Assignment 2: Bulkhead Material Design

1. The aircraft will be designed with a pressurized cabin.

2. A bulkhead is any kind of structural panel separating two spaces in a fuselage. Like a solid
panel in the tail cone that has only small holes for cables to pass, or the panel that forms the
end of the baggage area. Pretty much any solid lateral partition with a structural use. On a
large aircraft, any structural partitions separating parts of the cabin, like the flight deck
bulkhead, or terminating the pressure hull at each end, the "pressure bulkheads".
A firewall is a firebreak. It's a bulkhead that is fireproof to separate a "hot" area like an engine
compartment from adjacent structure, so that if you have an engine fire, you'll have more
time to try to land, or if at high altitude, say your prayers. To be a firewall, the material of the
bulkhead has to be flame resistant, with a much higher melting point than aluminum.
In brief, a bulkhead is a structural lateral panel in a fuselage. A firewall is a "fireproof"
bulkhead normally separating the engine compartment (or other flame source) from the rest
of the plane.

3. On GA airplanes, the firewall is usually stainless steel, but can be galvanized steel (antiques
and homebuilts), or even special flame proof coatings on a normal bulkhead (some composite
homebuilts). On transport airplanes, a firewall will be stainless or titanium.

4. Normally, bulkhead is a solid panel in the tail cone that has only small holes for cables to
pass, or the panel that forms the end of the baggage area. Pretty much any solid lateral
partition with a structural use.

5. For metals manufacturing processes, we can use following methods.

5.1. Casting: metal alloys are molten to a liquid and poured into a mold and cooled
5.2. Machining: removal of material either as chips or by shearing material
5.3. Forming: either bulk forming, such as extrusion, forging and rolling, or sheet forming,
such as bending and drawing

For composite manufacturing processes, we can use following methods.

5.4. Short fibers, thermoset: Hardly used in aerospace
5.5. Continuous fibers, thermoset: Filament winding, tape-laying, hand lay up and pultrusion
5.6. Short fibers, thermoplast: RTM, Vacuum infusion and VARTM
5.7. Continuous fibers, thermoplast: Press forming

It is important in each process to take into account tolerances and the need for post-
manufacturing finishing often using machining to ensure the bulkhead/firewall is fit for use.