Analysis of Load Effects on a Light Trainer Aircraft Composite Wing Skin

Abstract

Composite structures have shown a great impact on aircraft structural design. The increasing shift towards using more composite materials in the structural design of aircraft necessitates simplification of the design procedure using design tools. This research aims to analyze the stress concentration and deformation of the composite wing skin at cruise to enhance the performance, durability and safety of a light trainer aircraft. A wing model is designed in CATIA and finite element analysis is done in ANSYS. Aerodynamic loading is applied on the wing, excluding the fuselage, whereby the wing still acts as a cantilever beam connected to the fuselage. Since the cruise condition is being considered, a uniformly distributed pressure of 0.000642.43 MPa acts on the lower surface of the wing skin. The study presents simulation results of the effect of aerodynamic loads experienced by ALTA wing skin in flight, whereby loads were applied on the bottom surface. Computational techniques, such as ANSYS software, were used to analyze the load effect on various composite aircraft wing skins, indicating stress and strain deformation results when aerodynamic loads were applied. Comparing the maximum equivalent stresses of Epoxy Carbon fibre (395) Prepreg, which has a higher value of 1.055 MPa, with Epoxy E-Glass UD, which is 1.0393 MPa, indicates that Epoxy Carbon fibre (395) Prepreg composites typically exhibit higher strength and stiffness compared to Epoxy E-Glass UD. While Epoxy E-Glass UD offers better flexibility and impact resistance, shown in its maximum deformation of 1.6885mm. It is more than that of Epoxy carbon fibre (395) Prepreg, which has a value of 0.393mm. This shows the significance of each material type when used for wing design.