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ueezing

Activity 2.1.1 Aerospace Materials Investigation

Introduction
Within aerospace design, material selection has a large impact on overall design
performance as well as production and maintenance costs. Aerospace designers
and developers must always be aware of the impact that material selection has on
design specifications ranging from propulsion requirements to environmental factors.
In this activity you will investigate properties of materials in several categories.
Within each category you will consider the suitability of the materials in aerospace
applications.

Equipment

Computer with Internet access

Engineering notebook
Pencil

Procedure
1. Open the PBS Forces Lab at the following link :
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/lab/forces.html
2. Click the Forces tab along the top.
3. Click Squeezing option. Click and drag the slider and observe the effect on the
material.
4. Observe images by clicking See It In Real Life.
5. Repeat this exploration for each force and use what you learned to complete the
following table.

Engineering term
(look above the
block)
Compressions=
are a force that
squeezes a
material together.
When a material

Definition
(in your own words)
Compressions is when force
which squeezes/push the
material together at each ends
to create smaller/shorter version
of the material

Two examples of how this forc

can affect airplanes (your idea
1.A way to use compression is to
create a plane wing which could
expand and compress the wing or
object to be inserted/stored inside
plane

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ces

etching

nding

ding

sting

Engineering term
(look above the
block)
is in
compression, it
tends to become
shorter.
Tension= is a force
that stretches a
material apart.
When a material is
on tension, it tends
to become larger.
Bending=When a
straight material
becomes curved,
one sides
squeezes together
and the other side
stretches apart.
This action is
called bending.
Shear= is a force
that causes parts
of a material o slide
past one another in
opposite directions.
Torsion= is an
action that twists a
material.

Definition
(in your own words)

Two examples of how this forc

can affect airplanes (your idea

2.Another way is to use compressi

to allow the plane to move faster in
the sky by allowing the wings to
expand and compress the wind
tension.
Tension is a force which pulls the
1.To create more storage space
material to allow the material to
inside the cargo bay of a plane
expand its length to become longer 2. To expand the plane length o ho
or bigger.
more passengers
Bending is when pushing and
pulling a material/object to create a
curve/ bend shape.

1. To allow the pilot seat and the

equipment to eject from the plane
without creating damages to plane
equipments in the pilots seat.
2.

Shear is wen pushing the top and

bottom sides of a object and create
a slanted object or shape.

Torsion is twisting one side of a

object or material and allowing one
side to create a twisted knot like
figure.

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6. Now that you understand forces, lets observe various materials used in aerospace applications. Click on the tab labeled
Materials.
Metals
7. Click on each material shown below and move the slider until the material cracks. Use the tick marks on the scale to assign a
number to the force, cost and weight. Record this number on the following table. Move the slides completely to the maximum to
see a message about the material. Complete the table below using what you learn.
Type of
Material

Strength in
Tension
(Stretching
)

Strength in
Compressio
n
(Squeezing)

Cost

Weight

Pros and Cons

Applications

Aluminu
m

Steel

8. Based on your results, in which loading condition (tension or compression) are metals strongest?
9. Even though steel is an exceptionally strong metal, why wouldnt it be a good choice for use inside jet engines?
10.

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Polymers
11. Click on the material shown below and move the slider until the material cracks. Use the tick marks on the scale to assign a
number to the force, cost and weight. Record this number on the following table. Move the slides completely to the maximum to
see a message about the material. Complete the table below using what you learn.
Type of
Material

Strength in
Tension
(Stretching)

Strength in
Compressio
n
(Squeezing)

Cost

Weight

Pros and Cons

Applications

Plastic

12. As noted in the investigation, plastics are strong and very light, both of which are desirable characteristics to engineers.
However, watch carefully as you apply tension and compression to the plastic. Note how it behaves. Based on your
observations, would plastic be a suitable alternative to aluminum for airplanes, or steel for buildings? Why or why not?
Ceramics
13. Click on the material shown below and move the slider until the material cracks. Use the tick marks on the scale to assign a
number to the force, cost and weight. Record this number on the following table. Move the slides completely to the maximum to
see a message about the material. Complete the table below using what you learn.
Type of
Material

Strength in
Tension
(Stretching)

Strength in
Compressio
n
(Squeezing)

Cost

Weight

Pros and Cons

Applications

Brick

14. Based on your observations, in which method of loading (tension or compression) are ceramics strongest? In your opinion, why
do you think ceramics behave this way?
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15. Since ceramics can be so strong (and relatively inexpensive), why arent they used to make aircraft or other transportation
machines? Why do we only seem them used in buildings or structures?

16. Why wouldnt brick be used to make the cables which hold up a suspension bridge?

Composites
17. Click on each material shown below and move the slider until the material cracks. Use the tick marks on the scale to assign a
number to the force, cost and weight. Record this number on the following table. Move the slides completely to the maximum to
see a message about the material. Complete the table below using what you learn.
Type of
Material

Strength in
Tension
(Stretching
)

Strength in
Compressio
n
(Squeezing)

Cos
t

Weigh
t

Pros and Cons

Applications

Wood

Reinforce
d
Concrete
18. Note the arrangement of the steel rods in the reinforced concrete and the fibers of the wood. Why were these materials strongest
pulled along the rods and fibers?
19. In your opinion, what would have happened if we would have pulled on the wood/reinforced concrete from the top and bottom
instead of the sides? Why?

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20. Click on the unreinforced concrete and perform a tension/compression test. How does adding the steel rods improve the strength
of the concrete (and in which mode, tension or compression)? Explain.

21. As noted in the investigation, wood and reinforced concrete are relatively strong and inexpensive. Why dont we use these
particular composite materials to construct aircraft or other transportation vehicles?
We dont use these particular composite materials to construct aircraft or other transportation vehicles due to the weight of the
material and the simulations ran that may cause accidents or errors if using said material.
22. The PBS Forces Lab is a resource designed to show qualitative comparisons between broad material categories. Engineers
need accurate material properties to design safe and predictable products. These material properties were measured using
stringent testing standards. These properties are published in sources for reference such as MatWeb http://www.matweb.com.
Use this site or a similar site to find properties of the materials shown below.
Material

Density or Specific Gravity

Tensile Strength

Elongation at Break

(Yield)

(if available)

Metric:450 MPa

20%

Metric >= 276 MPa

8.0%

Metric:1.79 - 57.4 MPa

3.50 - 720 %

Steel

Metric: 7.70 g/cc

(AISI Type S14800

Stainless Steel condition
A)

English: 0.278 lb/in

Aluminum

Metric: 2.70 g/cc

(6061-T8)

English: 0.0975 lb/in

Plastic

Metric:0.549 - 1.85 g/cc

(PVC, Extruded)

English:0.0198 - 0.0668
lb/in

Wood

Metric:

Metric:

(American Sitka Spruce)

0.310 - 0.360 g/cc

20.7 MPa

0.370 g/cc

46.2 MPa

0.529 g/cc
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0.550 - 0.870 g/cc

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Conclusion
1 What role does material selection have in aerospace design?
The roles material selection have on aerospace design is the material used to create a
plane or ship, the type of material that would withstand wind strength

2 Why would an aerospace designer specify an inferior material compared to other

materials if both materials meet the design specifications?
The main reason why an aerospace designer would specify an inferior material compared
to other materials if both materials meet the design specifications is to see which
material is cheaper, stronger or more efficient to use.

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