + a 2 ) Tu

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 Fuselage Structure

Approximate resistance to compressive loads can be

computed by assuming column loading:
C 2 E E Il
E = l = C 1.0 1.5
( Ll / l ) 2 n design Al
The stress on each longeron depends on the design. For
a simple uniform distribution with 4 longerons in each 90o
arc, an approximate valuation of the max stress is:
M xCL cos(22.5 o )
max =
4 I l R[cos 2 ( 22.5 o ) + cos 2 ( 45o ) + cos 2 (67.5 o )]
This can be combined with the previous eqns to yield:
L2l C 2 E
=
I l R 0.154ndesign M xCL

Fuselage Structure

Like the wing, loading on the fuselage structure can be

approximately treated as a beam.

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Wing/Body Structure

Wing/Body Structure

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Wing/Body Structure

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