Design handbook for bolted/riveted aluminum tube & gusset structures?

A discussion in another forum reminded me that I have a lot of detail design info and references on welded tubular steel, sheet metal and wood structures, but nothing on best practices for ultralight-style bolted/riveted aluminum tube & gusset structures.

Here is a neat time-lapse clip of building a Best Off Skyranger to show what I mean:

http://youtu.be/vJJGVHVB4Gk

Does anyone have any resources to suggest, from individual articles to actual reference books or a design handbook, any resources specific to this type of construction?


Cheers,


Matthew

Let me do some digging. I'm sure I have something in my collection that would be potentially useful. If nothing else, the old MILSPEC and related materials might provide some good starting points.

That would be great, Steve. I am sure that there are lots of little "tricks of the trade" used in the bolted and riveted tubular aircraft structures of the 1930s and by modern ultralight aircraft builders and I am interested in gathering some of those design details and best practices rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

Interesting question... I designed mine from first principles without reference to a handbook. Its probably over - built but it certainly is strong. I used square section 6063 tubing, Which is commercial grade, but I went up in wall thickness to compensate for a slightly weaker alloy. It is worth noting that 6063 extrusion is used to hang plate glass windows on skyscrapers, so even though it is "commercial" it is plenty tough enough. I used Channel section to interlock around the square section to provide bracing. The interlocking reduced the loading on the fasteners, and a Structural polymer adhesive in all the joints prevents fretting which can shear rivets. My wing ribs were made up from interlocking channel and square section assembled in a jig - it turns out this is the way Vickers Armstrongs in the UK built thier inter- war biplanes - and even the early Spitfire wings! Indeed the method of construction was widely used in the 1930s and is quite reliable. The key advantage I found the method had was that it didnt requirewleding as steel tube does (I'm hopeless at welding!) nor expensive sheetmetal tools that monocoque aluminium structures do. I built my aircraft with no more complex tooling than a Mitre saw and a bandsaw. The drawback is the enormous component count, but I produced many of my bits on a "production line" using various jigs. Definitely a technique worth investigating - I'm going to use it again on my next design!

Attachment 1896Attachment 1897Attachment 1898Attachment 1899Attachment 1900Attachment 1901

Great pics !!

Matthew, shoot me a PM with your e-mail. I'll send you some of the stuff I have found. I've found a few things but it may be the weekend before I can get it to you.

AC 43.13 has a page or two about splicing aluminum tubes with rivets. But nothing about gusset joints for ultralights.

If you can find a copy of a book titled Aircraft Layout and Detail Design by Anderson and published by McGraw-Hill, it explains how to calculate the load capacity of a riveted joint. It is actually not that hard and does not involve complicated math. But then you have to know how much load you want the joint to carry. AC43.13 has specs for rivited joints that are very very conservative. But when I am designing an aluminum riveted structure, I pick up Anderson.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

Ordered, thanks much. And thanks all for your comments...keep them coming!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by WLIU

If you can find a copy of a book titled Aircraft Layout and Detail Design by Anderson and published by McGraw-Hill, it explains how to calculate the load capacity of a riveted joint. It is actually not that hard and does not involve complicated math. But then you have to know how much load you want the joint to carry. AC43.13 has specs for rivited joints that are very very conservative. But when I am designing an aluminum riveted structure, I pick up Anderson.Best of luck, Wes N78PS

---

This might be useful from England.Attachment 1920