AIRCRAFT

STRUCTURES II
FINAL MODULE
INSTRUCTOR: JHOEY BOY C. PANGAN
INTRODUCTION: AIRFRAME STRUCTURAL DESIGN
requirements have accordingly become more demanding. The steps from wood to
aluminum, and then to titanium and other efficient high strength materials has involved
some very extensive development activities and the application of a wide range of
disciplines. Structure weight and therefore the use of light materials has always been
important. When a modern full-loaded subsonic transport takes off, only about 20% of its
total weight is payload. Of the remaining 80%, roughly half is aircraft empty weight and the
other half is fuel. Hence, any saving of structural weight can lead to a corresponding
increase in payload. Alternatively, for a given payload, saving in aircraft weight means reduced
power requirements. Therefore, it is not surprising that the aircraft manufacturer is
prepared to invest heavily in weight reduction. Airframe designers still demand strong, stiff
materials at an acceptable weight and cost. Although significant parts of the airframe are
designed on stability considerations, i.e., buckling and therefore a high elastic modulus
rather than strength, but high static strength is always sought.
AIRBUS A350 XWB- 50% MADE UP OF COMPOSITES
CARBON FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC
The fact that all materials deteriorate in service has to be taken into account in design and
in scheduled maintenance over the expected life, typically 6000- 8000 hours for military
fighters and over 60,000 hours for transport aircraft. The designer, therefore, requires data
on time-dependent properties of materials prior to selection - not only strength and
endurance but fatigue crack propagation and fracture toughness, creep data for high speed
airframe aircraft materials, and information of resistance to corrosion and stress corrosion
cracking.Aluminum, steel and titanium will probably continue to be the principal materials
in airframe design for a while. All these materials, however, will have to be improved. Work
is being done to improve the ability of aluminum alloys to resist corrosion and fracture.
One of the alloys of major interest in current aluminum-lithium. Its improved properties are
based on its lower density. Other aluminum alloys, i.e., aluminum-iron-molybdenum-
zirconium, function well enough at high temperature to be competitive with titanium up to
near 600°F.
Another material that is having a major effect on aircraft design is the rapidly growing
percentage of parts made of composites such as graphite/epoxy materials (thermoset
resins). A new trend is toward thermoplastic composites that can be rendered malleable by
heat (temperature up to 700°F) and becomes strong and tough after cooling. One of its
strongest advantages over thermoset resins is its shorter fabrication cycle, because it does
not need a chemical cure and turn out to be cost saving. Composite materials will also be
necessary to evolve new structural design concepts to achieve the weight savings of 20 to
30 percent. New metallic alloys and composite materials give great promise for lighter
airframes with longer life and better fatigue resistance. Such weight savings will result in
greater payload for a given take-off weight, and hence greater fuel economy, and for combat
aircraft, better maneuverability. However, the acceptance of new materials, as always, will
depend on both the cost balance throughout the life of the aircraft and the development of
STRESS STRAIN DATA
The significant properties of material for structural design purposes are determined
experimentally. There is no successful theory for prediction of these properties, nor is
there any likely in the forseeable future. Too many factors in metallurgy, alloying, crystal
formation, heat-treatments, and environments, affect the deformation and fracture response
of a material to externally applied forces. Tension and compression coupon tests provide
the simplest fundamental information on material mechanical properties. Experimental data
is recorded on stress-strain curves which record the measured unit strains as a function of
the applied force per unit area. Data of importance for structural analysis is derived from
the stress-strain curve as shown in Fig. 4.1.1.
STRESS-STRAIN DATA
Elongation: Permanent strain at fracture in the direction of loading, e (%). Sometimes this
property is considered a measure of ductility or brittleness.

Fracture Strain: Maximum strain at fracture of the material.

