AerE321 Flight Structures Analysis
Course Description: (3-0) Cr. 3. Introduction to elasticity, airworthiness, and flight loads. Introduction to fatigue. Materials selection for flight applications. Thin walled cross-sections under bending, torsion, and shear loads using classical methods. Shear center. Column buckling. Matrix methods of structural analysis.
Course Objectives: (1) To introduce the concepts of structural analysis from solid mechanics models; (2) To develop the basic structural models – bars, beams, plates, etc. (3) To apply the basic structural models to generic aircraft structures.
Course Outcomes: (1) Understanding of the basic structural elements and models; (2) Ability to explain the idealizations of structural analysis and design; (3) Assess the applicability of the basic structural models to more complex structural designs; (4) Ability to apply the concepts of stress analysis to typical aircraft structures.
AerE421 Advanced Flight Structures
Course Description: (2.5-1) Cr. 3. Analysis of indeterminate flight structures including finite element laboratory. Static analysis of complex structural components subject to mechanical, thermal and aerodynamic loads. Analytical and finite element solutions for stresses and displacements of trusses, frames, membrane, plane stress, plate structures. Buckling of beams, frames, and plate structures. Introduction to vibration of flight structures. Steady state and transient structural response using normal modal analysis.
Course Objectives and Outcomes: (1) Students will be able to take an idealized aircraft structure and do a full analytical and finite element analysis (FEA); (2) Students will be able to model composites in FEA; (3) Students will be able to identify the necessity of a nonlinear analysis based on linear analysis; (4) Students will know the type of element to use in 1D, 2D, and 3D finite element analysis; (5) Students will be able to calculate the minimum buckling load of a structure; (6) Students will be able to extract the natural frequencies and mode shapes.
