PROCEDURE OF INITIAL SIZING:

DESIGN CRITERIA &

INITIAL SIZING

ANALISIS DAN PERANCANGAN STRUKTUR I

Hendri Syamsudin
Main Reference
Howe, D. (2004), Aircraft Loading and Structural
Layout, Professional Engineering Publishing, UK.
PT Dirgantara Indonesia, Structural Design
Manual, Bandung, Indonesia
Design Criteria Upper Skin Panel
No local buckling up to ultimate load. They shall be sized using compression and shear
s
interaction criteria:
c xy c
2

2 1.0
cr cr
c s

c = applied compression stress

all = allowable compression stress of the panel, which is the smallest value of :
crippling stress
skin local buckling stress
intermediate (Johnson Euler) column buckling stress
xy = applied shear stress
all = allowable shear stress of the panel, which is the smallest value of :
skin shear local buckling stress
allowable shear stress of the material used
Design Criteria Lower Skin Panel
shall be sized using tension and shear interaction criteria:
all
1.0
S
where as material failure according to M ises - Hencky Criteria :
S 1 2 1 2 or S x y x y 3 xy
2 2 2 2 2

all = allowable tension stress of the material used

x = applied tension stress
xy = applied shear stress

Please note that Lower panel is also critical due to fatigue.

The criteria have to be considered is :
all 1G
1 0.0
t
Design Criteria Spars
They shall be sized using shear criteria :
all
1.0
xy

xy = applied shear stress

all = allowable shear stress of the panel, which is the
smallest value of:
skin shear local buckling stress
allowable shear stress of the material used
Design Criteria Ribs
Due to concentrated loads (attachments: engine, flaps, etc):

Due to shear loads : Due to aerodynamic loads, the ribs shall be designed as beams
simply supported at the spars. The web shall be sized using shear criteria :
all
1.0
xy
xy = applied shear stress
all = allowable shear stress of the panel, which is the smallest value of:
skin shear local buckling stress
allowable shear stress of the material used
Design Criteria Ribs Cont.
Due to crushing loads : The stiffener shall be sized using compression criteria :

all
1.0

all = allowable compression stress of the panel, which is the smallest value of :
Column buckling stress
Allowable compression stress of the material
= applied compression stress
Initial Sizing: Upper and Lower Skin Panel

upper

n
lower
Initial Sizing: Upper and Lower Skin Panel

i. At various points across the span evaluate the idealised

depth of the primary structural box, h
ii. Calculate the effective direct loads, P, in the top and
bottom surfaces required to react the appropriate
bending moment, M, at each section from: P = M/h
iii. Evaluate the allowable stress, fb
iv. Evaluate the cross section area required, Ab by dividing
the load P by the allowable stress fb
Initial Sizing: Upper and Lower Skin Panel

For a mass boom design, where all the bending moment is reached
only by the spar caps:

P M
Ab
f b hf b

Initially assume Ab is divided equally between all the boom spar caps
on one side of the box, and fb is the allowable proof stress in this case.
Initial Sizing: Upper and Lower Skin Panel

For a distributed flange assume

initially a uniform effective
thickness across the width, w, to
give

M
te
hwf b

Typically this thickness will be

made up of skin and stringer area.
The effective stringer are being
about half of that of the skin area. 0.65M
t sk
Thus the actual skin thickness is hwf b
about:
Allowable Stresses - Direct (bending) Stress

The accurate evaluation of the allowable bending stress is complex,

requiring a knowledge of the detail features of the structure both in the
compression and tension surfaces. Experience suggests that if the
magnitude of the allowable compression stress is also used for the
tension surface it makes the right order of allowance for fatigue/crack
propagation requirements although this assumption can only be
approximate, especially when the allowable compression stress
approaches the 0.2% proof value. Thus the same allowable stress level
may be initially assumed in both surfaces. The main parameter in
determining the allowable compression stress is the loading intensity.
If mass booms are used as the primary means of reacting direct load,
then it is appropriate to assume that under ultimate bending loads the
0.2% proof stress may be used.
Allowable Stresses - Direct (bending) Stress

