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2 AIRFRAME STRUCTURES GENERAL CONCEPTS

2.1 AIRWORTHINESS REQUIREMENTS FOR STRUCTURAL STRENGTH


1. Airworthiness requirements are necessary with respect to aircraft structures,
because established standards of strength, control, maintainability, etc. will ensure
that all aircraft will be constructed to the safest possible standard.
2. Requirements for aircraft above 5700kg MTWA (maximum total weight authorised)
are listed in Joint Airworthiness Requirement 25 (EASA-25) and for aircraft below
5700kg MTWA, in EASA-23. These publications cover not only the basic
requirements, like maximum and minimum 'g' loading, but a vast range of other
requirements with respect to the structure such as:
Control Loads
Door Operation
Effect of Tabs
Factor of Safety
Fatigue
High Lift Devices
Stability & Stalling
Ventilation
Weights

2.1.1 STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION


For the purpose of assessing damage and the type of repairs to be carried out, the
structure of all aircraft is divided into three significant categories:-
Primary structure
Secondary structure
Tertiary structure

1. Diagrams are prepared by each manufacturer to denote how the various structural
members fall into these three categories.
2. In the manuals of older aircraft the use of colour may be found to identify the three
categories.
3. Primary Structure is shown in Red, Secondary in Yellow and Tertiary in Green.
4. Note: This system has been discontinued for many years, but with some aircraft
having a life of 30 or more years and still being operated, it may still be possible to
find the old system in use.

2.1.2 PRIMARY STRUCTURE


1. This structure includes all portions of aircraft, the failure of which in flight or on the
ground, would be likely to cause:
Catastrophic structural collapse
Inability to operate a service

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Injury to occupants
Loss of control
Unintentional operation of a service
Power unit failure
2. Examples of some types of primary structure are as follows:
Engine Mountings
Fuselage Frames
Main Floor members
Main Spars

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2.1.3 SECONDARY STRUCTURE
1. This structure includes all portions of the aircraft which would normally be
regarded as primary structure, but which unavoidably have such a reserve of
strength over design requirements that appreciable weakening may be
permitted, without risk of failure.
2. It also includes structure which, if damaged, would not impair the safety of the
aircraft as described earlier.
3. Examples of secondary structure include:
Ribs and parts of skin in the wings.
Skin and stringers in the fuselage

2.1.4 TERTIARY STRUCTURE


1. This type of structure includes all portions of the structure in which the
stresses are low, but which, for various reasons, cannot be omitted from the
aircraft.
2. Typical examples include fairings, fillets and brackets which support items in
the fuselage and adjacent areas.

2.2 FAIL SAFE, SAFE LIFE AND DAMAGE TOLERANT CONCEPTS

2.2.1 FAIL SAFE


1. A fail safe structure is one which retains, after initiation of a fracture or crack,
sufficient strength for the operation of the aircraft with an acceptable standard of
safety, until such failure is detected on a normal scheduled inspection.
2. This is achieved by part and full scale airframe testing and fatigue analysis by
usually by the aircraft manufacturer and by subsequent in-service experience.

2.2.2 SAFE LIFE


1. Safe life structure and components are granted a period of time during which it is
considered, that failure is extremely unlikely.
2. When deciding its duration, the effects of wear, fatigue and corrosion must be
considered.
3. For example, if tests show that fatigue will cause a failure in 12,000 flying hours,
then one sixth of this might be quoted as the safe life.(2000 hours then scrapped)
If wear or corrosion prove to be the likely cause of failure before 12,000 hours,
then one of these will be the deciding factor. The safe life time period may be
expressed in flying hours, elapsed time, number of flights or number of
applications of load, ie; pressurisation cycles.

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2.2.3 DAMAGE TOLERANCE
1. The fail safe method has proven to be somewhat unreliable following some
accidents that proved that the concept was not 100% guaranteed.
2. It was also a severe limitation that the addition of extra structural members to
protect the integrity of the structure considerably increased the weight of the
aircraft.
3. The damage tolerant concept, has eliminated much of the extra weight, by
distributing the loads on a particular structure over a larger area. This requires
an evaluation of the structure, to provide multiple load paths to carry the loading.
The main advantage is that even with a crack present, the structure will retain its
integrity and that during scheduled maintenance programmes, the crack will be
found before it can become critical.
4. For example, a wing attachment to the fuselage, which in the past would have
been designed with one or two large pintle bolts, will now have a larger number
of smaller bolts in the fitting. The single or dual bolt attachment had to be heavily
reinforced to take the wing loading, adding more weight, whereas the multiple
load path can be constructed in a lighter manner, whilst still maintaining its
strength.

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2.3 ZONAL AND STATION IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
2.3.1 ZONAL SYSTEM
During many different maintenance operations including component changes,
structural repairs and trouble shooting, it is necessary to indicate to the engineer
where, within the structure, the correct location is to be found for the work to be
carried out. When attempting to establish a specific location or identifying components,
some manufacturers make use of two systems, a zonal system and a frame/station
method. The zonal system divides the airframe into a number of zones, (usually less
than 10), to give engineers and others a rough idea of where they need to look. The
zonal system may also be used in component labelling and work card area
identification.
In the illustration below, an engineer might have for example a work card numbered
500376, indicating it was Job 376 located on the left wing (Zone 500).

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2.3.2 STATION IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
Most manufacturers use a system of station marking where, for example, the aircraft
nose is designated Station 0 and other station designations are located at measured
distances aft of this point. Component and other locations within the wings, tailplane,
fin and nacelles are established from separate dedicated stations zero. Fuselage
Locations
A particular fuselage station (or frame) would be identified, for example, as Station
5050. This means that if the metric system of measurement is employed, the frame is
located at 5.05 metres (5050mm) aft of station zero.

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Lateral Locations To locate structures to the right or left of the aircraft, many
manufacturers consider the fuselage centre line as a station zero. With such a system,
the wing or tailplane ribs could be identified as being a particular number of
millimetres (or inches) to the right or the left of the centre line.

Vertical Locations These are usually measured above or below a water line, which is a
predetermined reference line passing along the side of the fuselage, usually,
somewhere between the floor level and the window line.

2.6 LIGHTNING STRIKE PROVISION

When aircraft are flying in cloud or in close proximity to storms, there is always the risk
of the aircraft being struck by lightning. Whilst this is a rare occurrence, there are many
protection devices installed in the aircraft to ensure that a strike does as little damage
as possible when it does happen. A lightning strike on an aircraft can have a peak
current of up to 100,000 amperes, so precautions must be taken to ensure that the least
damage is done to the aircraft, its systems and components as the charge passes
through. Most important is the electrical bonding of all the major components of the

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airframe. Bonding is achieved by electrically connecting all the components of an
aircraft structure together. These precautions will ensure all components are at the
same electrical potential by providing a return path through the airframe, since modern
aircraft utilise an earth return system. This means that current from the lightning strike
cannot build up on one part of the structure and create a voltage high enough to allow it
to jump to another part, that might be electrically separated, such as flying control
surfaces. Note: Electrical bonding also protects equipment from the build up of static
electricity, which is produced as the aircraft collects ions from the atmosphere as it
passes through. Bonding cables are referred to as secondary conductors.
As well as electrical bonding, dedicated lightning protection systems are employed to
cater for the high current and these are usually known as primary conductors. They can
be found, connecting system earth returns, as mentioned earlier, connecting power-
plants to the airframe and ensuring that all major structural items, (which are often
manufactured in different factories in different countries), are properly connected
together after final assembly. Occupants of the aircraft are also protected from
electrical shock in this way by the surrounding aircraft structure with what is referred
to as a Faraday Cage.

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