34

_ ^ W

FLIGHT,
FT"TGHT.

t A - ^ ^

January
Ta

8th, 1941

" ^ l R C R A f T ENGINEER

AIRCRAFT/SECTIONS
The Importance oj^J^rsionaTa^fei/ as Flexural Rigidity in Sfee/ Alloys,
/Aluminium AjjfisKand Magnesium Alloys
E. Vk T H O M A S ^ h . D . , / M . S c . , A.M.I.C.E., A.M.I.Struct.E.
N early structural design\strutsjwere e n v ^ g e d a * n g i d is 85. By taking bjt as 32, that is to say twice the range
members of robust prnpIWi on <v a n rl fi\bm&ato resist of the British Standard sections, the value of EI/NC
direct crushing.
The advent "of inild steel and is 335. The ratio of flexural to torsional rigidity has
standardisation of structural sections produced compound increased fourfold, thus exhibiting a marked deficiency in
riveted stanchions in which the metal was distributed with the torsional rigiditv of the thinner sections.
a view to maximum flexural rigidity. In built-up welded
Standard Sections
sections the process was carried a stage farther, and further
In the standard sections such as angle, channel and tee,
economy achieved in the distribution of the metal. With
the development of aircraft sections the ratio of strength the outstanding leg being thin will tend to deform under
to weight became still more important, and a search began
for high strength alloys resulting in lighter and thinner
sections. I t is this latter factor of thinness that has
a
ol
resulted in metal now being distributed to give torsional
as well as flexural rigidity, as demonstrated in the corrugated sections of modern aircraft.
The need for the consideration of flexural and torsional
rigidity, in addition to direct crushing, can be simply
demonstrated thus :
IX
IX
Consider a long and narrow strip of metal supported at the
Fig. 2. Typical T, angle and channel sections.
ends with end loading applied axially. Such a long strut
will deform in a typical " Euler " curve, the bending being
resisted by the flexural rigidity of the section.
end loading. Since such a leg is supported along one long
If the long strip is wide and the load still applied via edge, the deformation of the leg may be considered as
the ends, wrinkling or twisting occurs, such deformation
(a) bending about an axis of least moment of inertia,
being resisted by the torsional rigidity of the section.
as X X in Fig. 2, and
In the standard sections such as angle, tee and channel
(6) twisting about a centre of twist, as point O. The
the outstanding leg or flange will behave similarly, but the determination of the centre of twist will depend on the
liability to twist will be increased since one long edge of
relative stiffness of the component rectangles of which the
the " strip'" will be supported.
section may be considered formed.
I t is thus clear that any formula for the design of aircraft
D e t e r m i n a t i o n of C r i p p l i n g S t r e s s
sections should incorporate flexural and torsional factors.

II

R a t i o of F l e x u r a l a n d T o r s i o n a l R i g i d i t i e s
The importance of considering torsional rigidity is indicated in Fig. 1, where the ratio of flexural to torsional
rigidity is plotted against an increasing value of breadth
to thickness of the outstanding leg of a simple angle section

Referring to Fig. 3, the general problem

may be stated thus : Consider a strut of
length " L," ends hinged, and let the area
"a" be a small part of the cross section
of the structural member. Then this
typical longitudinal fibre will deform to
a curve such as

HORIZONTAL SECTION
AT HALF HEIGHT

- -fK
AREA'a'

77*

V = 8 . sir.
as shown in the elevation. The shortening in length of the member due to this
flexure is

ELEVATION

and if the end loading is p " per unit

area, the work done on this small longitudinal fibre is.
-1.

r/YY = \ . p.a.

(H3- dx.

j o\dx,
This work will be stored as flexural and
torsional strain energies. The flexural
strain energy is
Fig. 1. Relation between bit and EI NC, showing how the
ratio EI/NC increases beyond B.S. range.
The flexural rigidity is taken as proportional to E I ,
where
E is the Modulus of Elasticity and
I is the least moment of inertia ;
and the torsional rigidity is taken as proportional to NC,
where N is the Modulus of Rigidity and
C is the torsional constant.
In Fig. 1, bjt represents the ratio of breadth to thickness
of the outstanding leg.
In the British Standard range of equal angle sections
the ratio of bjt does not exceed 16, and the ratio of EI/NC

EI fLA^>'y

2 JOWV
the bending occurring about an axis as
X X , see Fig. 2. The moment of inertia
will "be given
by
the
expression
. t%. dr.

The torsional strain energy is

2 \Q\dx

" "

AREA'a'

in which C is the torsional constant for

the section, and #j is the twist at any
dd
point x from the end.
The value of -1
dx

HORIZONTAL SECTION
AT HEIGHT X

Fig- 3-