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Design and optimisation of the external load bearing carry through structure of a columned multi bubble fuselage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

S. H. Cho ,
C. Bil  and
R. Adams
S. H. Cho*
Affiliation:
School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
C. Bil*
Affiliation:
School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
R. Adams*
Affiliation:
School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
*
sunghwan.cho@rmit.edu.au
c.bil@rmit.edu.au
ryan.adams@rmit.edu.au
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Abstract

The blended wing-body configuration holds a major structural design challenge at the centre-body where the structure must support both wing bending loads and internal cabin pressure. A membrane approach is proposed which decouples the loads to allow their resistance by two independent structures: an inner membrane for cabin pressure and an outer structure to resist wing loads. A columned multi-bubble fuselage is proposed for the inner membrane structure, which are multispherical configuration to efficiently withstand the pressure loads. Considering this configuration, the carry-through structure can be designed and optimised. Finite element results show a significant reduction of stress level in this design over that for a conventional multi-bubble fuselage. Up to 30% weight reduction is achieved for a military cargo application that requires an extensive area with no structural interruption. For the outer carry-through structure, the topology and shape optimisations of finite element models were performed on the given design domain. The results from the shape and topology optimisations were complementary demonstrating a consistent design approach. The optimisation theory is briefly presented along with the results.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 117 , Issue 1187 , January 2013 , pp. 97 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2013 

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