A new role for structures technology in aircraft configuration development

It is pointed out that decisions made during configuration development determine nearly 60% of the total program cost. The key to the new Structures Technology role considered is the development of integrated computer systems for structural design and analysis. Such systems make it possible to include structural sizing within the scope of preliminary configuration development. Analysis models are discussed, taking into account approaches used to determine the structural weight of an aircraft in the preliminary design stage, a finite element representation for a supersonic arrow wing transport, and the aerodynamic model. Attention is given to automated design considerations and a study which was conducted to reduce the aerodynamic drag of a supersonic transport by blending the structure of the wing and fuselage.