Structural Analysis of A310 Wing

Contents
Objective:................................................................................................................... 2
Methodology:.............................................................................................................. 2
Problem Statement:.................................................................................................... 2
Assumptions:........................................................................................................... 3
Project Flow:............................................................................................................... 3
Data Collection:.......................................................................................................... 4
CAD Modeling Section:............................................................................................... 5
Analysis:..................................................................................................................... 9
FEA Section for Structural Analysis:........................................................................9
Problem Specification:.......................................................................................... 9
Pre-Analysis and Start-Up:....................................................................................9
Setup:................................................................................................................. 11
Future Work:............................................................................................................. 12

Objective:
The objective of the project is to demonstrate a CAD model of a wing structure and
importing it to the ANSYS 14 workbench and then applying the necessary boundary
conditions which replicates the condition during the take-off of A300 aircraft
normally from any airport.

Methodology:
The project flow can be summarized in three stages.
1. Data Collection: We need lot of data for A310 wing structure to create
approximate model for aircraft wing.
2. CAD Modeling: We need to create CAD model of wing using Solidworks. The
full model consists of ribs,front and aft spars and the skin. Various design
parameters are taken for Aircraft manual and various assumptions have been
made.
3. Model Simulation: We will import model into Ansys in order to place loads
across the aircraft wing and identify the impact of various loads on stress
intensity factor. This FE model will be optimized and used further for various
types of analysis such as thrust and other loads.

Problem Statement:
The wing structure experience various types of loads during each phase of the flight
which includes take-off, climb, cruise, loiter, landing, touch-down. We will try to
simplify our case study by analyzing loads during takeoff.
Since lot of data is not available in the literature, assumptions 1 were made using
A300 wing.

Assumptions:
1. Airfoil used in A310 is supercritical airfoil so we are using NACA 64-215 airfoil
throughout the wing structure.
2. The rib thickness is 100 mm, which is mirror extended from its mean position.
3. The diameter of the front spar is 300 mm and it is placed at 0.25 times the
chord length at each section from the leading edge.
4. The diameter of rear spar is 250 mm and it is placed at 0.7 times the chord
length at each section from the leading edge.
5. The centre point of front and rear spar at the tip airfoil is at a distance of
12.54 m and 13.465 m from the reference point respectively.
6. The front spar is at 31 from the reference line while the rear spar is at 23
from the reference line.
1 (Report, 2012)Report, P. (2012). Structural and modal analysis of A300 wing structure
SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF, 411023(85), 159.

7. The holes are made in the ribs in order to save weight of the structure.
8. The material used for the whole structural and modal analysis purpose is
aluminium alloy with density of 2700 kg/m3, young modulus of 68300 MPa,
and poisons ratio of 0.34.
9. The boundary conditions applied to the FEA model is that the root section of
the airfoil as well as the spars is fixed so that the degree of freedom is
restricted in all the six directions.
10.The loading condition is found using the maximum take-off weight and
maximum climb angle which is allowed for this aircraft from any airport.

Project Flow:
To complete this project, we will follow the following flowchart to do the project in
proper sequence.

Data Collection:
Aircraft type model
Wing Area (m2)
Wing Span (m)
MAC (m)
Aspect Ratio
Taper Ratio
Average thickness (t/c %)
chord sweep angle

A310-300
219
43.89
5.89
8.80
0.283
11.80
28.00

Max. Taxi Weight (kg)

Max. Takeoff weight (kg)
Max. Landing Weight (kg)
Max. Zero Fuel Weight (kg)
Estimated Operational Empty Load (kg)

150900
150000
123000
113000
79666

Weight:

CAD Modeling Section:

The first step is to get the airfoil shape in DS Solidworks. Designfoil software is
used to create the airfoil shape by plotting all the co-ordinates in the Solidworks
part design workbench.
The main benefit of this software is that all the co-ordinates are the function of the
chord length, that is (x/c, y/c).
NACA 64215 airfoil, with the chord length of 2.78 m, is exported to SW part design
file.
Since we have one airfoil, it has to be scaled down accordingly to get required
shape of the wing.
As mid wing span is 21.95 m, we divide the airfoil in 22 sections each placed at 1 m
interval.
The diameter of the fuselage is 5.64 m. Some part of the wing will be inside
fuselage and it will be completely fixed due to its wing box design. The section
which is completely rigid is 2.82m.
From the section placed at distance of 2.82 m from the reference plane, the airfoil
shape is scaled appropriately to get desired wing profile.