Elastic Strain: Strains equal to or less than strain of the proportional limit stress.
Plastic Strain: Increment of strain beyond the elastic strain above the proportional limit.
MATERIAL SELECTION CRITERIA
Materials selection is quite frequently a compromise involving various considerations and
the more important considerations have historically been those associated with mechanical
properties. A list of selection criteria for materials are as follows:
Static strength efficiency
Fatigue
Fracture toughness and crack growth
Corrosion and embrittlement
Environmental stability
Other criteria equally important are the criteria associated with producing the basic
material in the forms required and fabricating the end product at a reasonable cost. These
criteria are as follows: 1. Availability and Producibility 2. Material costs 3. Fabrication
characteristics
All of the criteria listed above are important to the selection of structural materials. In
addition to these, the following are a few considerations that are more frequently related to
specialized requirements:
Erosion and abrasion
Wear characteristics
Compatibility with other materials
Thermal and electrical characteristics
Hard coating to improve wear resistance
Metallic plating to provide galvanic compatibility
STATIC STRENGTH EFFICIENCY

For structural applications, the initial evaluation of various materials is a comparison of

static strength efficiency that is a satisfactory means of measuring the material relative
strength. For certain applications the effect of temperature should be considered, i.e. the
lower strength of aluminum alloy 2024-T8 has better strength retention at elevated
temperature than 7075T6 alloy, and for this reason has been considered in Supersonic
high speed military aircraft applications. The material properties and material strength
efficiencies for several relatively familiar alloys are shown in Fig. 4.2.1.
 FATIGUE

The behavior of a materials under conditions of cyclic load can be evaluated as follows:
The conditions required to initiate a crack
The conditions required to propagate a crack
Fatigue crack initiation is normally associated with the endurance limit of a material,
FRACTURE TOUGHNESS AND CRACK GROWTH

The fracture toughness and crack growth characteristics of a material have become
increasingly important in the evaluation of high strength materials. Analytical techniques
involving the application of fracture mechanics and fracture toughness data have become in
dispensable tools for the design of fail-safe structure.
When a skin in structure containing a crack is subjected to arbitrary loading, the stress field
near the crack tip can be divided into three types each associated with a local mode of
deformation as shown in Fig. 4.2.2.
Fracture toughness may be defined as the ability of a part with a crack or defect to sustain
a load without catastrophic failure.
Crack growth characteristics of a material under cyclic stresses are a measure of its ability
to contain a crack and prevent it from rapidly attaining critical length.
CORROSION AND EMBRITTLEMENT
Corrosion and embrittlement associated phenomena have for some time exerted
considerable influence on the selection of materials. As strength levels of structural

phenomena has been reduced. Modifications to heat treatment have, in many instances,
been able to offer satisfactory compromises between strength and resistance to the
particular phenomenon involved.
The major corrosion related phenomena to be considered in selecting materials include the
following:
General surface corrosion
Aqueous stress corrosion cracking
Corrosion fatigue
GENERAL SURFACE CORROSION
General surface corrosion must be considered when selecting magnesium alloys, aluminum
alloys, and low-alloy steels. To remain in serviceable condition, magnesium alloys must rely
on surface treatments and protective coatings, which are at best only stop gap measures for
a metal as reactive as magnesium. For this reason, magnesium has been severely restricted
in military applications, and is limited to areas that are readily accessible for inspection in
commercial applications. Aluminum alloys are provided with relatively good resistance to
corrosion by combinations of aluminum cladding, surface conversion treatments (as
anodizing), and organic protective coatings. For low-alloy steels, cadmium plating, phosphate
type conversion coatings, and organic finishes are generally used to obtain the required
resistance to corrosion. Of the common airframe structural materials, only titanium alloys
with their excellent resistance to general surface corrosion can be used unprotected.
GENERAL SURFACE CORROSION
AQUEOUS STRESS CORROSION CRACKING
AQUEOUS STRESS CORROSION CRACKING

Aqueous Stress-corrosion cracking cracks most often originate at the surface exposed to
the process environment.
The resistance of an alloy to aqueous stress corrosion cracking is not necessarily
connected to the resistance to general surface corrosion. Almost all alloy even gold have
been found susceptible to stress corrosion. Aluminum Alloy are susceptible to stress
corrosion cracking (SCC) in varying degrees depending on composition, heat treat
condition, grain direction, stress level and nature of corroding environment. Cracks starts at
the surface and propagate slowly until fracture occurs. In general, the 7000-series alloys are
more susceptible to WC than the 2000-series alloys. Fig.4.2.7 shows the effect of grain
direction on resistance to SCC 7075 T6 extrusions.
ENVIRONMENTAL STABILITY

