Basics of Aircraft Structures

Aircraft Structures:

• Major criteria for the design of aircraft structures is structural safety with minimum weight, which comprises of thin load bearing skins, frames, stiffeners, spars, made of light weight, high strength, high stiffness materials.
• Aircraft structures are designed to utilize each part to its full capacity. Leads to shell-like (monocoque) & hardened shell (semi-monocoque) structures.

Categories of Aircraft:

1. Fixed-wing Airplane
2. Rotor-craft
3. Lighter than Air Vehicles
4. Glider

A large portion of the aircraft working today are made with lightweight yet solid aluminum, with most fresher aircraft being made of advanced composites.

Basic Components of Aircraft:

1. Fuselage
2. Wings
3. Tail
4. Power Plant
5. Landing Gear

Major aircraft components are included essential basic structural elements, each of which is intended to take a particular kind of load.

1. Fuselage:

• The fuselage is the main body of the airplane that carries the Crew and the Payload.
• the payload being travelers, load, fuel and weapons.
• Fuselage structures can be of monocoque development, or of semi-monocoque development.
• Incorporates various access entryways, inspection plates, landing wheel wells, and different openings

   

   2. Wings:

• The Wings give the Lift to an Aircraft.
• Wings are subjected to High Stress because of Aerodynamic Forces and in addition the Weight of the Engines and response loads from Landing Gears.
• The external surface of the wing originally made of fabric, modern aircraft use aluminum or composite materials because of their lightweight and rust proof properties.

    

   3. Tail:

• The empennage, normally called the tail assembly, is the rear section of the plane body. Its main objective is to stabilize the airplane. 
• The settled parts are the horizontal stabilizer and the vertical stabilizer, or balance. 
• The front, settled segment called the horizontal stabilizer and is utilized to keep the flying machine pitching up or down. 
• The vertical tail structure is isolated into the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The front segment is known as the vertical stabilizer and is utilized to keep the flying machine yaw forward and backward. 

   

 4. Power Plant:

• Aircraft power plants are essentially motors, and they help planes and helicopters to take off. 
• A unit which converts chemical energy contains in the fuel to thrust force, this force is vital for the movement of the plane and lift creation. 
• With the piston engine, the propeller is utilized to change over the torque on the engine shaft being thrust. 

   

   5. Landing Gear:

• Aircraft landing gear bolsters up the whole weight of an airplane amid landing and ground. 
• They are joined to primary structural members of the aircraft. 
• It will be of skis type for snow, pontoon type for water, and for ground an amphibious aircraft with retractable wheels. 
• Kind of gear relies on upon the aircraft and its planned utilize.