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Stratosphere Developments Assignment 2

The document discusses materials used in aircraft construction, including aluminum alloys 7075 and 2024 for fuselage skins and longerons, as well as magnesium, titanium, steel, chromium, and vanadium alloys. Properties like strength, corrosion resistance, density, ductility, and crystal structure are examined for each material's suitability for aircraft components.

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10 views

Stratosphere Developments Assignment 2

The document discusses materials used in aircraft construction, including aluminum alloys 7075 and 2024 for fuselage skins and longerons, as well as magnesium, titanium, steel, chromium, and vanadium alloys. Properties like strength, corrosion resistance, density, ductility, and crystal structure are examined for each material's suitability for aircraft components.

Uploaded by

micropig1234
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Stratosphere Developments:

By Eric Nelson
Task 1 AAD (Avco Aerostructures Division):
Longerons:
I think that 7075 is the best for the fuselage skin because it mainly consists of magnesium,
copper, and zinc combination. 0.4% of silicon, 0.5% of iron, 1.2-2% of copper, 0.3% of
manganese, 2.1-2.9% of magnesium, 0.18-0.28% of chromium, 5.1-6.1% of zinc, 0.2% of
titanium, and 0.2% of other materials including aluminium. Which make it very resistant to
corrosion and should make a plane last for 20 years.
It has good corrosion resistance because of the chromium. There is also a 1.57mm ALCLAD
on it to stop erosion at high temperatures/altitudes. It’s only got moderate strength and
toughness but operates well at high altitudes due to compression. The 7075 is mainly used
in the frames of the aircraft, and the tail actuator. The copper makes it harder to weld but
gives it a lower melting point, the zinc and magnesium are mainly used to add to the
strength. But because of the corrosion resistance it has a higher cost the 2xxx series.

Fuselage skin:
Firstly, I think 2024 aluminium alloy is the best choice, it has 10 different materials that go in
to it; it has 0.5% of iron and silicon in it, 3.8-4.9% of copper in, 0.3-0.9% of manganese, 1.2-
1.8% of magnesium, 0.1% chromium, 0.25% of zinc in, 0.15% of titanium and 0.20% of
others plus aluminium. It has a very strong characteristic to it and not only that I can handle
very high weights and corrosion of most sorts.
The alloy 2024 plate products, are used in the fuselage, wing tension members, shear webs,
ribs, stringers, skins and the forward bulkhead. They’re used in places that require high
strength as they are used in military aircraft. They can corrode very easily so ALCLAD is
necessary for this alloy as it could deteriorate over time and is 1.57mm thick to protect it. It
has excellent fracture toughness and a yield strength of 50,000 psi and finally the same
colour of an aluminium sheet(silver/grey).

Task 2:
Aluminium:
One of the best-known properties of aluminium is that it is light and has a
density one third of steel. But its structure is very different to what you think;
its structure is Face Centered Cubic which is like the picture shown below. Its
ductility, is low tensile ductility but because it is a FCC it doesn’t have the
ductile to brittle transition like a steel would have. Aluminium does not
become brittle at low temperature which makes it good for planes as it’s very
cold at 30,000ft up. When it’s heated up it, it becomes weaker and wouldn’t be
able to handle strengths it can handle when cold.

Magnesium:
Magnesium is a silvery-white low density and reasonably strong metal that is
used in alloys all around the planet. It has a Simple Hexagonal structure
(picture below). Magnesium has a low ductility which means it can’t be
stretched out very far. Magnesium is brittle but also malleable so when heated
it can be shaped but when it’s cold it can’t. when at room temperature it is
fine, but when it is heated it becomes flammable.

Vanadium:
When this metal has a higher toxicity when the oxygen levels are higher. It’s a
Body centered Cubic structure and it is a ductile metal with a good structural
strength. It is not brittle it is malleable, and it can be shaped easily. It can melt
very easily and that means that through temperature change it goes from a
solid to a soft metal.
Task 3:
Metal Use 1 Use 2
Steel alloy Ribs Piping (in aircraft)
Titanium alloy wings fuselage
Magnesium alloy Engine frames wheels

Steel has been used in the ribs of the plane as they are strong and can handle a
lot of stress up high and down low. They are also used as piping in the plane as
you can get stainless steel pipes which work well with hydraulic fluid.
Titanium is used in the wings as it is very strong naturally but when it is an alloy
it is even stronger, so plane wings don’t rip off on hard turns. It is also used in
the fuselage as it has the most stress as it keeps the plane together and in one
piece.
Magnesium is used in the engine frames as it is 50% lighter than aluminium
and when coated and painted it can handle corrosion up high and takes weight
off the plane. It is used in wheels as it is strong when alloyed but also light
which means they can have more wheels on one aircraft to balance out the
loads.
Task 4:
Passive metals:
Passive metals are a type of metal that has an oxide film which is put onto a
certain metal, that prevents further corrosion. They are mainly used when the
requirements are for a high corrosion concentrated job or something similar
like sea diving or in this case planes as the higher they go the more corrosive it
can be, but it is worse overseas as the salty air makes it harder for the metals
not to corrode.
On aircraft you can get multiple materials that help it stay up in the air so
here’s two; aluminium is one of them as it does not corrode easily, but it does
over time as all metals do decay eventually. Also, there is chromium which is
used in most alloys to make it stronger and to give them a better resistance to
the air as the plane goes higher and higher.
Advantages:
>Passive metals will have a longer life cycle than the non-passive series as they
are already resistant to corrosion, so they will last longer than the other.
>They are suitable for planes when the others are not.
>They do not rust if made properly.
>They can be shaped to their desire as most are malleable, so they are
streamlined.
>Saves planes in the long run so they can last for 20 years if handled properly.

References:
>google images

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