Aerospace Structural Mechanics

P. J. Guruprasad
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai
Mumbai 400076
[Link]
 What is a structure?
Structure
The arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of
something complex – Oxford dictionay
Use of a structure
Maintain geometrical (not to mention ergonomical...) integrity under the
action of loads impressed to ensure the efficient performance of a
system it is part of
Typical aircraft structural parts
Typical Wing configurations
Typical Wing attach points and
dihedral angle
Typical wing sub-structures
 Role of wing sub-structures
Ribs:
a. Maintain the cross-sectional shape of the wing for all combination of loads
b. Along with skin, resist the distributed aerodynamic loading
c. Distribute concentrated loads (e.g. undercarriage and additional wing store loads)
into the structure and redistribute stress around discontinuities
d. Provide end restraints and consequently increase column buckling stress of the
longitudinal stiffners by establishing their column length
e. Increase plate buckling stress of skin panels
In general, light rib structure sufficient near wing tip as compared to rugged structure
closer to the wing root
Why is it sufficient to have light rib structure near wing tip compared to wing
root?
 Role of wing sub-structures
Skin:
a. Form an impermeable surface for supporting the aerodynamic
pressure distribution from which the lifting capability of the wing is
derived.
b. Provide resistance to shear and torsional loads (typically along with
spar webs)
c. Provide axial and bending resistance (typically along with stringers)
In general, aerodynamic forces are transmitted to the ribs and stringers
by the skin through plate and membrane action..
 Role of wing sub-stuctures
Stringers:
a. They are attachedto skin and ribs therby dividing skin into small panles and
increasing its buckling and failing stress
b. They rely on rib attachments for preventing column action in the normal
direction
c. Combined with skin, they resist axial and bending loads
Spar webs:
a. Develop shear stress to resist shear and torsional loads
b. Help in stabilizing, with the skin, spar flanges or caps which are therefore
capable of supporting large compressive loads from axial and bending effects
c. Exert a stabilizing influence on the skin in a similar manner to the stringers
Fuselage
 Axial Member

Axial members are employed to support loads
applied, as the name would imply, in the axial
direction.

Recall, σ = Eε
Where,
σ is the resulting uniaxial stress from the load
specified above
E is the young’s modulus and
ε is the normal strain in the loading direction and
F = Aσ = Eaε where
F is the total axial force and
ε is the cross sectional area
EA is termed axial stiffness and is independent of
the shape of the cross-section, rather
determined by Young’s modulus and the cross-
sectional area as illustrated in the figure.
 Axail member continued...

A large value of E corresponds to high stiffness. For ductile and brittle
materials a typical stress vs. strain curve is shown below.

Ductile materials yield and undergo plastic deformation. There is no
plastic regime in brittle materials.

Ductile Material Brittle Material

 Shear Panel

These are thin sheets of material
that carries in-plane shear loads.
The following formula can be used
to describe the shear force in the
x-direction, Vx for a shear panel
under constant shear stress τ as
illustrated in figure.
Vx = τ t a = Gγta
Where,
G is shear modulus,
γ is shear strain and
t is thickness.
 Shear Panel continued...
Similarly, curved plates may have their shear
stress loads decomposed into V x and V y as
follows
Vx = τta
Vy = τtb
and therefore the resultant force components
have the following relationship
V x/Vy = a/b

Due to the ratio of geometric value in the x/y

directions and the corresponding shear
stresses, a flat plate is the most efficient in
providing shear force per unit of material
 Bending member

Maximum bending bσ
moment and bending
stress occur at the root
of the cantilever beam
M max ( h / 2 ) VL ( h / 2 ) 6 VL tw σ τ
σ max= = 3
= 2
I bh /12 bh

Transverse shear
stress distribution is
parabolic over the Bending force Transverse
beam depth with shear stress
maximum value
occuring at the neutral σ max 4L
=
plane τ max h

3 V Bending stress plays a more dominant role than

τ max= transverse shear stress if span to depth ratio is
2 bh
large – as in wing structure
 Torsion member

Torque induced shear stress is linearly
distributed along the radial direction.
The torque is related to the twist angle
per unit lenght as
T=GJθ
where, GJ is the torsional stiffness and for
hollow cylidners 0.1 cm
1 4 4 1 2 2
J= π ( b −a ) = π ( b−a )( b+a ) ( b +a )
2 2

Assuming the wall thickness is small
compared with the inner radius, we get 5 cm
an approximate expression of J as
3
J ≈2 tπ r 2 cm

where, r =( a+b ) / 2 
Thin-walled tubewould be more efficient for
torques than a solid cylinderor thick-walled
cylinder.

Above figure shows sections having same
material but stiffness of thin-walled cylinder
is almost 50 times that of the solid cylinder
 Material Performance Index
Strength Young’s Density Strength Stiffness Buckling
(MPa) Modulu (kg/m3) Index Index Index
s (GPa) (10 m /s (103 m/s)
3 2 2)
(m8/
(kg2s2)
Aluminum 620 73 2700 230 5.2 3.7

Titanium 1900 115 4700 405 4.9 1.1

Steel 4100 210 7700 530 5.2 0.46

 Problems

The beam of a rectangular thin-walled section (note: t is very small) is
designed to carry both bending moment M and torque T. If the total
wall contour length L = 2(a+b) is fixed, find the optimum b/a ratio to
achieve the most efficient section if M = T and σ allowable=2 τ allowable
Note that for closed thin-walled sections such as the one considered
here, the shear stress due to torsion is τ= T
2 abt

a
 Problems
The beam of a rectangular thin-walled section (note: t is very small) is
designed to carry both bending moment M and torque T. If the total
wall contour length L = 2(a+b) is fixed, find the optimum b/a ratio to
achieve the most efficient section if M = cT and σ allowable=2 τ allowable
where, c varies from 0 to infinity. Note that for closed thin-walled
sections such as the one considered here, the shear stress due to
torsion is τ= T
2 abt

a
 Problems
 The dimensions of a steel (Es = 200GPa, density = 7.8 g/cm3) I-beam
are b = 50 mm, t = 5 mm, and h = 200 mm. Assume that t and h are
to be fixed for an aluminum I-beam. Find the width b for the aluminum
(Ea = 71 Gpa, density = 2.78 g/cm3) beam so that its bending stiffness
EI is equal to that of the steel beam. Compare the weights-per-unit
length of these two beams. Which is more efficient weightwise?