AIRCRAFT CONSTRUCTION

MAJOR STRUCTURAL STRESSES IN AN AIRCRFAT

Aircraft Structure
The airframe of a fixed-wing aircraft consists of the following A rotary-wing aircraft consists of the following four major units:
five major units:

1. Fuselage 1. Fuselage
2. Wings 2. Landing gear
3. Stabilizers 3. Main rotor assembly
4. Flight controls surfaces 4. Tail rotor assembly
5. Landing gear
Fuselage Structure
• There are two general types of fuselage construction
i. welded steel truss
ii. monocoque designs

• The welded steel truss was used in smaller Navy aircraft, and it is still being used in some
helicopters. A fuselage design made up of supporting structural members that resist deformation
by applied loads.

• The monocoque design relies largely on the strength of the skin, or covering, to carry various
loads. The monocoque design may be divided into three classes—monocoque, semi monocoque,
and reinforced shell
 TRUSS
• A truss is a rigid framework made up of members, such as
beams, struts, and bars to resist deformation by applied
loads.
• The truss-framed fuselage is generally covered with
fabric.
• The truss-type fuselage frame is usually constructed of
steel tubing welded together in such a manner that all
members of the truss can carry both tension and
compression loads.
• There are two types of tubular-truss construction, known
as the PRATT TRUSS and the WARREN TRUSS. In both
cases the structure is built up around longerons which
provide the main strength to resist Torsional and Bending
loads WARREN TRUSS
Pratt Truss VS Warren Truss

Pratt Truss Warren Truss

• Great weight • Longerons + only diagonal
• Difficult to stream line members
• Box with tubular longerons + • Carry both Tension +
vertical member compression
• Reduced web works
• More space, Strength and
rigidity
• Better stream line
 MONOCOQUE

• The true monocoque construction uses formers,

frame assemblies, and bulkheads to give shape to
the fuselage.
• A former is a partial frame, shaped like an arc rather
than a circle. and bulkhead could mean a heavy
frame.
• The skin carries the primary stresses. Since no
bracing members are present, the skin must be
strong enough to keep the fuselage rigid.
• The biggest problem in monocoque construction is
maintaining enough strength while keeping the
weight within limits
 SEMI MONOCOQUE
• Semi monocoque design overcomes the strength-to-weight
problem of monocoque construction.
• As seen in figure, In addition to having formers, frame assemblies,
and bulkheads, the semi monocoque construction has the skin
reinforced by longitudinal members.
• The longitudinal members are
 Longerons
 Stringer
• This is the preferred method of constructing an all aluminium
fuselage. First, a series of frames in the shape of the fuselage cross
sections are held in position on a rigid fixture, or jig.
• These frames are then joined with lightweight longitudinal
elements called stringers. These are in turn covered with a skin of
sheet aluminium, attached by riveting or by bonding with special
adhesives.
• Most modern large aircraft are built using this technique, but use
several large sections constructed in this fashion which are then
joined with fasteners to form the complete fuselage.
Stringer:
• stringers are attached to formers and run in the longitudinal
direction of the aircraft.
• They are primarily responsible for transferring the aerodynamic
loads acting on the skin onto the formers/ Frame.
• On large modern aircraft the stringer system is more common
because it is more weight-efficient, despite being more complex
to construct and analyse
• Stringers often are not attached to anything but the skin, where
they carry a portion of the fuselage bending moment through
axial loading

Longerons:
• If the longitudinal members in a fuselage are few in number
(usually 4 to 8) and run all along the fuselage length, then they
are called "longerons".
• Longerons often carry larger loads than stringers and also help
to transfer skin loads to internal structure.
• Longerons nearly always attach to frames or ribs.
 Wing Constructions
• The wings of an aircraft are designed to lift into the air. Its design depends on a number of factors, such as size, weight,
use of the aircraft, desired speed in flight and at landing and desired rate of climb.

• Often wings are of full cantilever design. This means they are built so that no external bracing is needed. They are
supported internally by structural members assisted by the skin of the aircraft.

