Continuous filament wound composite concepts for aircraft fuselage structures

Design studies have been performed on continuous filament wound grid-stiffened composite structural concepts for aircraft fuselages. Stability equations based on a Donnell-type theory, which includes transverse shear deformation in the unidirectional composite ribs, have been developed for a general grid-stiffened circular cylindrical shell. Three candidate design concepts—isogrid, orthogrid, and generalized orthogrid were compared. The loading cases considered were uniaxial compression and combined axial compression and torsion. All three concepts are weight competitive. The isogrid concept, however, is the most attractive due to its demonstrated damage tolerance characteristics.