The above diagram shows the conceptual sketch of wing which will be created with
the help of basic geometry.
Calculation of required values:
The formula for calculating the distance of leading edge point whose co-ordinate is
(0, 0) from reference line 1 using similarities of the triangle concept is given by,
Y/a=19.6/11.54
Where, Y = distance of a point on leading edge whose co-ordinates is (0, 0) from the
reference line 1.
a =distance of the section from the root chord
So distance of trailing edge point whose co-ordinate is (0, 0) from the reference line
2 is given by the formula,
Z = b.tan (20.1035)
Where, Z = distance of a point on a trailing edge whose co-ordinate is (0, 0) from
the reference line 2.
b = distance of a section from the tip chord up to section 9.
Calculation of the local chord length can be done using the formula,
c = 11.54 + 2.75 - Y- Z

Calculation of local taper ratio is given by

Local taper ratio =

local chord length

root chord length

The following values are found with the help of geometry and trigonometry
relations:
Section No.

Local Chord
Length c(m)

Local taper
ratio

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

9.4
9.4
9.2941
8.7053
8.1165
7.5277
6.939
6.3502
5.7614
5.5167
5.294
5.0712
4.8485
4.6257
4.403
4.1802
3.9574
3.7347
3.512
3.2892
3.0664
2.8436

1
1
0.9887
0.9260
0.8634
0.8008
0.7381
0.6755
0.6129
0.5868
0.5631
0.5394
0..5157
0.4920
0.4684
0.4447
0.421
0.3973
0.3736
0.3499
0.3262
0.30251

Distance of
leading edge
point from the
reference
line1(m)
Y
0
0
0.1059
0.6947
1.2835
1.8723
2.4610
3.0498
3.6386
4.2274
4.8161
5.4049
5.9937
6.5825
7.1712
7.7600
8.3488
8.9376
9.5263
10.1151
10.7039
11.2927

Distance of
trailing edge
point from the
reference
line2(m)
Z
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.89
4.5459
4.1799
3.8139
3.4478
3.0818
2.7158
2.3498
1.9838
1.6177
1.2517
0.8857
0.1537
0.0534

In the wireframe and surface design workbench, the surface for the following
sections has been generated accordingly.

Each section is padded 50 mm mirror extended so that the airfoil section is

converted into the rib section with a thickness of 100 mm.
The spars and holes are being created in the wing design as per our assumptions
respectively. The complete design of the wing structure will be as shown below,

Analysis:
FEA Section for Structural Analysis:
Problem Specification:
In static structural analysis we are interested in the total deformation, Von Misses
stress which is also known as equivalent stress, shear stress and stress intensity
induced in the skin structure of the wing.
Pre-Analysis and Start-Up:
Open ANSYS Workbench We are ready to do a simulation in ANSYS Workbench.
Open ANSYS Workbench by going to Start > ANSYS > Workbench.
To begin, we need to tell ANSYS what kind of simulation we are doing. If you look to
the left of the startup window, you will see the Toolbox Window.
Take a look through the different selections. Because we are only doing a force
loading, we will be doing a Static Structural simulation. Load the Static Structural
tool box by dragging and dropping it into the Project Schematic.
Name the Project Wing structure by doubling clicking {Static Structural (ANSYS)}}
underneath the project schematic.
Geometry
In Workbench in the Project Schematic window, go to File > Import. In the
Import window that opens, change the file type (next to the File Name text box) to
Geometry File. Select the downloaded geometry file and press Open.
Generate the Geometry
Next, we will open the file to generate the geometry. Double click the imported
geometry to open the Design Modeler. When the Design Modeler opens, a pop up
window will ask us for the default units of measurement for the geometry. Select
Meter and then press OK. After you select the units, you will notice the Graphics
window is empty. We will fix this soon. First, click on in the Outline window. In the
Details window, change Operation from Add Material to Add Frozen. Finally,
generate the part by clicking once you press, the imported geometry should show in
the Graphics window.
Connect the Geometry
Next, we need to connect the geometry to our current project. Close the Design
Modeler and return to the project schematic. First click (and hold) on the imported

