Category: Materials And Material Requirements For Aerospace Structures And Engines

The space shuttle is a complex system consisting of an external fuel tank, two solid rocket boosters and the Space Transportation System (STS) orbiter vehicle. In this section, we only examine the structure and materials of the orbiter. The orbiter resembles a conventional aircraft with double-delta wings, and uses many of the same materials. The…

Figure 3.10 shows the main sections and internal structure for a typical modern helicopter. The main body (or airframe) of the helicopter is most heavily loaded at two points: the connection to the tail boom and the connection to the main rotor drive shaft or turbine engine. The tail boom applies torsion and bending loads to the…

Figure 3.2 shows the main structural components in a modern military aircraft, which are the fuselage, wings, empennage, landing gear and control surfaces such as flaps, elevators and ailerons. Aircraft structures must be lightweight and structurally efficient, and this is achieved by the combination of optimised design and high-performance materials. Many major aircraft sections, including the fuselage,…

It is not possible to fully understand the topic of aerospace materials without also understanding the aerospace structures in which they are used. The choice of aerospace materials is governed by the design, function, loads and environmental service conditions of the structure. Understanding aircraft structures allows aerospace engineers to select the most appropriate material. The…