Materials and selection

Ing. Fabio Merchán, CMSc, Esp.

 Introduction

• Design: The process of transforming a new idea or a

need market on information from which a product can be
manufactured.

• The most common metals used in aircraft construction

are aluminum, magnesium, titanium, steel, and their
alloys.

• Knowledge and understanding of the uses, strengths,

limitations, and other characteristics of structural metals
is vital to properly construct and maintain any equipment,
especially airframes.
 Tolerancia
al daño

Inspecciones
periódicas
NDT
Rayos x Tintas
penetrantes
Partículas ultrasonido
magnéticas

Detectar grietas de
tamaños peligrosos que
puedan crecer a un
tamaño critico de falla
Realizar
oportunamente
reparaciones o
cambios necesarios
para evitar una falla
catastrófica
 Corrosion prevention

Free from
significant
Corrosion inhibitors corrosion

Sealants

Materials Preventive
Finishes and selection Prevention maintenance

Drainage

Operator
Good access feedback,
improve
prevention
measures
 Atmospheric
moisture

Salt-water
Aircraft fuel
spray

Leaking Corrosion oils

toilets
source

Enigine
Hydraulic
exhaut
fluids
products

Battery acid
 What's the other important factor?

Results in

Extra Stronger Structure

Weight to Support It

Results in
Megson: Aircraft Structures for Engineering
Students
 SRM

Raymer aircraft design

 Alloy

Largest amount is called the Other metals added to the base metal are
base metal. called alloying elements.

Change the properties of the base

metal.
Must have a high ratio
of strength to weight
(SWR).

For example addition of copper,

manganese, and magnesium

Increase or decrease an alloy's

strength and hardness
Heat treatment
Material selection
 Predictable in
its properties

readily
Should be available and
homogeneous at reasonable
cost

Important thing to
consider

stress- should not

corrosion suffer badly
cracking from fatigue

non-
inflammable
 Property requirements for
fuselage
1. Skin; carry cabin pressure (tension) and
shear loads.
2. Stringer and longerons; carry longitudinal
tension and compresion loads.
3. Frames to maintain the fuselage shape
and redistribute loads in to skin.
4. Bulkheads; carry concentrated loads.
Property requirements for wings
1. Torsion loads (spar-skin); the wing tries to twist during
flight.

2. Stringer; upper skin is primarily in compression during

flight and in tension while taxiing.
– Compressive yield strength and modulus of elasticity.

3. Lower skin; tension during flight and in compression

during taxiing.
– Tensile strength, tensile yield strength and tensile modulus.
4. Spars; resist shear loads transmitted by the cover and
ribs.
– Shear yield strength and compressive modulus for spar web.

http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/impress/text/education/Images/MechanicalProperties/Image029.png

5. Ribs; compression during bending of the wing and

transfer concentrated loads from nacelle and landing
gear to wing spar.
– Tensile strength, compressive yield, modulus.
GRUPO TIPO ALEACION
1XXX Aluminio 100% puro
2XXX Aleación de Cu
3XXX Aleación de Mn
4XXX Aleación de Si
5XXX Aleación de Mg
6XXX Aleación Mg + Mn
7XXX Aleación de Zn

Código de cuatro dígitos : 1 2 3 4

 1: Tipo de aleación
 2: Modificación de la aleación
 3-4: identificación de un aluminio en especifico.
6463 is a modification of 6063 with slightly more restrictive
limits on certain alloying elements, such as iron,
manganese, and chromium, to obtain better finishing
characteristics. (aluminum structures, A Guide to Their
Specifications and Design.
Aluminum Alloy
The most common material in aircraft
structures.

Alloy Pure metal

Typical Alloy contain:

• 90% Aluminum
• 4% Copper
• 0.5% Silicon
• 0.5% Magnesium Strength of Aluminum
• Maganese Alloy is 6 to 8 times
• Iron that of pure Aluminum
• Chromium

Easy manufacturing and metalwork

capability of this material.

John Cutler: Understanding Aircraft Structures

 Wrought Al
Casting alloy

Primary structure

Secondary
Produced by structure
rolling,
extrusion or
forging Thicker plate, in
Rolled the range of about
25 to 50 mm is
used for wing
covers.
Sheet and plate in the
range of about 1 to 10 Thickest plate up to
mm is used for fuselage 150 mm is used for
skin and stringers. bulkheads, wing
spars and
supporting structure.
 When we use the principal alloys??

Aluminium alloy 6061

is not structural

Used in secondary structures where

In primary structures, strength capability is the welding property is required
very low regarding the other alloys.

