AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE-I

(ASEG 331)

Main structural Components and Their Functions

Conventional aircraft usually consist of fuselage, wings
and tail plane. The basic functions of an aircraft's
structure are to transmit and resist the applied loads; to
provide an aerodynamic shape and to protect passengers,
payload, systems, etc. from the environmental conditions
encountered in flight.

Wing:
Spars
Stringers
Ribs
Skin

Contd.

SPAR:
Longitudinal member in the wing.
Generally wing having Two spars called Front spar
(located at 30% of wing chord from leading edge) and
Rear spar (located at 65% of wing chord from the leading
edge).
Generally Spar having I cross-section, because I section
having maximum moment of inertia, hence Highest
strength, for the same weight.
Spar webs takes Torsional load
(i.e. shear stresses) and
spar flanges takes bending
loads (i.e. bending stresses).

Contd

Stringer:

Used for Bending loads.

Generally having Z, L, T, channal and small wings having
rectangular cross-sections because of easy attachment to
the skin and space and weight advantage.

Contd

RIBS:

The dimensions of ribs are governed by their span-wise

location in the wing (i.e. Airfoil shape) and by the loads
they are required to support.
Used for maintain the Airfoil shape through out the wing
section.
They also act with the skin in resisting the distributed
aerodynamic pressure loads.
They distribute concentration loads (e.g. undercarriage and
additional wing store loads) into the structure.

Contd

Skin:
The outer cover of the wing structure is skin.
The primary function of the wing skin is to form
an impermeable surface for supporting the
aerodynamic pressure distribution from which the
lifting capacity of the wing is desired.
Skin is efficient for resisting shear and tensile
loads.
Skin
buckles
under
comparatively
low
compressive loads. Stringers are attached to the
skin and ribs thereby dividing the skin into panels
and increasing the buckling stresses.

FUSELAGE
The fuselage of any aircraft has TWO main functions:
1. Carries the payload: passenger & cargo.
2. It forms the main structural links in the complete
assembly that is the aircraft. The fuselage often carries
the engines and undercarriage. It also responsible for
providing a safe environment so that the crew and
passenger can survive.
The fuselage is considered to be made in three sections:
. The nose section.
. The centre section.
. The aft section.
The three sections carries different loads depending on
the role
of the aircraft.

There are mainly three types of fuselage structures:

1. TRUSS TYPE:
This type of structure is still in use in many
lightweight aircraft using welded steel tube
trusses.
A box truss fuselage structure can also be built
out of woodoften covered with plywood.

Contd.
2. Monocoque structure: it is possible to make a
skin strong enough to carry all the loads without
the need for any supporting framework.
Consists of Skin.
Formers.
Bulkheads.

Contd

3. Simi monocoque structure:

In this fuselage structure the skin is used to
avoid buckling, it is common for the stress skin
to carry about half of the total load carried by
the skin and longerons together.
the typical fuselage structure consists of series
of hoops, or frames at intervals along the skin,
which gives the fuselage its cross-sectional
shape, connected by longerons that run the
length of the fuselage.

mainly consists ofSkin

Bulkheads/ Formers (frames)
Longerons:

TAIL PLANES

The tail-plane provides stability in Pitch & Yaw.

Large Aircraft having
cross-section same
as wing structure.
Small Aircraft having
solid section.

Importance of structural weight

The structure of an airplane must withstand the
applied aerodynamic load and interior loads not only
for the normal flight but also for extreme conditions
may be encountered very rarely.
The essential character of an aircraft structure is light
weight, because weight plays such an important role
in the performance and economics of an airplane.
The importance of empty weight should be clear from
the limitations placed on maximum takeoff weight by
the available runway.
A pound more structural weight is a pound less of
payload.
The specific range is inversely proportional to the
airplane weight, so in increase in structural weight
raises the fuel consumption and the fuel cost.

Contd.

The first cost of the airplane is generally found to be

proportional to the empty weight.
If the payload and range cannot be reduced, a higher
structural weight requires a larger engine to meet the
takeoff and landing requirement, thereby raising the
structural weight even further.
For all these reason, the aircraft structural design has
always
sought to meet the load requirements with a least possible
weight.
The potentially effect of an aircraft structural failure
means that the structure must be designed for long life
either with safe life or with fail safe design.
Safe life: safe life means that the stresses in a
components are so low that fatigue failure is not possible
over the life of the airplane.

