Aircraft Structures Summary - Aerostudents（总结Aerostudents飞机结构）.pdf

Aircraft Structures Summary 1 Introduction When designing an aircraft, it’s all about finding the optimal proportion of the weight of the vehicle and payload. It needs to be strong and stiff enough to withstand the exceptional circumstances in which it has to operate. Durability is an important factor. Also, if a part fails, it doesn’t necessarily result in failure of the whole aircraft. The main sections of an aircraft, the fuselage, tail and wing, determine its external shape. The load- bearing members of these main sections, those subjected to major forces, are called the airframe. The airframe is what remains if all equipment and systems are stripped away. Old aircrafts had skin made from impregnated linen that could hardly transmit any force at all. In most modern aircrafts, the skin plays an important role in carrying loads. Sheet metals can usually only support tension. But if the sheet is folded, it suddenly does have the ability to carry compressive loads. Stiffeners are used for that. A section of skin, combined with stiffeners, called stringers, is termed a thin-walled structure. A very good way of using sheet metal skin is in a thin-walled cylinder, called a monocoque structure. A cylinder with holes, for doors and such, is called a semi-monocoque structure. An extruded stiffener is manufactured by squeezing hot, viscous material through an opening of a certain shape. It can usually be recognized by the fact that the thickness is not consistent, especially in the corners. This is relatively expensive, compared to stiffeners made from sheet metal. From sheet metal it is not possible to make complicated stiffeners. Thin sheet metal can be rolled or drawn. Usually stiffeners are attached to the skin. In an integral structure, the skin and stiffeners have been manufactured from one