Design and analysis of a carbon composite flap for the Cirrus SF50 jet aircraft

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Date
2017
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University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

A new carbon fiber composite flap was designed and analyzed for the Cirrus SF50. This new flap will replace the existing aluminum flap and has the potential to save 5.30 lbs per aircraft. The new flap has the same OML profile as the existing flap and the same hinge locations. This allows the new flap to be either an upgrade option for customers or a supplemental type certificate (STC) option for aircraft in the field. The flap was designed with the same spar location and similar rib locations which allow existing tooling to be used for assembly. The design was analyzed to the static and damage tolerance requirements specified in 14 CFR Part 23. The loads that were utilized for the analysis were calculated using the method in 14 CFR Part 23 Appendix A. The loads are conservative since they consider a load factor of 3.6 instead of 2.2, this was done to make the design and analysis future proof. Since a significant portion of the structure uses minimum gauge layups (2 core 3, 4 ply solid), the weight increase from using the significantly higher load factor is minimal. The flap design and analysis are considered future proof because the loads used will be greater than the required loads if the SF50 were to have either a gross weight increase, a deployment speed increase, a deployment angle increase, or all in combination.

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Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
Keywords
Aerospace engineering
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