Environmental stability can be broadly defined as the ability of a material to retain its
original physical and mechanical properties after exposure to the operating environment,
particularly temperature and stress. In all alloy systems, there is an inherent tendency for
microstructural changes to occur at elevated temperatures. In all precipitation-hardened
alloys, exposure to temperatures equal to about 80 to 90 percent of the aging temperature
will result in progressive overaging and loss of strength. The micro-structural changes that
occur are diffusion rate controlled processes; they are dependent upon temperature, time
and stress; and in addition are reasonably predictable.
AVAILABILITY AND PRODUCIBILITY
Availability and producibility imply more than just being able to obtain material on a
commercial basis. The material must also be available in all forms required to fabricate the
structure. The forms required may include continuous sheet, large size plate, and close
tolerance extrusions. A structure could probably be fabricated with mill products that are
less than optimum with respect to overall size or dimensional tolerance. However, the
application may prove to be not cost effective. Once a material has been produced
commercially, lead time for material procurement must be considered for scheduling
purposes, but is rarely influential in the initial selection of a material. However, the
availability of a material in large quantities will depend on production capability and
industry-wide demand. These affect material cost, which frequently influences material
selection.
MATERIAL COST AND FABRICATION
CHARACTERISTICS
Decisions involving the use of material in aircraft will frequently be based on whether or
not it will be cost-effective in the intended application. Raw material and manufacturing
costs will therefore be important considerations. The basic method used to analyze the
manufacturing costs involves the application of the selected material-to-aluminum
complexity factor to aluminum parameters. This complexity factor relates the fabrication
characteristics of the material to those of aluminum, and is expressed in terms of relative
effort required to perform a given manufacturing operation.
ALUMINUM ALLOYS

In commerical aviation and military transport aircraft where aluminum material counts for
about 80% of the structural materials used, that material and its cost become major
economic problems. Aluminum 2014 (aluminum-copper-magnesium alloy) has been used
since 1920 on aircraft structures. In the 1940s the demand for more tensile strength led to
the introduction of the 7000 series alloys (Al-Zn-Mg-Cu), but the problems of stress
corrosion cracking and low fatigue resistance soon become apparent.
Stress corrosion remained a problem until 1960 when the introduction of the T73 double
ageing treatment produced a dramatic improvement. But the treatment reduced the tensile
strength by about 10% and the additional development work was on to regain strength
while retaining satisfactory stress corrosion resistance. In the early 1970s it resulted in the
appearance of 7050 and 7010 with an improved balance of properties. The problems of
fatigue became prominent since the 1950s and metallurgists have been less successful in
developing fatigue resistant alloys. One of them is 2024-T3 and it still remains the yardstick
for good fatigue resistance. The fatigue failure of aircraft wing spars caused several accidents
in the early 1950s and the 7000 series alloys were in part to blame in that it had offered
the designer higher tensile strength but no commensurate improvement in fatigue strength.
By the late 1950s the safe-life design philosophy was giving way to fail-safe design since
material growing cracks could be more safely monitored in service, following a much
improved understanding of crack behavior. Crack stoppers could be designed in - but
usually with weight penalties - so the demand was increasing for 7000 series strength with
2024-T3 levels of fatigue crack growth resistance and toughness.
The demand for improved toughness reflects another deficiency in the 7000 series alloys. By
using higher purity alloys much has been achieved and the 7075 and 7010 alloys have appreciably
better strength in the presence of cracks than its predecessors. Recently, the premier new alloys,
perhaps the most important aluminum material development are aluminum-lithium alloys which
is about 10% lighter than conventional aluminum alloys, and about 10% stiffer. Substitution of
aluminum-lithium for conventional alloys in an existing aircraft design would reduce weight by 8
to lo%, and about 15% weight reduction could be achieved for new design. Primarily because of
its superior fatigue performance, the high cost of lithium material, safety precautions in casting,
the need for scrap segregation and handling, and closer control of processing parameters all
continue to increase product costs more than three times above those of conventional
aluminum alloys. But the advantage of using this material is that the manufacturers can use
existing machinery and equipment to work and workers do not need special training. Other
recently developed aluminum alloys can provide outstanding combination of strength, fracture
toughness, fatigue resistance, and corrosion resistance for aircraft components. The basis for
these alloy systems, called wrought PM alloys, is the rapid-solidification process. The
commercially available wrought PM aluminum alloys are 7090 and 7091. See Fig. 4.3.1 for the
material grain comparison between 7050 and 7091
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Today, the structural designer no longer chooses a material solely on the basis of its
strength qualities, but on its proven ability to withstand minor damage in service without
endangering the safety of the aircraft. The residual strength after damage, described as the