These are the alloys that you must use in

the design, repair or modifications in the
aircraft.
 Aluminium alloy 2024

Best material for structures where

fatigue and damage tolerance is a
problem.
Material used for the fuselage and part of
the wing and stabilizers is the 2024
aluminium alloy.

The fuselage skin, frames, stringer, doublers, splices

and other structural elements that belong to the
fuselage, are made of 2024 aluminium alloy.
Because pressurization load in the fuselage is a
fatigue critical load
Aluminium alloy 7075

1. This series is used where strength is required. Use where fatigue is

not the critical load.
2. In this case 7075 is the best material to use in sheets or plate
applications. You can find this material in the upper wing panels,
machined frames, formed frames, stringers, longerons, extruded
parts.

Aluminium alloy 7050

1. This alloy is mainly required to extruded, machined and forged

aircraft parts.
2. If the requirement is a forged or machined block, where the
maximum strength is the target then you must use this alloy.

3. Used in fittings and connecting elements between fuselage and

wing or stabilizers.
 Al-clad Difusión
Aluminium-
lithium alloys
Movimiento de átomos en un
Corrosion material.
resistant

Al-zinc Producir una composición

homogénea e uniforme
Cost

Al-copper

Imperfecciones Movimientos
dentro de la
red

Half the strength of the alloys
Replace a bare plate by a CLAD plate increase
the thickness just for safety or check the structural
repair manual if the replacement is approved.
T°
Incremento en la energía térmica,
por ende aumenta la capacidad de
los átomos y de las imperfecciones
de difundirse.
 Analysis two materials
7xxx series
2xxx series

7075, 7050, 7475, Strength is

2024, fatigue and required, for fittings, bulkheads,
damage tolerance beams, frames or splices.
properties.

It is used in the inner and outer Main structural members and

skins of the aircraft and structural places on the skin where there
members of low responsibility. is a high aerodynamic pressure.

Can you replace a 2024-T3 plate by a 2024-T4 plate the

answer is no.

The T3 as better fatigue properties. If you replace the material

you are reducing the fatigue life of the part.

T4 as lower strength than T3

 Selecting metallic material allowable for structural
design with approved design data

• FAR25.613. Material strength properties must be based

on enough tests of material.

Approved metallic material data is

given by the MMPDS handbook. The B basis defines that 95% of the
samples fail at superior strength
values with 95% of confidence.

The A basis defines that 99% of the

samples fail at superior strength values
with 95% of confidence.
Metallic Material Properties Development
and Standardization
 When I use the basis?

• Important question for the structural

engineer….
– If you are developing a one loading path
structural part (landing gear) the A basis must
be used.
– If you are developing a redundant structure
(two or more loading paths, stringers as
example) the B basis can be used.
 Applicable grain direction
Define the properties of the part according to the manufacturing grain
direction of the material.
 In your design
consider that:

Direction of the material

grain will present higher
mechanical properties the
L direction

Perpendicular direction of the

grain as lower mechanical
properties, the LT direction
Remember selecting material allowable:

1. Go to MMPDS.
2. Select material designation chapter (2024, 6061, steel,
superalloy).
3. Select table for the material specification, form and temper
(AMS-QQ-A-250/4, Sheet, T6, T0).
4. Select the thickness of the used (0.063, 0.500 in).
5. Select the A or B column according to the airworthiness
requirements (use conservative, A basis).
6. Select the proper grain direction properties (use
conservative, lower of the two).
7. Obtain the mechanical properties of the material.
 A/c part geometry is very complex, with
tight bending radius.
Perfect condition to mold,
bend and deform the
material to the desired Requires always
shape without cracking. heat treatment
before aircraft
installation

2XXX, 6XXX and

Metallurgical industry 7XXX groups

With this temper no Where heat treatments cannot be

mechanical properties processed because this will not increase
strength of this alloys.
are defined.
Strain hardening the alloy
 When you apply a different kind of heat
treatment take into account……

• Aluminium heat treatments must be always

established by approved and recognized
standards. You can use AIRBUS, BOEING,
EMBRAER, etc… standards.
 But what happened with steel???

• Small components demanding high tensile strengths,

high stiffness and high resistance to wear.
• Such components include, wing-root attachments,
fasteners.

Maraging steels
Carbon is either eliminated entirely or
present only in very small amounts.
Nickel 17–19 %
Cobalt 8–9%
molybdenum Causes brittleness and distortion
3–3.5 %
Titanium 0.15– Machining is difficult.
0.25 %.
Cold forming impracticable
 Higher fracture toughness
Advantages of notched strength
simpler heat treatment
maraging very much simpler to weld
easier to machine
steels resistance to stress corrosion
 4150
Porcentaje de
carbono en
Porcentaje elemento centésimas del %.
aleante principal