• Other aircraft wings use external struts or wires to assist in supporting the wing and carrying the aerodynamic and
landing loads.
WING CONSTRUCTION
• The internal structures of most wings are
made up of spars and stringers running
spanwise and ribs running chordwise
(leading edge to trailing edge).
• The spars are the principle structural
members of a wing. They support all
distributed loads, as well as concentrated
weights such as the fuselage, landing gear
and engines.
• Aluminum is the most commonly used to
construct wings. Magnesium alloy and
wood covered with fabric also used.
Modern aircraft are tending toward lighter
and stronger materials like carbon fiber
composite materials, i.e., maximum
strength to weight performance.
WING CONSTRUCTION
Wing Spars
• Spars are the principal structural members of the wing. They
correspond to the longerons of the fuselage.

• They run parallel to the lateral axis of the aircraft, from the
fuselage toward the tip of the wing, and are usually attached to
the fuselage by wing fittings, plain beams, or a truss.

• Spars may be made of metal, wood, or composite materials

depending on the design criteria of a specific aircraft

• In general, wing construction is based on one of these:

• Monospar
• Multispar
• Box beam
• The monospar wing incorporates only one main spanwise or
longitudinal member in its construction. Ribs or bulkheads
supply the necessary contour or shape to the airfoil.
Although the strict monospar wing is not common, this type
of design modified by the addition of false spars or light
shear webs along the trailing edge for support of control
surfaces is sometimes used.

• The multispar wing incorporates more than one main

longitudinal member in its construction. To give the wing
contour, ribs or bulkheads are often included.

• The box beam type of wing construction uses two main

longitudinal members with connecting bulkheads to furnish
additional strength and to give contour to the wing. A
corrugated sheet may be placed between the bulkheads and
the smooth outer skin so that the wing can better carry
tension and compression loads.

Box beam Wing

Construction
 Wing Skin
• The skin, which is attached to the wing
structure, carries part of the loads imposed
during flight. It also transfers the stresses to
the wing ribs. The ribs, in turn, transfer the
loads to the wing spars.
• Often, the skin on a wing is designed to
carry part of the flight and ground loads
in combination with the spars and ribs. The skin is an integral load carrying member of a
stressed skin construction
This is known as a stressed-skin design.
 Wing Ribs

• Ribs are the structural crosspieces

that combine with spars and stringers
to make up the framework of the wing.
• They usually extend from the wing
leading edge to the rear spar or to the
trailing edge of the wing.
• The ribs give the wing its cambered
shape and transmit the load from the
skin and stringers to the spars.
• Similar ribs are also used in ailerons,
elevators, rudders, and stabilizers.
AIRCRAFT MATERIALS
Evolution of materials
1903-Aluminum engine block, Spruce & steel wire structure, Fabric
skin
1907- Plastic
1915- All metal airplane (Steel tubing, Sheet iron skin)
1916- Stressed skin construction
1930- Increased Aluminum use
1931- Stainless steel construction
1936- Plastics
1942- Glass fiber composites
1940-50 -Super alloys
1950-63 –Titanium
1969- Carbon fiber composites
1970- Boron fiber composites
1981- Ceramics
1998- Aluminum-Lithium
2005- GLARE fiber metal laminate
2009- Large scale composite use(Boeing 787 Dreamliner)
Future- Intelligent materials or smart materials,
Nanotechnology
Classification
• An aircraft must be constructed of materials that are both light and
strong.
• Early aircraft were made of wood.
• Lightweight metal alloys with a strength greater than wood were
developed and used on later aircraft.
• Materials currently used in aircraft construction are classified as either
metallic materials or nonmetallic materials.
METALLIC MATERIALS

• The most common metals used in aircraft construction are aluminum,

magnesium, titanium, steel, and their alloys.
• An alloy is composed of two or more metals. The metal present in the
alloy in the largest amount is called the base metal.
• All other metals added to the base metal are called alloying elements.
• Adding the alloying elements may result in a change in the properties
of the base metal.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