Damage caused by fatigue is the main worry because it is difficult to detect and can
disastrously weaken the strength of critical components. For pressurized cabins and lower
wing skins - two areas particularly prone to fatigue through the long continued application
and relaxation of tension stresses - the standard material (for commercial transports, the
entire fuselages of which are pressurized) is an aluminum alloy designated 2024-T3. For
upper wing skins, which have to withstand mainly compression stresses as the wing flexes
upwards during flight, 7075T6 (with zinc and chromium introduced) is used. This alloy is
also used extensively for military aircraft structures, which generally have stiffer wings and -
except for the cockpit area - unpressurized fuselage.
TITANIUM
The use of titanium as a commercial material goes back only to about 1950. Offsetting its industrially
attractive properties is an extreme chemical reactivity, and there were considerable difficulties to be
overcome in refining the metal from its ore and forming it into forging or castings. These problems delayed
its introduction until the demands of aviation bulldozed them aside. engineering, among them Ti-6Al-4V, and
Ti-4Al 4Mo-2Sn-0.5Si. Ti-6Al-4V was developed in 1956 in America and is now probably the most widely
used titanium alloy. Ti-4Al-4Mo-2Sn-O.SSi is a more specialized alloy developed in Britain and is little used
elsewhere. The first large-scale airborne application of titanium was the Lockheed SR71 and North
American XB-70 in the 1960s. These projects, along with other investigations of titanium in support of
aerospace programs, were responsible for solving many of the production problems. Titanium is a suitable
alternative to light alloys (i.e. aluminum alloys) when prolonged operating temperatures are greater than the
150°C or so that can be withstood by aluminum without excessive deformation due to creep, or when
somewhat greater strength is required without significant weight increases. Titanium alloy bolts are now
produced in quantity. For the same size as the equivalent steel bolts they have the same strength,
about F,, = 95000 psi in shear strength, and adequate fatigue properties, but weigh only two-thirds as much.
They are, however, more expensive, though over the life of the airplane the weight reduction may outweigh
this disadvantage. Titanium rivets are also quite extensively employed, Hi-Lok titanium fasteners for instance
Due to the very high cost of machining of titanium parts, the economic production of titanium components
therefore depends to some extent on forming them as nearly as possible to the required size, usually by forging,
or by the newer precision forging so that as little as possible is machined where the cost of metal removal is
paramount. Titanium is now finding increasing use in aircraft as volume production increases. Titanium alloys may
comprise up to 5% of the structural weight of commercial aircraft. This figure rises to as much as 25% on the
newer military aircraft (the F-14 structure contains 24.4% by weight, that of the F-15 contains 26%) and the
Rockwell B-l contains 21% titanium. Nevertheless, there is no prospect that it will displace aluminum and its alloys
because strength is not the only criterion. Rigidity is frequently essential, particularly where thin members act in
compression, and a reasonable bulk such as that provided by low-density light alloys is necessary to resist
buckling. On a strength/density basis. titanium has an edge over both aluminum and steel. Also, it generally has
corrosion resistance superior to both. Aluminum has usually not been considered for applications above the
350°
temperature and 1000°F. It is used in airframes as high-strength and high-toughness forgings, or where there is
too little airframe space for aluminum. It is used in firewalls to isolate engines from structures, and in wing skins
and support structures for military aircraft, both the F-14 and B-l use titanium carry-through wing center box
structures, and the familiar SR71 reconnaissance aircraft with its extreme speed, requires an all-titanium surface.
In addition, the titanium alloys have better ratios of fatigue properties to strength than do either the aluminum or
steels.
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
Research into composite materials started in the early 1960s and at this early stage the
target was a material as stiff as metal but less dense. Composite materials are now reaching
the production line and aircraft designers, appreciating the weight savings available, are
continually looking for further applications. Composite or advanced composite materials
will be defined as a material consisting of tiny diameter, high strength, high modulus
(stiffness) fibers embedded in an essentially homogeneous matrix, see Fig. 4.6.1 for
thermoset resin comparison This results in a material that is anisotropic; having mechanical
and physical properties that vary with direction and heterogeneous: consisting of dissimilar

