WEIGHT-OPTIMIZING INTERNALLY PRESSURIZED COMPOSITE-BODY AIRCRAFT FUSELAGES HAVING NEAR-ELLIPTICAL CROSS SECTIONS

摘要

A method for minimizing the weight of an internally pressurized aircraft fuselage of a type that includes an elongated tubular shell having a near-elliptical cross-section with a radius R(f)-and a curvature Curv(f), where f is a roll elevation angle of the shell, includes tailoring at least one structural attribute of the shell as a function of at least one of the elevation angle f, R(f) and Curv(f) so as to reduce the weight of the fuselage relative to an identical fuselage shell in which the same at least one structural attribute has not been so tailored.