Month: May 2023
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Introduction
The development of new materials and better utilisation of existing materials has been central to the advancement of aerospace engineering. Advances in the structural performance, safety, fuel economy, speed, range and operating life of aircraft has been reliant on improvements to the airframe and engine materials. Aircraft materials have changed greatly in terms of mechanical…
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What makes for a good aerospace material?
Selecting the best material for an aircraft structure or engine component is an important task for the aerospace engineer. The success or failure of any new aircraft is partly dependent on using the most suitable materials. The cost, flight performance, safety, operating life and environmental impact from engine emissions of aircraft is dependent on the…
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Introducing the main types of aerospace materials
An extraordinarily large number and wide variety of materials are available to aerospace engineers to construct aircraft. It is estimated that there are more than 120 000 materials from which an aerospace engineer can choose the materials for the airframe and engine. This includes many types of metals (over 65 000), plastics (over 15 000),…
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Understanding aerospace materials
Advanced materials have an important role in improving the structural efficiency of aircraft and the propulsion efficiency of jet engines. The properties of materials that are important to aircraft include their physical properties (e.g. density), mechanical properties (e.g. stiffness, strength and toughness), chemical properties (e.g. corrosion and oxidation), thermal properties (e.g. heat capacity, thermal conductivity)…
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The Importance of Aerospace Materials
The importance of materials science and technology in aerospace engineering cannot be overstated. The materials used in airframe structures and in jet engine components are critical to the successful design, construction, certification, operation and maintenance of aircraft. Materials have an impact through the entire life cycle of aircraft, from the initial design phase through to…
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Software
Overview Software is made of logic, data, and control decisions. Aircraft system software requires a top-down approach, beginning at the topmost level of system requirements and progressing “downward” into levels of greater detail. Even at the lowest, most detailed level, each element of software must be traceable to an aircraft or system performance requirement. For…
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Regulatory Requirements for Aircraft Certification
Introduction The FAA has a mandate to promote safety—of people carried in an aircraft, of other aircraft in flight in the same airspace, and of people and property on the ground beneath the flight path of aircraft. Within that framework, the FAA has three main priorities: The Standard Airworthiness Certificate is the last in a…
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Maintainability
In the airline industry, maintainability has evolved a high profile. The maintenance costs that result from poor maintainability are increasingly less acceptable to major airline customers than was the case in years past. The airline customer is now demanding very high levels of maintainability in their aircraft. Maintainability is a quality, and it results from…
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Flight Crew Systems Interface
The systems engineer makes many design decisions that affect cockpit crews. Since the earlier days much has been learned about the interfaces between crews, cockpits, and systems, and much of that has been incorporated into the B-777. With airplane design becoming increasingly complex, it becomes ever more important that systems engineers carefully consider the crew…
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Electromagnetic Effects
This section presents important design considerations for controlling electromagnetic effects on the aircraft and equipment. These design techniques are presented in elementary form to emphasize the importance of each design. In the real world, various combinations of these techniques should be used. Two design levels are considered: aircraft level and equipment level. Aircraft level Aircraft-level…