Commercial Aircraft Wing Structure Design of a Carbon Fiber Composite Structure
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EXAMENSARBETE INOM TECHNOLOGY, GRUNDNIVÅ, 15 HP STOCKHOLM, SVERIGE 2020 Commercial Aircraft Wing Structure Design of a Carbon Fiber Composite Structure SOFIA SWEDBERG MATS SVALSTEDT KTH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES Abstract This project explores the classical wing structure of an commercial aircraft for an all carbon fiber reinforced polymer unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV). It is part of a collaborative work consisting of several groups researching different parts of the aircraft. The objective of this report is to present the design of the inner wing struc- ture for a greener, more efficient scaled 2:1 version of the Skywalker X8. In order to make the aircraft as efficient as possible, the structure needs to be lightweight. The loads were first approximated using XFLR5 and a first design made. The design was then tested using finite element analysis (FEA) in the programme Ansys Static Structural. The material that was tested was carbon fiber/epoxy prepreg. The final design of the wing weighs 3.815 kg, and consists of one spar and a skin thickness of 1 mm. The weight of the whole aircraft, including the propulsion system and a sharklet at both wingtips researched by other groups, is 20.262 kg. The lift-to-drag ratio was also calculated, and the most efficient angle of attack was concluded to be around 2-3°. i Sammanfattning Detta projekt utforskar den klassiska vingstrukturen av ett kommersiellt flygplan f¨oren obemannad luftfarkost gjord helt i kolfiberarmerad polymer. Det ¨aren del av ett samarbete som best˚arav flera projektgrupper som forskar p˚aolika delar av flygplanet. M˚aletmed projektet ¨aratt designa den inre vingstrukturen f¨oren milj¨ov¨anligare,mer effektiv uppskalad 2:1 version av dr¨onarenSkywalker X8. F¨or att g¨oraflygplanet s˚aeffektiv som m¨ojligts˚abeh¨over den vara l¨attviktig.Lasterna var f¨orstuppskattade via XFLR5 och en f¨orstadesign gjordes. Designen testades sedan med finita elementmetoden (FEM) i programmet Ansys Static Structural. Materialet som testades var kolfiber/epoxi prepreg. Den slutgiltiga vingdesignen v¨ager3.815 kg, och best˚arav en bom och en tjocklek p˚a1 mm av vingskalet. Totala vikten av flygplanet, inklusive framdrivningssystemet samt virveld¨ampare p˚ab˚adavingspetsarna som ¨arframtagna av andra grupper, ¨ar20.262 kg. Glidtalet ber¨aknades¨aven, och ¨arsom mest effektiv runt 2-3°. ii Acknowledgements We would like to thank our supervisor Raffaello Mariani, for his guidance and support when we where struggling. Stefan Hallstr¨omfor his help and suggestions, Magnus Burman for meeting with us and answering our questions to the best of his ability. Lastly, a big thank you to the other groups of the Aeronautical Bachelor for a great group effort taking on this project together. iii Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background . 1 1.2 Problem definition . 2 1.3 Purpose . 2 1.4 Limitations . 3 2 Theory 4 2.1 Aerodynamic loads . 4 2.2 The structural components of the wing . 5 2.3 Materials . 6 3 Method 8 3.1 Calculation of lift and drag forces . 8 3.2 Approximating the loads with XFLR5 . 8 3.3 Defining the geometry . 9 4 Results 11 4.1 Aerodynamic Loads . 11 4.2 Stresses and Finite Element Analysis . 14 4.3 The Final Design . 14 5 Discussion 16 5.1 The Approach . 16 5.2 The final design . 16 5.3 Loads and stresses . 17 5.4 Material and manufacturing . 18 5.5 Considerations and further research . 18 5.6 Conclusion . 19 Bibliography 20 Appendices 21 A First Appendix 1 iv A.1 Distributed loads over the wing . 1 v Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The need for more sustainable flight is becoming increasingly important in the avi- ation industry. Aviation today stands for more than 2% of the global emission of carbon dioxide, and the air traffic is only expected to increase[1]. It is therefore interesting to look for ways to make airplanes more efficient, to boost the perfor- mance, and therefore to reduce the fuel consumption during flight. One important aspect for drastically reducing fuel consumption is to make the airplane as light as possible, whilst still being able to hold its shape and support its cargo. This is the aspect that relates the most to the wing structure and is what this report is going to focus on going forward. In recent years, a lot of research has been focusing on the use of composites as an alternative to the standard aluminium used in commercial aircraft structures. Es- pecially carbon fiber has been gaining quite a lot of attention, with many companies building