Materials

Lecture Topics
• Wood and fabric
• Metals
• Composites
• Other considerations

Reading
Sorry, not covered in book
 Early Airplanes
• Pre-1930’s most airplanes were
made with wood and fabric - organic
• Wood is strong, easy to work, and
plentiful
• Cotton fabric covered airframe and
shaped airfoil

Pre WWI & WWI

• Wire-Braced Wood
Frames / Fabric Covered
• Wood had to have very
straight grain
• Wood can rot
• Properties of wood
pieces varied (no
manufacturing control)
 Post WWI
• Wire Braced Metallic
Space Frame with
Fabric Cover
• Steel tubing replaced
wood
• Welded joints are
critical
• Aluminum wasn’t strong
enough

Pre WWI & WWII

• Duralumin (invented in Germany - 1909)
started to be used
• More knowledge of materials allowed
engineers to create stronger yet non-brittle
metals

• Monocoque and stressed skin construction

 Failure Modes

buckling Yield Fracture

(ductile) (brittle)
 Alloys
• Alloys are mixtures of basic metals with
other elements

• Duraluminum = small parts of copper

and magnesium added to aluminum
• Steel = varying amounts of carbon in
iron

Aluminum Alloys
 Aircraft Metals
• Steel alloys: too heavy now but used
for landing gear
• Aluminum alloys: used for modern
aircraft
• Titanium alloys:
y g good for high
g
temperatures but very $$$

Composite Materials
• A material system composed of two or
more distinct constituents that are
mechanically combined to possess
unique and desired properties
Can you name any?
 Examples:
• Natural Wood (fibrocellulosic in lignin)

• Plywood (lignin fibers/ phenolic)

• Fiberglass (glass fiber/ polyester)

• Carbon fiber or Kevlar fiber/ epoxy

Why Composites ?
High strength-to-density ratio
High modulus-to-density ratio
 Advantages of Composites

Strength per Stiffness per

unit mass unit mass

Advantages of Composites
• Composites last longer – less fatigue
 Advantages of Composites
• Less Thermal Expansion

Advantages of Composites
• Performance improvements (lower weight)
– Lower D.O.C.’s (incl. fuel savings)
– More cargo revenue
• Reduced maintenance
– Large reduction in fatigue and corrosion
maintenance
• Potential manufacturing cost reduction
– Better material usage
– Reduced assembly/ part count
• Increased Design freedom
– Tailored to a specific application
– Complex shapes can be manufactured
 Disadvantages of Composites
• Difficult to predict strength
• Less knowledge of material forces
“overbuilding” which negates weight
advantage
• Engineers are still learning about fatigue
properties
p p of composites
p
• Environmental Sensitivity (Temp., UV,
Lightning)
• Cost

Composite Materials
• Fiber reinforced composite materials
consist of fibers & matrix
– M
Matrix
t i (glue)
( l ) – provides
id lloadd ttransfer
f
between fibers, support & protection

– Fiber – provides the strength and stiffness

 Aerospace Composite Materials
• Fibers:
– Aramid (Kevlar™)
– Glass (E, S,…)
– Carbon (Graphite)
– ….
• Matrix:
– Polyester
y Fiberglass
– Epoxy Carbon Fiber

– …. Aramid

Why Thin Fibers?

• Smaller diameter has fewer number of internal flaws
• More bonding surface area
• Molecular alignment
• More flexibility
strength
 Composites Applications

Composites in Airplanes
• Plywood – WWII
y
• Polymer matrix composites
p
– Graphite/Epoxy

– Aramid/Epoxy

– Fiberglass
The de Haviland Mosquito with
• Metal matrix composites Balsa plywood skin (1940)

• Ceramic matrix composites

 Aerospace Applications
• Military aircraft

Aerospace Applications
• General aviation: Complete composite fuselages

Raytheon Premier I Raytheon Horizon

AASI Jetcruzer 500

Visionaire Corp. VA10 (Vantage)

 Aerospace Applications
• Transports

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

 Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Summary
• Early materials – “organic”
– Wood
– Cotton
• Metals
– Steel
– Aluminum & Titanium alloys
• Composites
– Fiberglass
– Carbon
– Kevlar,
– Plywood