• For example, pure aluminum is relatively soft and weak. However,

adding small amounts of copper, manganese, and magnesium will
increase aluminum's strength many times.
• Heat treatment can increase or decrease an alloy's strength and
hardness.
• Alloys are important to the aircraft industry.
• They provide materials with properties that pure metals do not
possess.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Aluminum:
• Aluminum alloys are widely used in modern aircraft construction.
• Aluminum alloys are valuable because they have a high strength-to-
weight ratio.
• Aluminum alloys are corrosion resistant and comparatively easy to
fabricate.
• The outstanding characteristic of aluminum is its lightweight.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Magnesium:
• Magnesium is the world's lightest structural metal.
• It is a silvery-white material that weighs two-thirds as much as
aluminum.
• Magnesium is used to make helicopters.
• Magnesium's low resistance to corrosion has limited its use in
conventional aircraft.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Titanium:
• Titanium is a lightweight, strong, corrosion resistant metal.
• Recent developments make titanium ideal for applications where
aluminum alloys are too weak and stainless steel is too heavy.
• Additionally, titanium is unaffected by long exposure to seawater and
marine atmosphere.
• Ti alloys are used in the early stages of compressor.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)
Steel Alloys :
• Alloy steels used in aircraft construction have great strength.
• These materials must withstand the forces that occur on today's
modern aircraft.
• These steels contain small percentages of carbon, nickel, chromium,
vanadium, and molybdenum.
• High-tensile steels will stand stress of 772 to 2316 MPa without
failing. Such steels are made into tubes, rods, and wires.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Steel:
• Its high specific gravity prevents its widespread use in aircraft construction.
• Due high tensile strengths, high stiffness and high resistance to wear it
retained some value as a material for castings for small components include
undercarriage pivot brackets, wing-root attachments, fasteners and tracks.
• Steel in its stainless form has found applications primarily in the
construction of super- and hypersonic experimental and research aircraft.
• Stainless steel resists corrosion and is particularly valuable for use in or near
water.
METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Maraging Steels:
• Composition:(17-19% Ni, 8-9% Co,3-3.5%Mo, 0.15-0.25%Ti)
• Carbon is either eliminated entirely or present only in very small
amounts.
• Advantages: higher fracture toughness and notched strength, simpler
heat treatment, simpler to weld, easy machinability and better
resistance to stress corrosion.
• Used in aircraft arrester hooks, rocket motor cases, helicopter
undercarriages, gears, ejector seats and various structural forgings.
NON-METALLIC MATERIALS
Transparent Plastic
• Transparent plastic is used in canopies, windshields, and other
transparent enclosures.
• One need to handle transparent plastic surfaces carefully because they
are relatively soft and scratch easily.
• At approximately 225°F, transparent plastic becomes soft and pliable.
NON-METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Reinforced Plastic
• Reinforced plastic is used in the construction of radomes, wingtips,
stabilizer tips, antenna covers, and flight controls.
• Reinforced plastic has a high strength-to-weight ratio and is resistant
to mildew and rot.
• Because it is easy to fabricate, it is equally suitable for other parts of
the aircraft.
NON-METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

• Reinforced plastic is a sandwich-type material. It is made up of two

outer facings and a center layer.
• The facings are made up of several layers of glass cloth, bonded
together with a liquid resin.
• The core material (center layer) consists of a honeycomb structure
• Reinforced plastic is fabricated into a variety of cell sizes.
NON-METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)
NON-METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)

Composite Materials:
• High-performance aircraft require an extra high strength-to-weight ratio
material.
• Fabrication of composite materials satisfies this special requirement.
• Composite materials are constructed by using several layers of bonding
materials.
• These materials are mechanically fastened to conventional substructures.
(Glass, Carbon, Aramid, (Polyester, Epoxy, Vinyl
Basalt, Natural fibers) Ester, Others)
NON-METALLIC MATERIALS (Contd…)
• Composite materials consist of strong fibers such as glass or carbon set
in a matrix of plastic or epoxy resin, which is mechanically and
chemically protective.
• The fibers may be continuous or discontinuous but possess a strength
very much greater than that of the same bulk materials.
• Glass fiber composites are used for radomes and helicopter blades.
• Carbon fiber composites are used for engine components which are
subjected to high temperatures.
• Kevlar fiber composites are used for secondary structures.
PROPULSION
 WHAT IS PROPULSION

