Mechanical analysis of hybrid structured aircraft wing ribs with different geometric gaps

Abstract

Wing ribs, which play a critical role in aviation, are an important design element, especially for unmanned aerial vehicles. Aircraft wing ribs are structural elements that generally extend from the wing root to the tip, used to maintain the shape of the wing, provide aerodynamic stability and add durability to the wing surface. In this study, the wing root rib of the MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle were modeled with cavities with different geometric structures and its mechanical behavior were examined. Wing rib structures were created from circular, elliptical, slot and beam geometry gaps. The hybrid structure was created by considering the combined use of Carbon–Kevlar–Aramid. In the hybrid structure, the thickness of each fiber layer was taken into account as 0.25 mm and the wing rib consisted of six layers. The effects of different fiber angles in hybrid composite structures were also examined. As a result of the analyses, equivalent stress (von-Mises stress) and total deformation results were examined.