Aircraft Structure

By Spencer Staat
Outline
History
Metal Fatigue
Deformation
Materials for Aircraft Construction
Structural Members
Fuselage Construction
Stress Skinned
World War I
Up through WWI aircraft were built with truss-type
structures.
Struts made of spruce and bamboo
Piano wires held the struts together
World War I
Major Breakthroughs:
Welded thin-wall steel tubing for fuselage truss instead
of wood = higher strength and less bracing with wires.
Stress Skinned construction were all loads are carried by
the skin itself.
Metal Fatigue

Created by the flexing of the aircraft structure during

pressurization and depressurization.
Strength can be the major principle requirement in
certain structures.
Deformation
When an aircraft pulls Gs the metal surface of the
airplane can ripple
Non-Permanent Deformation
The deformation disappears when the load is removed
Permanent Deformation
The metal is no longer elastic and will no longer retract
to its original shape.
The aircraft has been overstressed and is no longer
airworthy
Materials for Aircraft Construction

Wood
Aluminum Alloy
Honeycomb
Magnesium
Stainless Steel
Wood Structures
Solid, used for beam and spars
Spruce was preferred
Bamboo was often used because of its strength.
Aluminum Alloy
Stronger than pure
aluminum
High strength to weight
ratio
Only weakness:
Because its not pure
aluminum it can be
susceptible to
corrosion
Honeycomb
Provides strength and rigidity
Light weight compared to
aluminum
Core of metal, paper or fiberglass
formed in a cellular structure
Has face sheets of fiberglass of
aluminum alloy bonded to either
side
Magnesium
Pros
Weighs only about 65% as much as aluminum
Used for control surfaces, wheels and engine
components, and airframe systems
Cons
Really brittle and subject to cracking
Highly susceptible to corrosion when cracked due to
vibration
Structural Members
Stringers, Longerons,
Ribs,Bulkheads

Usually found in
semi-monoqocue

All designed to carry a

load or to resist stress
Fuselage Construction

Truss Fuselage
Pratt Truss
Warren Truss
Stress Skinned
Monoqocue
Semi- monoqocue
Truss Fuselage
Pratt Truss
A form of construction in which a number of members
are joined to form a rigid structure
Struts carried compressive loads and strays carry only
tensile loads
Truss Fuselage
Warren Truss
Welded steel tubing longerons are separated by diagonal
members
Both longerons and diagonal members can carry both
compressive and tensile loads
Truss Fuselage
Both Pratt and Warren had a smooth aerodynamic
shape and was covered with cloth fabric
Stress Skinned
All loads are carried by the skin itself
Vega by Lockheed Aircraft Company
Stress Skinned
Monocoque
Virtually no internal framework
Any small dent can ruin the structural integrity
Example: Aluminum Pepsi Beverage
Stress Skinned
Semi-Monocoque
An internal arrangement of formers and stringers is
used to provide additional rigidity and strength to the
skin
Coque: French word for eggshell and also the word
meaning hull (of boats)
Mono: French word implies all in one piece or intregral
Stress Skinned
Semi-Monocoque
Summary
History
Metal Fatigue
Deformation
Materials for Aircraft Construction
Structural Members
Fuselage Construction
Stress Skinned
Questions???
Bibliography

Understanding Aircraft Structures. Great Britain:

Granada LTD, 1981. Print.
Aircraft Structures. USA: Mcgraw-Hill Inc., 1982. Print.
Aircraft Systems For Pilots. Englewood: Jeppesen
Sanderson, Inc., 1996. Print.