• PRO –Before OR Forward

• PELLERE –To push or pull an object

• PROPULSION –To push or pull an object forward

 TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES

Propulsion
Engines

Non Air Breathing

Air Breathing
(Rocket)
Propulsion
Propulsion
No atmospheric air is
Engines using atmospheric used. They use the fuel
air for combustion. and oxidizer carried
within the aircraft / rocket
itself.
 CLASSIFICATION OF AIRCRAFT ENGINES

Air Breathing Engines Non-air breathing Hybrid Engines

Engines
Piston-Prop Liquid Rockets Ducted Rockets

Turbojet Solid Rockets Integral Ram-Rockets

Turbo-Prop Hybrid Rockets Air-turbo Rockets

Turbo fan

Pulse Jet

Ram Jet

Scram Jet
PISTON ENGINE – PROPELLER COMBINATION
Piston engine are of two types

• Two Stroke Engine

• Four Stroke Engine
 FOUR STROKE ENGINE

The four-stroke engine is the most common types of internal combustion engines and is
used in various automobiles (that specifically use gasoline as fuel) like cars, trucks, and some
motorbikes
FOUR STROKE ENGINE
A four stroke engine has FOUR STROKES in one cycle.
1. Intake Stroke –
2. Compression Stroke
3. Power Stroke
4. Exhaust Stroke
STROKES OF FOUR STROKE ENGINE

1. Intake Stroke 2. Compression Stroke 3. Combustion Stroke 4. Exhaust Stroke

Air-Fuel mixture enters The Air-Fuel mixture Spark plug fires the Air- The burnt gases are
the cylinder as the gets compressed in the Fuel mixture. The mixture pushed out of the engine
piston moves down cylinder as the piston gets burnt and the high as the piston moves up
moves up pressure gases pushes
the piston down, thereby
producing power.
• A four stroke engine delivers one power stroke for every two cycles of the piston (or four piston
strokes).

1. Intake stroke: The piston moves downward to the bottom, this increases the volume to allow a fuel-air
mixture to enter the chamber.
2. Compression stroke: The intake valve is closed, and the piston moves up the chamber to the top. This
compresses the fuel-air mixture. At the end of this stroke, a spark plug provides the compressed fuel with
the activation energy required to begin combustion.
3. Power Stroke: As the fuel reaches the end of it’s combustion, the heat released from combusting
hydrocarbons increases the pressure which causes the gas to push down on the piston and create the
power output.
4. Exhaust stroke: As the piston reaches the bottom, the exhaust valve opens. The remaining exhaust
gas is pushed out by the piston as it moves back upwards.
 PISTON PROP ENGINES

• Piston engine drives a propeller.

• Propeller pushes a large amount of air rearwards, thus

accelerating it in the process

• This acceleration of the fluid produces a thrust which

moves the aircraft forward.
PISTON PROP AIRCRAFT
• The cross-section of a propeller is an airfoil section as shown in the figure

• The mechanism by which a propeller blade produces Thrust is similar to that of an airplane wing producing
Lift
PISTON PROP ENGINES used extensively as an aircraft powerplant for

- low altitudes
- low subsonic speeds and
- light weight aircraft.
GAS TURBINE ENGINES
 SIMPLE GAS TURBINE ENGINE CYCLE

A gas turbine engine works on the principle of Brayton Cycle

 TYPES OF GAS TURBINE ENGINES

• Turbojet engine
• Turbofan engine
• Turbo prop
• Turboshaft engine
TURBO JET
 PRINCIPLE OF JET PROPULSION

HERO’S ENGINE GARDEN SPRINKLER

• Working of jet propulsion is based on Newton’s third law

• A high speed jet of fluid releasing from an object (Action) will push the object in the
opposite direction (Reaction)
 TURBOJET ENGINE

Forward
Thrust

Hot gas exhaust at

very high speed
 TURBOJET ENGINE

• Simply put, jet engines have a core which is split into three main sections:
• Compressor - at the front of the engine are fan blades, some rotating (rotors) and some static (stators),
which draw air into the engine. There are many rows of blades and as the air passes by each row it
becomes more pressurized and the temperature increases.
• Combustion chamber - this pressurized air is then sprayed with fuel (most commonly Jet A or Jet A-1
which are of kerosene-type) and then an electric spark ignites the fuel and air mixture in the chamber.
This causes the air/fuel mixture to burn, massively increasing pressure and temperature.
• Turbines - the hot pressurized gas is drawn out of the engine by a turbine at the rear which takes energy
out of the gas and causes a drop in pressure and temperature. As the pressure decreases, the gas flows
faster (think about letting go of an inflated balloon). The energy from the gas that drives the turbine at
the rear is what powers the rotation of the compressor which draws in air at the front.
 TURBOJET ENGINE

