Development of an Integrated Structural Analysis Capability for Airframe Preliminary Design

Abstract

This paper highlights a preliminary airframe structural analysis capability for evaluation of candidate wing structural designs, with the goal of producing accurate weight and recurring cost data from high level airplane design data. SPANDSET, the integrated structural analysis toolkit that implements this capability, allows rapid definition of wing geometry, calculation of internal loads, preliminary analysis of wing structural elements and recurring cost evaluation of the candidate design. A case study involving a large business jet aircraft is documented to illustrate the approach and the types of results that can be obtained. Nomenclature AR= wing aspect ratio b = wing semi-span length c = wing chord length E = axial modulus EI = wing section bending stiffness G = shear modulus GJ = wing section torsional stiffness M = wing bending moment t = wing airfoil thickness T = wing torsional moment TR = wing tip ratio V = wing shear force η = normalized wing semi-span location (butt-line location/wing semi-span length)

A Preliminary Study of Wing Substructure Layouts Using a Parametric Structures Evaluation Tool

“…Integration and automation of the analysis routines is accomplished through Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. SPANDSET is documented in further detail in Russell et al 12 .…”