geometry box Drag and drop on. When you are finished, a line should connect the
two boxes showing that you have successfully linked them.
Now that the geometry is imported and generated, we are ready to mesh the
geometry.
Mesh
Initial Setup
Close the Design Modeler if you haven't already, and open ANSYS Mechanical by
double clicking When ANSYS Mechanical opens, notice that there is a question mark
next to Geometry in the Project Outline - this means that there is something missing
in this section. Expand Geometry, expand Part and select Outer Surface.
Notice that Thickness is highlighted as it does not have a value specified. We will
specify a thickness so the geometry will mesh correctly. For the Outer Surface, enter
1e-2 next to Thickness. Repeat with the value of 3e-2 for Spar to thickness.
There should no longer be a question mark next to Geometry.
Delete any Connections
ANSYS may create connections automatically - however they are not required for
this simulation and will cause problems when meshing. Expand Connections and
delete the folder titled Contacts by right clicking and selecting Delete.
Body Sizing
For this geometry, we will be using a body sizing. Click on Mesh in the Project
Outline window to open up the Meshing Menu in the menu bar. To create a new
sizing, go to Mesh Control > Sizing. Next, we need to select the geometry that the
sizing will affect. We want to select the entire geometry.
Mapped Face Meshing
To apply a mapped face meshing, first click on Mesh in the Outline window. This will
bring up the Meshing Menu Bar at the top of the screen. Next, select Mesh Control >
Mapped Face Meshing. Select the 2 faces of the mesh by holding down the left
mouse button and dragging over the entire geometry. In the Details window, click
Geometry > Apply - it should say 2 faces are selected.
Edge Sizing
In the Meshing Menu, click Meshing Control > Sizing. Click the edge selection filter.
Select the 4 curved edges on the outside of the geometry that make up the shape
of the NACA 64215 Airfoil as the picture shows:

In the details window, select Geometry > Apply, and select Type > Number of
Divisions. Change the Number of Divisions to 20. Also, change Behavior > Hard.
Next, create another Edge Sizing, and this time, select the 2 edges at the very front
and very back of the airfoil that run along the wingspan, as the picture shows:

Again, in the Details window change the settings such that Type > Number of
Divisions and Behavior > Hard. This time, change the Number of Divisions to 40.
Generate the mesh by selecting Mesh > Generate Mesh

Setup:
After setting up analysis type to structural and importing part into Ansys workbench,
we will setup simulation.
Fixed Support:
Next, we will apply the boundary conditions to the geometry. In the graphics
window, click the positive Z-Axis on the compass to look at one side of the airfoil.
Pressure Load:
We want to apply a 1680 N/m2 upward force on the wing. Select Loads > Force to
initialize a pressure load.
The pressure load is determined by the calculating the load factor from the
Arccosine of 17. The maximum climb angle for A300 from any airport is 17.

1
n= Arccosin e (17) =1.04569
The maximum take-off weight of A310-300 R is around 150,000 kg
From the basic aerodynamics,
Lift force = load factor * weight of an aircraft.
As we are interested to calculate the structural parameters during take-off and
climbing phase, lift must be greater than weight of an aircraft.
Thus the total lift force required to climb through 17, the aircraft should be able to
generate the lift force 1568.5 kN.
This is the total lift which has to be generated by the sets of its wing.

Thus the force developed by each wing is 784.3 kN.

This force is converted into the pressure load, which is in the form of uniformly
distributed load by dividing this force by the semi wing area of 109.5 m 2.
Therefore, the total pressure load applied from the bottom of the surface is 7162.56
Pa.
When the surfaces have been selected, press Geometry > Apply in the Details
window. Next, select Define By > Components. Define the Y Component as 7162.56
Pa. We are now ready to set up the solution and solve.

Future Work:
The stress intensity factors calculated are based on various assumptions due to
inadequate data.
Assumptions:
1. The wing profile of A310 is similar to A300. The wing profile for A310 will be
calculated using formulas given in the report. The current wing data is for
A300 wing.
2. The profile of A310 which include design of wing spar and ribs is similar to
A300. Actual wing design of A310 will be used for new design
3. The pressure load due to lift has been considered. Localized force will be
required for further work on determining stress on rivets.

References:
1. (Report, 2012)Report, P. (2012). Structural and modal analysis of A300 wing
structure SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF,
411023(85), 159.