When the concept is based on a distributed flange construction the

allowable bending stress at ultimate loading may be assumed to be the
lesser of the 0.2% proof stress or fb, where fb may be approximately
represented by:
1/ 2
P
f b A FB
wL
where L is the local rib or frame spacing
w is the width of the box perpendicular to the bending axis
P is the effective end load
A is a function of the material
FB is dependant upon the form of construction.
 Note that the value of A are
appropriate to allowable stress
and (P/wL) in MN/m2 units. In
general the values of A give
conservative values for fb at
stresses below the limiting
value.
Typical values for FB are also
given.
Comparison efficiency for various stringer shapes:

Ideal Practical design

Panel type
AStr AStr
ASkin Efficiency ASkin Efficiency

2.16 1.23 0.5 -

1.30 1.03 0.5 0.82

1.47 0.91 0.5 0.68

1.28 0.79 0.5 0.58

Initial Sizing: Spar Webs
i. Due to Overall Torsion Moment:
Estimate the enclosed area, A, of the primary structural box at
representative sections across the span.
The corresponding shear flow is:
QT = T/2A
Where T is now the applied distributed torsion, and QT will be nose
up or nose down and hence positive or negative depending on the
sign convention
Select the allowable shear stress, fs as appropriate
The mean material thickness needed to react the torsion moment is
then:
tq = T / 2Afs
Initial Sizing: Spar Webs
ii. Combined with vertical shear loads
The shear flow in the webs due to the shear force is then:
Qv = V/hT,
where V is the applied vertical shear force
The net shear flow in the web is then approximately given by:
x
Qw QV 2 QT
w
Where x is the chordwise location of particular web relative to the
mid point of the box
The web thickness is then:
Qw
tw
fs
Initial Sizing: Ribs Web
i. Due to concentrated loads (attachments: engine, flaps, etc): can be taken
as a cantilever beam loaded by a vertical shear force equal to the hinge
reaction and a bending couple due to the offset of the hinge chordwise from the
rear spar location. The spar web will react most of the vertical shear, and in
practice if the hinge fitting is perpendicular to the rear spar, the rib flanges at
the spar will be loaded by direct forces given by:

x
R V .
h
Where V is the hinge reaction
x is the offset of the hinge from the spar
h is the depth of the rib at the spar
Initial Sizing: Ribs Web
ii. Due to shear loads :
R
FS RS
R

q3 q3 h q3
R rib (i+1)
FS rib (i)
RS
dup upright
rib (i-1)
Qz1 Qz2
R
q3 q3 h q3 (daN/mm) = shear flow
2. h
R Qz1 Qz 2
R Qz1 - Qz2 (1)

hFS hRS
dup upright h
2
R = (see equation (1))
 Initial Sizing: Ribs Web

iii. Due to crushing loads : n

2. 2 .t panel.L
n upper
E.h.trib
n
lower
Where:
n = crushing stress at rib ; L = rib distance
upper = normal stress at upper panel ; H = rib height
lower = normal stress at lower panel ; trib = rib web thickness

abs( upperpanel) abs( lowerpanel)

2
Initial Sizing: Fuselage

For a pressurised fuselage: Due to Overall Bending

pR te
M
tp
p aA

p is the maximum working Where:

differential pressure M
1/ 2

a A FB
R is the radius of the shell AL
p is the allowable tensile working
stress 0.65M
tb
aA
Fuselage Sizing
Shell Support Frames: 0.5m (transport) or 25% of
overall depth for relatively heavily loaded areas

Heavily Loaded Frames: treated as curved beam

designed by the local input loads

Pressure Bulkheads
Doomed equal to longitudinal stress in a cylinder
Flat (ESDU 71013) t 0.71pa 2
n 3
/( n 3
1.5)/ a
1
2