• The high-velocity gases being released through the nozzle at the rear is what causes the
thrust.
• To understand this we refer to Newton's Third Law of Motion: for every action, there is an
equal and opposite reaction. As the gas rushes out of the back an equal and opposite
force is exerted forward.
• It derives its thrust by highly accelerating a small mass of air by expanding the gases
through the nozzle
• The turbine is designed to extract only enough power from the hot gases to drive the
compressor
• Rest is converted into kinetic energy of the exhaust to produce thrust.
Used extensively as an aircraft powerplant for

- Medium/high altitudes
- High subsonic and supersonic speeds
- Fighter aircraft
TURBOFAN
Turbofan

 a propeller produces comparably low thrust with great efficiency. A turbojet

produces considerably higher thrust with less efficiency. A turbofan combines
the high Thrust of a turbojet and the high efficiency of a propeller.

• Turbofan engine - a large multiblade fan driven by a turbojet core-which is

designed to generate the thrust of a jet engine but with an efficiency that is more
reflective of propellers.
 TURBOFAN ENGINES
• The fan, which almost always is made of titanium blades, sucks in tremendous quantities of
air into the engine.
• The air moves through two parts of the engine.
• Some of the air is directed into the engine's core, where the combustion will occur.
• The rest of the air, called "bypass air", is moved around the outside of the engine core
through a duct.
• This bypass air creates additional thrust, cools the engine, and makes the engine quieter by
blanketing the exhaust air that's exiting the engine.

• In today's modern turbofans, bypass air produces the majority of an engine's thrust.
TURBOFAN
TURBOFAN

Used extensively as an aircraft powerplant for

- Medium / high altitudes

- High subsonic and supersonic speeds
- Commercial and Fighter aircraft
TURBO PROP ENGINES
 TURBOPROP ENGINES
• This is basically a gas turbine engine with an additional component called propeller.

• The propeller pushes a large mass of air behind thus producing thrust
• TURBOPROP ENGINE TYPES
 fixed shaft/ constant speed
 split shaft/ free turbine engine

• Used extensively as an aircraft powerplant for

- Medium altitudes

-Mid to High subsonic speeds

TURBO PROP ENGINE
 FIXED SHAFT TYPE
• One type of turboprop engine is the fixed
shaft constant speed type such as the
Garrett TPE331.
• In this type engine, ambient air is
directed to the compressor section
through the engine inlet.
• An acceleration/diffusion process in the
two- stage compressor increases air
pressure and directs it rearward to a
combustor.
• The combustor is made up of a
combustion chamber, a transition liner,
and a turbine plenum. Atomized fuel is
added to the air in the combustion
chamber.
• Air also surrounds the combustion
chamber to provide for cooling and
insulation of the combustor.
TURBO SHAFT ENGINES
 Turboshaft Engine
• Low weight, small size and large
power output
• Turboshaft engines are primarily
used on helicopters.
• The biggest difference between
turboshafts and turbojets is that
turboshaft engines use the majority
of their power to turn a turbine,
rather than produce thrust out the
back of the engine.
RAM jet & SCRAM jet

Engines
 RAM JET ENGINES
• It is a jet engine with no major rotating parts
• These make use of the ram effect of air at high velocities
• Because of special contours of intake area, kinetic energy of high velocity air
stream is converted into static pressure energy thus increasing the pressure of
the air
• Require high initial velocity to obtain ram effect & are unsuitable for aircraft
applications
• Used in missiles and target vehicles
RAM JET ENGINE
 SCRAM JET ENGINE
SCRAM Jet - Supersonic Combustion RAM Jet
the high-speed forward motion is used to compress
the air (no compressor), but it is an improvement
over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at
hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic
combustion.

Speed is greater than 6 Mach (Six times the speed of

Sound).