Thunderchook
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
Just another "what if?" question that somebody may have already run the numbers on and so can offer a qualified opinion on..
I was watching that old 1980s video of Burt Rutan and his buddy demonstrating manufacturing processes of composites and they showed a metal-constructed wing structure mated with a composite one.
They placed it across a couple of brick then both jumped on it.
The metal section buckled and bent.
The composite section stayed solid and undamaged.
Now, I know that building aircraft is a case of "work with the materials that you feel most comfortable with.." and I know that building a composite aircraft is quite a full-on ordeal (as Mike Arnold demonstrated by the video showing his AR-5) but has anyone tried reinforcing other materials with composites?
e.g. a wing spar that is x inches in diameter made of... say... aluminium tubing (for arguement's sake) instead being replaced by a 0.7x inch diameter aluminium tubing that has a layer of composite around it.
Would this significantly increase the loads that it could handle (maybe increase G loading from maybe 4 to 6) or would the weight of the cured composite create a deficit that outweighs any structural strength advantage?
Any other hidden benefits/deficits that come with such a method?
Just spit-balling.
Has anyone done any experimentation on this?
Cheers,
Thunderchook.
Just another "what if?" question that somebody may have already run the numbers on and so can offer a qualified opinion on..
I was watching that old 1980s video of Burt Rutan and his buddy demonstrating manufacturing processes of composites and they showed a metal-constructed wing structure mated with a composite one.
They placed it across a couple of brick then both jumped on it.
The metal section buckled and bent.
The composite section stayed solid and undamaged.
Now, I know that building aircraft is a case of "work with the materials that you feel most comfortable with.." and I know that building a composite aircraft is quite a full-on ordeal (as Mike Arnold demonstrated by the video showing his AR-5) but has anyone tried reinforcing other materials with composites?
e.g. a wing spar that is x inches in diameter made of... say... aluminium tubing (for arguement's sake) instead being replaced by a 0.7x inch diameter aluminium tubing that has a layer of composite around it.
Would this significantly increase the loads that it could handle (maybe increase G loading from maybe 4 to 6) or would the weight of the cured composite create a deficit that outweighs any structural strength advantage?
Any other hidden benefits/deficits that come with such a method?
Just spit-balling.
Has anyone done any experimentation on this?
Cheers,
Thunderchook.
