Structural Development of the Concorde: An account of the design philosphy adopted to meet the new considerations involved in the construction of a supersonic transport

Abstract

DEVELOPMENT of the supersonic transport is involving a wide variety of activities in all fields of aeronautics. This paper describes the work which has taken place, or is planned, in the field of structures. Although Concorde is designed for Much 2, a speed at which aluminium alloys can continue to be used as the primary structural materials, evaluation of the particular alloys chosen and study of their behaviour under complex temperature‐stress histories involves considerable laboratory effort. While many aircraft have already operated under these conditions none has previously had to last for at least 45,000 hours in service. This gives rise to the two most significant new design considerations, viz. creep and thermal fatigue. Creep affects the choice of basic material, the design of joints and the design of structures through its interaction with fatigue life. Thermal stresses, arising from differential expansions within the structure and superimposed upon the normal flight stresses, have a more important effect on fatigue design than on static strength. While the experimental techniques involved are novel, practical methods of accelerated thermal testing using convective heating and cooling are described.

Citation

Harpur, N.F. (1968), "Structural Development of the Concorde: An account of the design philosphy adopted to meet the new considerations involved in the construction of a supersonic transport", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 18-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb034351