Hello,

I want to acquire some book on wing structures but I'd like some insight first, to be sure that I'm buying a good one.

I'm looking for a book which gives some real info on designing wing structures. Some intro on elasticity, diagonal tension and so on is ok, but I'd like it to have more applied information, like real examples, choosing the dispositions of ribs, spars, etc., flap and other systems integration... I know this is not universal and it's a design process which will vary from airplane to airplane, but something as close to this as possible will work. Also, it doesn't need to be specifically wing structures, but it's in what I'm interested now.

Even if you don't know a reference which fulfills all this, it would be good to know which book you would say is a good reference for designing wing or airplane structures.

Thanks in advance!

A short list:

Bruhn, E.F., Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures

http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Design-Flight-Vehicle-Structures/dp/0961523409/ref=pd_sim_b_4

Cutler, J., Understanding Aircraft Structures

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Aircraft-Structures-John-Cutler/dp/1405120320/ref=pd_sim_b_7

Roskam, J., Airplane Design Part III: Layout Design of Cockpit, Fuselage, Wing and Empennage

http://www.amazon.com/Airplane-Design-Part-III-Empennage/dp/1884885063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321804001&sr=8-1

Howe, D., Aircraft Loading and Structural Layout

http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Loading-Structural-Layout-Education/dp/1563477041/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321804047&sr=1-1

Niu, M., Airframe Structural Design

http://www.amazon.com/Airframe-Structural-Design-Information-Structures/dp/9627128090/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321804725&sr=1-1

Niu, M., Airframe Stress Analysis and Sizing

http://www.amazon.com/Airframe-Stress-Analysis-Sizing-Michael/dp/9627128082/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321804833&sr=1-3

Raymer, D., Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach

http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Design-Conceptual-Approach-Education/dp/1563478293/ref=pd_cp_b_1

Peery, Aircraft Structures

Super deal on 1950 edition!: http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-Structures-Dover-Aeronautical-Engineering/dp/0486485803/ref=pd_sim_b_14

You likely can find these all on Vimeo to preview.  A few are more related to stress analysis fundamentals but all include some practical layout and sizing information you are looking for.  If you can find some experienced people willing to share, OEM information can be found.

the texts about will tell you everything about making the design decisions you're asking about, but none will tell you "place your ribs 24" apart" which is what i read into "dispositions of ribs, etc".  they'll tell you know others have solved their design problems but rib pitch, stringer spacing, spar positioning are key design decisions based on experience.  each are trade-offs between structural strength and weight based on specific design requirements, manufacturing experience and preferrence, etc.

Thanks for the list SAITAETGrad, it's very helpful! What rb1957 says is also true, and I was expecting this, some design decisions are based on experience and are dependent on the particular problem. But I'm hoping to get some insight or experience out from these books. For this reason, I think I'm better with the more technicals, I don't want some introductory books. Or maybe they are better to get the big picture, and then the others help with the particularities I might face? I already had introductory lectures nonetheless...

To anyone willing to contribute, don't hesitate to recommend some book you have on your desk which you find helpful for your work!

One thing from your original post that was unclear was the type of aircraft you want to consider- composite, sheet metal, jumbo jet, ultralight, fabric covered, etc.

Most of the books I listed are primarily concerned with sheet metal construction...

There are sort of three different topics -

1) how do I analyse a given structure? Bruhn excels at this if you are designing Bruhn like structures

2) what sort of loads do I need to worry about (including fatigue)

3) what sort of structure is 'best' for a given load set?

(3) sounds the most interesting book, but doesn't really exist in a general form.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies  http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

Right now I'm interested in metallic construction, so the references look good. Anyway, it would be great to know if there's something about composites out there.