light weight aircraft using different amounts of carbon fiber. For example, the new commercial airplane Airbus A350 XWB is made out of roughly 70% so called advanced materials (53% carbon fiber), and the aircraft is estimated to have a 25% advantage in fuel burn and CO2 emissions[2]. The main advantage of using composites in aircraft structures is the low weight of the materials, coupled with a high weight-to-strength ratio. The properties of the materials are customizable and the material is also easy to mold into complex shapes. This means that a manufacturer can form the full airframe as one part and only have the strength in the directions needed, minimizing the weight even further. The disadvantages however, are the difficulties associated with manufacturing these materials and the cost of production.[3] Another way to minimize the weight of the airplane, is reducing the need for material in the aircraft structure. This is usually done by cutting away unnecessary materials in frames or adding stringers to the skin of the aircraft, rather than increasing the 1 thickness of the skin. Other types of structures are honeycomb structures, or other types of sandwich structures that greatly reduce the weight at the same time as offering high strength. 1.2 Problem definition This research project is done as one of four projects developing different aspects of the same plane. The main goal of all of these projects is to create a twice as big version of the Skywalker X8, which is a small unmanned aerial vehicle with a wingspan of about 2 m and a max speed of 19 m/s. This should be done whilst coming up with ways to make it as efficient as possible. The initial problem statement entailed a 3D CAD model of the original Skywalker (Figure 1.1), with a provided airfoil called MH49. Scaling the model creates an aircraft with a wingspan of 4 m. The goal maximum height is 2000 m over sea level and the max speed is 100 km/h (or about 28 m/s). Figure 1.1: The original Skywalker X8 in Solid Edge. 1.3 Purpose The main purpose of this project is to create the wing structure for the scaled up version of the Skywalker X8, whilst meeting the specifications of the problem definition. This will be done with the goal of minimizing the weight whilst still being able hold its shape and withstand the stresses from the aerodynamic loads of the wing. The main interest for this project is the use of composite materials, mainly carbon fiber, to build a structure consisting of spars and ribs. This will give a greater understanding of some of the realistic problems that today’s aeronautics engineers are facing. 2 1.4 Limitations Because of the model already given, the shape of the aircraft and the airfoil was fixed and could not be changed. Moreover, the aircraft is assumed to be subsonic with a top cruising speed of 100 km/h, and the properties of the air is assumed to be the same as at sea level. The scope was limited to working with composite materials, and that later became only carbon fiber epoxy reinforced polymer. The worst case condition is considered to be when the aircraft is at max speed at a 15°angle of attack. 3 Chapter 2 Theory 2.1 Aerodynamic loads An aircraft in flight is subjected to both the air loads and the gravitational pull of the weight of the aircraft. The distributed pressure on the surface of the aircraft create the aerodynamic loads. These loads change in magnitude and position depending on different flight conditions such as level flight, maneuvers and gusts of wind. The lift magnitude and distribution over the wingspan is dependant on the shape of the airfoil and the angle of attack of the wings. Therefore, it is very important that the airfoil keeps it shape along the wing during flight, since even a small twist of the wing can affect the angle of attack and thereby the lift. At the same time, the lift bends the wing upward, creating both a bending moment, and compression and tension in the skin of the wing. All of this means that the wing needs to be able to withstand direct loads as well as shearing, bending and torsion in all parts of the wing structure.[4] There are other types of loads and stresses associated with the thrust of the engine and the landing of the plane, but in this project the main focus will be on the aerodynamic loads. These can be simplified into a simple bending case with the lift evenly distributed, see Figure 2.1. In this case, the wing is the beam, the lift is the load and the fuselage is the fixed end. This is an oversimplification, because in reality the load is not even. Nonetheless, this approach can be used as a rough guide for this design that will later also be tested in a finite element analysis (FEA).