Contd.

Fail safe:- fail safe means that the structure has

alternate loads paths so that no single failure will
be effected to the aircraft. This can be achieved
by designing so that no one component carries a
large part of the load. Therefore, if one part fails,
the reminder of the structure can still carry most
of the maximum load.

General loads on Aircraft

Before the structural design of an airplane can be
made, the external loads acting on the airplane in
flight, landing and takeoff conditions must be
known.
Limit load: limit loads are the maximum loads
anticipated on the airplane during its life time.
The airplane structure shall be capable of
supporting the limit loads without suffering
detrimental permanent deformations.
Ultimate or design loads: Ultimate or design loads
are equal to the limit load multiplied by a factor of
safety. In general the overall factor of safety is 1.5.

Contd.

The board general category of external loads on

conventional aircraft can be broken down into
such classifications as follows:
Air loads:
Due to Airplane Maneuvers (under the control of the pilot)
Due to air gust (not under the control of pilot).

Landing loads:
Landing on land (friction on tyre)
Landing on water.

Power plant loads:

Thrust.
Torque.

Weight and Inertia Forces:

Contd.
Weight:
The term weight is that constant force, proportional to
its mass. Which tends to draw every physical body
towards the centre of the earth.
Inertia Forces:
Inertia Forces for motion of pure translation of
rigid body

If the unbalanced forces acting on a rigid body

cause only a change in the magnitude of the
velocity of the body, but not in the direction, the
motion is called translation and from the basic
physics:
Accelerating force F = M a
From the basic physics

Inertia forces on rotating rigid bodies:

A common airplane maneuver is a motion
along a curved path in a plane parallel to
the XZ plane of the airplane, and generally
referred to the pitching plane.
A pull up from steady flight or a pull out
from a dive causes an airplane to follow a
curved path.

 If at point A the velocity is increasing

along its path, the airplane is being
subjected to two accelerations:
1. at, tangential to the curve at point A and
equal in magnitude to at = r a.
2. an = r 2, an acceleration normal to the
flight path at A and directed toward the
centre of rotation (o).
From the Newtons law the effective forces
due to these accelerations ate:

If the velocity of the airplane along

path is constant then at = 0 and thus
inertia force Ft = 0, leaving only
normal inertia force Fn.
If the angular acceleration is constant
following relationships hold:

the
the
the
the

Load factors
The term load factor normally given the symbol n
can be defined as the numerical multiplying factor by
which the forces equivalent to the dynamic force
system acting during the acceleration of the airplane.
For steady flight L = W. Now assume that airplane
is accelerated upward, shows the additional inertia
force acting in downwards, or opposite to the
direction of acceleration. Thus the total airplane lift L
for the un-accelerated condition must be multiplied
by a factor nz to produce static equilibrium in the zdirection.

Since L = W, then

Contd.
An airplane can be accelerated along the x-axis
as well as the z-axis.

Problem
Figure shows an airplane landing on a navy
aircraft are being arrested by a cable pull T on
the airplane arresting hook. If the airplane weight
is 12000 lbs, and the airplane is given a constant
acceleration of 3.5g, find the hook pull T, wheel
reaction R, and the distance (d) between the line
of action of the hook pull and the airplane c.g. if
the landing velocity is 60 MPH.

Contd.

On contact of the airplane with the arresting cable

the airplane is decelerated to the right the motion
is purely translation horizontally. The inertia force
is:

The inertia force acts opposite to the direction of

motion, hence to the left.
The unknowns T and R can now be solved for by
using the static equations of equilibrium.

To find the distance d, take moment about the

airplane c.g.

Problem
Assume that the transport aircraft as shown, has
just touchdown in landing and that a breaking
force of 35000 lb, on the rear wheel is being
applied to bring the airplane to rest. The landing
horizontal velocity is 85 MPH. neglecting air
forces on the airplane and assuming the propeller
forces are zero, what are the ground reactions R1
and R2. what is the landing run distance with the
constant breaking force.

Contd.

The airplane being accelerated horizontally hence

the inertia force through the airplane c.g. acts
towards the front of the airplane.
From the equilibrium equations:

Landing run:

Contd.
To find R2, take moment about point A:

V-n Diagram (Velocity load factor Diagram)

The load Factor:

Hence
At higher speeds, nmax is limited by the
structural design of the airplane. These
considerations are best understood by
examining by diagram showing load factor
versus velocity for a given airplane- the V-n
diagram.

