Name _________________________

AEE 426 / MAE 598 Design of Aerospace Structures

Exam 1 Spring 2015
Problem 1 (30%): An airplane weighing 8000 lb. has an upward acceleration of 3g when
landing. The dimensions are as shown in the Figure below:
(a) What are the wheel reactions R 1 and R 2 ?
(b) What is the time required to decelerate the aircraft from 12 ft/sec vertical velocity assuming
constant deceleration?
(c) What is the vertical displacement of the aircraft during this deceleration?
(d) What is the shear and bending moment on a vertical section AA if the weight forward of this
section is 2000 lb and has a center of gravity 40 in from this cross section?

Problem 2 (30%): The stringer areas for the idealized cross section below are A1 = A2 = A5 =
2
2
A6 = 1.25 in and A3 = A4 = 2.50 in . The applied shear force V y is 1000 lb.
(a) Calculate the shear flows q 1 , q 2 , q 3 , q 4 , and q 5 using the loads on stringers (Method 2)
(b) Determine the location of the shear center (dimension e shown below)

Problem 3 (20%): The properties of 321 Stainless Steel, 2024-T3 Aluminum, and 6Al-4V
Titanium are as shown below. Select the best material based on its strength-weight-stiffness
characteristics for the following loading cases (Show all calculations):

Problem 4 (20%): Calculate the density, longitudinal modulus (E 1 ), transverse modulus (E 2 ),

and shear modulus (G 12 ) for a carbon/epoxy composite material with fiber volume fraction of
80%. The properties for the carbon fibers and epoxy matrix are as follows:
Graphite Fiber:
Density = 1.8 gm/cm 3
Elastic Modulus (E) = 240 GPa
Shear Modulus (G) = 30 GPa
Epoxy Matrix:
Density = 1.2 gm/cm 3
Elastic Modulus (E) = 3.2 GPa
Shear Modulus (G) = 1.8 GPa