MA3700

Aircraft Structures I

WINGS
STRUCTURE

Y2023-24 (S1) Sunil C. Joshi

Inputs taken from WWW resources for enriching this presentation are gratefully acknowledged
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Cutaway Drawing of A380

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Considerations for Wing Structure

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Functions of Wings

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Wing Loads and
Distribution

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Wings: Structural Members

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More Details on Wing Structure

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 Sandwich
Constructions
• Basic principle of sandwich (spaced facings)
discovered in 1820 by French inventor Duleau.
• Thin, strong, stiff, and relatively dense facings
are combined with thick, relatively light cores.
• Provides lightweight composite.
• Stronger and stiffer in most aspects than the
sum of the individual stiffness and strength.
Includes following elements:
1. two laminates (outer and inner face-sheets),
2. core material as a spacer, and
3. adhesive for bonding the laminates to the core.
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 Sandwich Structure Aircrafts
• In 1975, Burt Rutan extended shaped core
technique to sandwich structures for aircrafts
• Uniform stress distribution
• Useful for -
smaller crafts

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Basic Types of Wings Structure

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Examples of Wing Loading

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Single Spar Mass Boom Structure

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Sandwich Variants

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Two-Spar Box Beam Structure

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About Spars

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 About Ribs

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Sandwich Variants

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 Sandwich Variants

Sandwich
Skin

Sandwich
Spars,
Ribs and
Stiffeners

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Multi-Spar Structure

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 Wings Testing

Boeing777 Wings Test (154%) - https://youtu.be/Ai2HmvAXcU0

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 Types of Wing Support
1. Cantilever Wing

2. Carry-through with Wing Box

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 Types of Wing Support
3. Braced Wings with Supporting Structs
Strut is structural member designed to resist
longitudinal compression. Used in early aircrafts.

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Integral Fuel Storage

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Fuel Storage

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Example: Fuel Tank Venting (Boeing 747)

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 Fuel Weight Stress Relief

• Fuel stored outboard is more effective in reducing the

wing root stress due to its location away from the root.
• Provides higher counterbalancing moment (WF * d)

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Wing Mounted Engines

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Wing Mounted Engines

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 MA3700
Aircraft Structures I

ADDITIONAL WING
ELEMENTS

Y2022-23 (S1) Sunil C. Joshi

Inputs taken from WWW resources for enriching this presentation are gratefully acknowledged

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Control Surfaces

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 Ailerons and Roll

Moment =
(Fl-Fr) * L
Hinges, Links
and Actuators
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 Ailerons and Roll
• Ailerons are small hinged sections on the
outboard portion of a wing.
• Usually work in opposition: as the right
aileron deflected upward, the left is
deflected downward, and vice versa.
• Used to generate rolling motion for
aircraft.
• Also used to bank the aircraft; to cause
one wing tip to move up and the other
wing tip to move down. The banking
creates unbalanced side force component
of the large wing lift force which causes
the aircraft to turn.

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Flaps and Slats

Hinges, Links
and Actuators
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 Spoilers

Hinges, Links
and Actuators
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Lift (Drag) Forces Management

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Flaps and Slats

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 Spoilers
• Small hinged plates on the top portion of wings.
• If deployed on both wings, help in slowing down
or making an aircraft descend.
• Can also be used to generate rolling motion, if
deployed on only one wing.
• When activated, they flip up into the air stream.
The flow over the wing is disturbed, the drag of
the wing is increased, and the lift is decreased.
• Upon landing, pilot usually brings up the spoilers
to kill the lift, to keep the plane on the ground,
and to slow down (brake) the plane efficiently.
• The lower the lift, the better the brakes work.
• The additional drag also slows down the plane.
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 Canard
• Canard (French for
duck) is an airframe
configuration in which
the tail plane is ahead
of the main wing, rather
than behind them as in
conventional airplane.
• Exists in TWO classes:
(a) control canard, and
(b) lifting canard.

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 Canard
• In control-canard, most of the aircraft weight is carried
by the main wing. The canard wing is used primarily
for longitudinal control during maneuvering.

• In the lifting-canard, the weight of the aircraft is always

shared between the main wing and the canard wing. A
lifting-canard generates an upload.
Control Canard Lifting canard

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 Winglets
Are the wingtip structural forms.

Intended to reduce aircraft's drag by

altering the airflow near the wingtips.
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Why Winglets?
As an airplane moves
through the air, the high-
and low-pressure air
meets at the wingtips.

The air forms miniature

tornadoes (called wingtip
vortices) that spread out
behind the plane.

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 Why Winglets?
(1) the turbulent airflow they
create can be strong
enough to flip an airplane
that encounters it.
(2) they increase the drag
forces on the airplane that
generates them, reducing
The wingtip vortices the fuel efficiency.
cause two problems.

Winglets break up wingtip vortices,

alleviating both problems.
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Inputs taken from WWW resources for enriching this presentation are gratefully acknowledged

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