 Consider an airplane is flying at velocity V 1,

Assume that the airplane is at an angle of
attack such that CL< CLmax. This flight condition
is represented by point 1.
Now assume that the angle of attack is
increased to that to obtaining CLmax, keeping the
velocity constant at V1. The lift increases to its
maximum value for the given V1, and hence the
load factor n=L/W reaches its maximum value
of nmax for the given velocity is given by point 2.
If the angle of attack is increased further, the
wing stalls and the load factor drops. Therefore,
point 3 is stall region of the V-n diagram.

 Now as V1 is increased to a value V4, then

the maximum possible load factor n max also
increases, as given by point 4.
However nmax cannot be allowed to
increases indefinitely. Beyond a certain
value of load value, defined as the limit load
factor as shown by the horizontal line BC.
Structural damage may occur to the aircraft.
The right hand side of the V-n diagram, line
CD, is high speed limit. At velocities greater
than this, the dynamic pressure becomes so
large that again structural damage may
occur to the airplane.

 Finally, the bottom part of the V-n

diagram, given by curves AE and ED,
corresponds to negative absolute angles of
attack, that is, negative loads factor. Curve
AE defines the stall limit.
Line ED gives the negative limit load
factor, beyond which structural damage
will occur.

Effect of guest velocity on V-n Diagram

The acceleration due to the air gust are
not control of the pilot. Since it depends on
the direction and velocity of the air guest.
Generally the maximum velocity of the air
gust is 30 ft/sec.
GUST LOAD FACTOR:
When a sharp edge gust strikes the
airplane in a direction normal to the thrust
line (x - axis), a sudden change takes
place in the wing angle of attack with no
sudden change in airplane velocity.

Contd.

The normal force coefficient (CZA) can be assumed to

vary linearly with the angle of attack.

Point B represent the normal airplane force

coefficient CZA, necessary to maintain level flight ( L
= W), with a Velocity V and point C, the value of C ZA,
after a sharp edge gust of velocity KU, has caused a
sudden change in angle of attack (), without
change in V.
For small angles: = KU/V

Contd.

And from CZA vs curve,

CZA = m. = m (KU/V)
Where,
m = slope of the normal force curve.
The load factor increment due to gust KU can be
expressed as:

Where,
U = gust velocity (max. 30 ft/sec).
K = Gust correction factor.
V = Indicated air speed in MPH.
W = gross weight of the airplane.

Contd.

If U = 30 ft/sec and m is slope per unit degree.

Therefore the load factor n, when airplane is

flying in horizontal attitude equals:

The airplane shall withstand any applied loads

due to a 30 ft/sec gust acing in any direction.

Contd.

In the below diagram a positive gust is not

critical within the restricted velocity of the
airplane, since the guest line intersect the line BD
below line AB.
For a negative gust, the gust load factor becomes
critical at velocities between F & D, with a
maximum acceleration as given by point E.

PROBLEMS
1. An airplane equipped with float is catapulted into the air
from a Navy cruiser as illustrated in Figure. the catapulting
force P gives the airplane a constant horizontal
acceleration of 3g (96.6 ft/sec2). The gross weight of
airplane is 9000 lb. and the catapult track is 35 ft. long.
Find the catapulting force P and the reactions R 1 and R2
from the catapult car. The engine thrust is 900 lb. what is
the airplane velocity at the end of track run?

2.The airplane in Figure, 14000 lb. it is flying horizontally at a

velocity of 500 MPH (733 ft/sec) when the pilot pulls it

upward into a curved path with a radius of curvature of
2500 ft. assume the engine thrust and airplane drag equal,
opposite and collinear with each other, find:
Acceleration of airplane in Z direction.
Wing lift (L) and tail (T) forces.
Airplane load factor.

3. Figure shows a large transport aircraft whose gross

weight is 100000 lb. The airplane pitching mass
moment of inertia Iy = 40,000,000 lb.sec2.in. The plane
is making a level landing with nose wheel slightly off
ground. The reaction on the rear wheel is 319,000 lb
inclined at such an angle to give a drag component of
100,000 lb and a vertical component of 300,000 lb.
Find:
The inertia forces on the airplane.
The resultant load on the pilot whose weight is 180 lb.
and whose location is as shown in Figure.