STUDY ON MATERIAL

SELECTION OF
FUSELAGE SKIN
Project Seminar
Aircraft Materials and Processes
By Y. Sharath Chandra Mouli
Roll No: 15101275

Fuselage and fuselage Types

The fuselage is the main structure or body of the fixed-wing

aircraft.
It provides space for cargo, controls, accessories, passengers,
and other equipment. In single-engine aircraft, the fuselage
houses the powerplant.
Types of Fuselages:
Truss Type
Monocoque Type
Semimonocoque Type

Functions of Fuselage Skin

It transmits the aerodynamic forces to the longitudinal and

transverse supporting members by plate and membrane

action
It develops shearing stresses which react to the applied
torsional moments and shear forces.
It acts with the longitudinal members in resisting the applied
bending and axial loads.
It acts with longitudinal in resisting the axial load with the
transverse members in reacting the hoop or circumferential
load when the structure is pressurized.
In addition to these, it provides an aerodynamic surface and
cover for the contents of the vehicle.

Property Requirements for Fuselage

The fuselage can be divided

into three areas:

sides and bottom.

crown,

Predominant

loads during
flight are tension in the
crown, shear in the sides
and compression in the
bottom.
These loads are caused by
bending of the fuselage due
to loading of the wings
during flight and by cabin
pressure.
Taxiing causes compression
in the top and tension in the
bottom,
however
these
stresses are less than the inStrength,
Young's modulus,
flight stresses.

fatigue initiation, fatigue crack

growth, fracture toughness and corrosion are all important, but
fracture toughness is often the limiting design consideration.

Trends in Aluminum Alloy Product Development

for Aircraft Fuselage Skin
During 1903-1930s: Minimum weight was the major criteria for

materials selection. (2017-T4 & 2014-T6 has been used during this
period)
During 1930-1960s: Improved performance was the goal and
reduced weight was a principal contributor.
Experiments led to the development of 2024-T3
Higher yield strength than 2017-T4
Natural aging and significantly higher Ductility than 2014-T6.

During

1960-1980s:The growth of linear elastic fracture

mechanics analyses in the 1960s revealed the need for
improvements in the combination of strength and fracture
toughness of aluminum alloys.
The critical crack length and fatigue crack growth characteristics of 2024-

T3 provided adequate safety and economical inspection intervals, but the

low yield strength caused a weight penalty.
In contrast, its low fracture toughness and inferior fatigue crack growth
resistance prevented the high strength of 7075-T6 from being considered
for fracture critical applications where loads were tension dominated.

Trends in Aluminum Alloy Product Development

for Aircraft Fuselage Skin
After

1980s:
In
Boeing
777
evolutionary improvements of older
materials are utilized.

Included 7150-T77 that has higher strength

and damage tolerance when compared with
7050- T76.
Alloy 7055-T77 that has higher strength than
7150-T6 along with similar fracture toughness
and fatigue crack growth resistance.
Alloy 2524-T3 that has approximately 15
20% improvement in fracture toughness and
twice the fatigue crack growth resistance when
compared with 2024-T3.
The higher toughness and greater resistance to
fatigue crack growth of 2524-T3 helped in the
elimination of tear straps in a weight-efficient
manner on the Boeing 777.

The need for advanced materials

Materials with high specific strength (strength per unit of weight) have long

been popular with the aerospace industry, as components made from such
materials provide the required strength with less weight, thereby reducing fuel
burn and operating cost.
Composites as Alternative:
The advantage of composite materials is that the properties they exhibit are different

to simply the sum of the properties of the constituent materials.

Benefits of composites:

Challenges associated with composite design:

High specific strength

Ability to resist fatigue

Lack of design data.

Huge variability between composite materials
Response to damage
Direct Impact Loads
Detection and repair of damage remains difficult
Lightning strike protection (LSP).

Corrosion Resistance
Manufacturability

large, complex shapes

Nevertheless, composites have been enthusiastically embraced by the

aerospace industry, with aircraft manufacturers progressively increasing the

amount of composite material used in the airframe and in aircraft systems.

Use of Composites in aircrafts fuselage skin

Use of Composites in aircrafts fuselage skin

References
Progress in structural materials for aerospace systems,

J.C. Williams, E.A. Starke, Jr. / Acta Materialia 51 (2003)

57755799
SBAC Aviation and Environment Briefing Papers, SBAC,
Advanced Aircraft Materials 2002.
Application of modern aluminum alloys to aircraft, E.A.
Starke, Jr and J. T. Staley, Pro 9. Aerospace Sci. Vol. 32, pp.
131-172~ 1996
Challenges for research and development of new aluminum
alloys, D. Vojtch, ISSN 0543-5846