Natural characteristics analysis of aircraft wing box based on finite element method and measured data

Xu Yi Geng,An Lu Ling,Gao Guo Qiang,Zhang Wei,Wu Xiu Ping

doi:10.21595/vp.2018.19679

Abstract

Compared with other mechanical products, aircraft structures have more rigorous requirements on flying performance, safety, reliability and service life. Based on the finite element method (FEM), the key component of the wing box model is explored in this paper, which provides a reference for the structure design and manufacture of aircraft wing box. The three-dimensional point cloud data of components are obtained by optical measurement systems, the deviation analysis between the point cloud model and the nominal model is carried out as a prerequisite, and then the natural characteristics of the model is analyzed. The results show that 99.15 % of the measured points have deviations within 0.38 mm, which verifies the accuracy of the nominal model. The first six modes are all bending modal shape, and the larger amplitude region mainly occurs in the wing ribs, which means its bending strength should be improved for structure design. Besides, the sixth-mode simultaneously result in front spar, stringer and rib bending vibration.

Highlights

Modern aircrafts tend to have higher standards for lightweight, economy and safety, which increasingly popularize the application of composites in the aircraft manufacturing industry [1]
This article thoroughly studied the natural characteristics of the aircraft wing box
Based on the large data sets processing, the key components of the wing box are analyzed by finite element method (FEM)

Summary

Introduction

Modern aircrafts tend to have higher standards for lightweight, economy and safety, which increasingly popularize the application of composites in the aircraft manufacturing industry [1]. Wing box is the main load-bearing components, and the most used part of composite materials in the aircraft structures. It is essential to explore the mechanical response of the wing box, since it can reflect the performance of the airfoil to a certain extent. Luo [3, 4] established the finite element models of wing box by using 3D shell element to investigate the stacking sequence effect on the natural modal and bucking properties. Chen [5] proposed a complex wing box system and studied empirical mode decomposition (EMD) by using the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT). The existing literature has done many research on the mechanic performance of aircraft structures, but still lack of wing box weakness component considerations. This article thoroughly studied the natural characteristics of the aircraft wing box. Based on the large data sets processing, the key components of the wing box are analyzed by FEM

Wing box modeling based on measured data

Mode analysis

Findings

Conclusions