AERSP 301Aerospace Structures

3 credits · Aerospace Engineering · Penn State

Aerospace structural design concepts, flight safety. Stiffness, strength, stability of thin-walled structures under combined loads. Energy methods, finite element analysis. AERSP 301 Aerospace Structures (3) AERSP 301 covers essential topics in aerospace structures. The objectives of the course are to help students: 1) appreciate the roles that structures and structural materials play in aerospace vehicles; 2) understand general design concepts for aerospace structures: vehicles, components, and materials; 3) develop the analysis tools and skills needed to analyze the performance of aerospace structures; and 4) gain experience identifying, formulating, and solving aerospace structural engineering problems. AERSP 301 builds on structural mechanics topics from required foundational courses in mechanics, statics, dynamics and strength of materials. It prepares students for study of advanced topics such as plates and shells, composites, structural stability, finite element analysis, structural dynamics, and aeroelasticity. It also provides students with the basic background needed to contribute effectively to multidisciplinary trade studies in vehicle design activities. AERSP 301 begins with an overview of the general features of flight vehicle structures, with emphasis on thin-walled members and advanced materials. Then, the implications of assured safety of flight for structural design are explored, leading to coverage of: load cases, flight envelopes, load factors, factors of safety, kinds of structural failures, and margins of safety. Topics in structural analysis proceed from an initial review of topics in elasticity, structural materials, and beam bending. Then, the deflection and stress responses of thin-walled beams under transverse shear and torsional loading are addressed. More than a third of the course is devoted to energy principles and the development of the finite element method of structural analysis. The course finishes with a treatment of the structural stability of beams and panels, a key topic with respect to the behavior of thin-walled aerospace structures.