5/5/2015

Higher Colleges of Technology

Department of Aeronautical Engineering

AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES
Dr. Tariq Darabseh

Structural safety with minimum weight is the major

criterion for the design of aircraft structures, which
comprise thin load bearing skins, frames, stiffeners,
spars, made of light weight, high strength, high
stiffness materials.

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Aircraft Structural Design

Although the major focus of structural design in the early
development of aircraft was on strength, now structural designers also
deal with fail-safety, fatigue, corrosion, maintenance and
inspectability, and producability.

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Importance of Weight and Integrity

Aircraft cost, take-off and landing distances are all

directly dependent on empty weight of the aircraft.
A pound of structural weight saved is a pound of
payload that can be carried.
Structures must be strong enough to either
safe fail : Will not fail during the life of the component
fail safe: If a component fails, an alternate load path must
be available to carry the loads, so that no single failure will
be hazardous to the aircraft/spacecraft.

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REQUIREMENTS FOR AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL DESIGN

High Strength - Maximum expected load (limit load ) must not exceed
material failure stress.

Low Weight - Minimum structural weight for best performance (very

important difference compared to other types of structures). Higher structural weight
requires larger wing area and larger engine thrust, which further increase weight.
Higher weight leads to higher fuel consumption and lower range.

High Stiffness - Stiffness determines force - deflection (stress - strain)

relationship (Spring: Kx = f; K = AE/L for rod, where E = Youngs modulus, A= cross
sectional area, L = length)

Large Fatigue Life - Repeated application and removal of loads cause

fatigue. Fatigue failures occur at much smaller stress compared to strength failure.
Takeoff/landing and gust cause load cycles. Fatigue life, rather than strength
requirements, dominate structural design for transport aircraft (~70,000 hrs).

Large Buckling Resistance - Lateral displacement of columns under

axial load known as buckling. Critical buckling load, P 2 EI , where I =
Moment of inertia of column cross-section. L2

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Materials

Aluminum (80%), steel (17%) and titanium (3%)

are used for load carrying elements (spars,
stiffeners, skins).
Graphite and Boron composite materials are
commonly used for their light weight, in non-load
carrying parts- flaps, spoilers, fuel tanks, etc.
All composite aircraft are being built. See next
figure that compares these different materials.
Many of these materials, and composites in
particular, lose their strength at high temperatures.

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The basic functions of an aircrafts structure are

1. to transmit and resist the applied loads;
2. to provide an aerodynamic shape and
3. to protect passengers, payload, systems, etc. from the environmental
conditions encountered in flight.
The structures of most flight vehicles are thin walled structures
(shells)

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Function of Structural Components

RIBS:
To withstand all combinations of loads while
maintaining an aerodynamic shape of a wing, ribs are
normally used
They increase buckling loads of the longitudinal
stiffeners and the plate buckling loads of the skin
At the root area they transmit and absorb large
concentrated applied loads, while at the tip of a blade
are more formers of the airfoil shape

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Aircraft Structures
Longitudinal Reinforcement
Stringers (beam)
Spars (plate)

Stringers / Spar caps

Distribute aero loads
Increase buckling stress of skin (width spacing, end conditions)
Provide load path around discontinuities
Stringers carry primarily longitudinal loads
(own, shear not significant)
Skin and stringers together carry axial and bending loads

Function of Structural Components

STRINGERS:
Stringer
- Skin buckles under low compressive loads
- Stringers are used in conjugation with ribs to
divide the skin in small panels, increasing the
failing stresses of the structure
- Stringers stabilize the skin
- A combination of skin and stringers react to
axial and bending loads

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Function of Structural Components

SPAR WEBS:
They resist shear stresses and torsional loads
together with the skin, similarly as it was
described for the stringers-skin combination

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Wings
Wing Configurations
Wings are airfoils that, when moved rapidly through the
air, create lift. They are built in many shapes and sizes.
Wing design can vary to provide certain desirable flight
characteristics. Control at various operating speeds, the
amount of lift generated, balance, and stability all change as
the shape of the wing is altered. Both the leading edge and
the trailing edge of the wing may be straight or curved, or
one edge may be straight and the other curved. One or both
edges may be tapered so that the wing is narrower at the tip
than at the root where it joins the fuselage. The wing tip may
be square, rounded, or even pointed. The next Figure shows a
number of typical wing leading and trailing edge shapes

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The wings of an aircraft can be attached to the fuselage at the

top, mid-fuselage, or at the bottom. They may extend
perpendicular to the horizontal plain of the fuselage or can
angle up or down slightly. This angle is known as the wing
dihedral. The dihedral angle affects the lateral stability of the
aircraft. The next Figure shows some common wing attach
points and dihedral angle.

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