Light Structures

COURSE CONTENT

The lightweight design philosophy and the application of strength of materials principles in lightweight design – Design principles. Analysis of thin-walled members with closed or open cross section – shear center – warping and distortion, torsion-bending problems of thin bodies. Analysis of thin-walled pressure vessels under internal / external pressure, bending disturbances due to geometrical discontinuities. Shear flow theory – analysis of beam shear in closed or open cross-section, multiple-web beams, flat or curved members. Simplified analysis of aeronautical structures (fuselage – wing under bending, torsion and shear, wing ribs). The principle of virtual work – The unit load method. Maxwell-Mohr method. Applications in aeronautical and lightweight structures.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide the basic knowledge required in the structural analysis of typical Aircraft Structures, such that the stress state of basic aircraft components (wing, fuselage, tail, etc) may be calculated. The main learning outcomes expected are:

• Students know the role of the basic aircraft components;
• Students know how to calculate loading on these basic components of aircraft structures;
• Students are able to perform stress analysis of the primary components of an aircraft structure, using simple and more advanced analysis methodologies.

The course knowledge is exploited in other / next courses, such as ‘Finite Element for Structural Analysis’ and ‘Fracture Mechanics and Structural Integrity’.