materials can be broken down into two basic classes; organic matrix and metal matrix
materials.
The organic matrix systems consist of high strength fibers, such as boron or graphite, which
provide the basic strength of the material and a matrix such as epoxy, polymide, or any of
the thermoplastic
The organic matrix systems consist of high strength fibers, such as boron or graphite,
which provide the basic strength of the material and a matrix such as epoxy, polymide, or
any of the thermoplastic materials which stabilize these thin or tiny fibers in compression
and acts to redistribute load in shear between fibers in case of individual fiber failure or
laminate transition. See Fig. 4.6.2 for reinforcement forms.
The metal matrix composites in current use are boron/aluminum and graphite/aluminum,
although some much higher temperature matrix materials such as titanium and nickel are
currently being developed. The benefit of these materials is found primarily at higher
temperatures. In addition, the metal matrix provides a much better foundation
During the last decade, aircraft designers have been using thermoset carbon (graphite) fiber
composites as a metal replacement in aircraft industry. However, the advances in

strength-to-weight ratios, toughness, corrosion resistance, stiffness-to-weight ratio, wear

resistance, producibility and etc. make it suitable contenders. Now, designers will have to be
more precise when referring to carbon or graphite fiber composites. This term can mean
either thermoset or thermoplastic fiber/resin composites. A thermoset resin is one which
solidifies when heated under pressure and cannot be remelted or remolded without
destroying its original characteristics ( epoxy resin). On the other hand, thermoplastic
resins soften when heated and harden when it cools down. This heating and cooling process

comparison.
AIRCRAFT
STRUCTURES II
FINAL MODULE DISCUSSION
ANNEALING
HEAT TREATED ALUMINUM ALLOY

Heated to temperature 900-1050 ºF

2xxx- Main Alloying Element is Copper
6xxx- Main Alloying Element is Magnesium
and Silicon
7xxx- Main Alloying Element is Zinc
COLD WORKING
NON HEAT TREATED ALUMINUM ALLOY

1xxx- Pure Aluminum

3xxx- Manganese
4xxx- Silicon
5xxx- Magnesium
ALUMINUM ALLOY
Homebuilt aircraft example: Stitts SA-3A
Playboy CF-RAD year 1995
RESILIENCY

It is the ability of the material to absorb

energy and to be form elastically.
TITANIUM ALLOY
MAGNESIUM ALLOY
STEEL

Steel can be up to three times stronger than aluminum, although it is also

heavier. It's strength, hardness and resistance to heat make it ideal for use
on the skin surface of the aircraft and in the landing gear and it typically
comprises around 11-13 percent of the materials used in an aircraft. The
durability of steel is its most important characteristic in airplane
manufacture and although it is heavier than other materials like aluminum it
is often used for hinges, cable and fasteners where its strength is key.
COMPOSITES

Composite materials can be formed into various shapes and, if desired, the
fibers can be wound tightly to increase strength. A useful feature of composites
is that they can be layered, with the fibers in each layer running in a different
direction.
NOTE:

Silicon carbide and titanium oxide

nanoparticles provide thermal stability on
the Kevlar fiber surface through
intermolecular adhesion.