Design Considerations for the Construction of a Sheriff Wing in Composite Materials

摘要

The state of the art of aircraft construction using composites is reviewed, and the design of a composite wing for the Sherrif twin engine light training aircraft is considered. The major problems associated with composites are: lack of knowledge of long term material properties; difficulty in joining the materials; methods of testing for cracks and internal failure, and the lack of a suitable choice of safety factors to apply to known strengths. Conventional aluminum alloy structures cannot be made in fiber composites merely by substitution of materials. The design must be reappraised, emphasizing loading specification, stiffness, safety factors, size, and material selection. Careful choice of filament orientation and lay-up must be made to ensure that the major loads are carried by the fibers, minimizing damaging effects of out of plane loads.