BOEING 747-8 DESIGN BY USING SOLIDWORKS

BOEING 747-8 DESIGN BY USING SOLIDWORKS:

OBJECTIVE: The main ojective of this project is to design Boeing 747-8 Aircraft by using Solidworks Part and Surface Modelling Environment, and after completion of modelling, assembling the individual parts by using Solidworks Design Environment.

PARTS MODELLED IN BOEING 747-8:

1) Fuselage

2) Belly Fairing

3) Nose Cone

4) Pitot Tubes

5) Cockpit Windows

6) Windshield Wipers

7) Passenger Windows

8) Doors & Hatches

9) Lights & Antennas

10) Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)

11) Horizontal Stabilizer

12) Vertical Stabilizer

13) Static Discharge Tubes

14) Wings

15) Flaps & Ailerons

16) Flap Track Fairings

17) Landing Gear Axis

18) Landing Gear Hatches Open

19) Landing Gear Hatches Closed

21) Wheel

22) Nose Gear Base

23) Nose Gear Suspension Arm

24) Main Gear Base

25) Main Gear Suspension Arm

26) Engine

27) Livery

ASSEMBLY MODELLED IN BOEING 747-8:

1) Nose Gear Assembly

2) Main Landing Gear Assembly

3) Boeing 747-8 Assembly

INTRODUCTION OF BOEING 747-8:

The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the latest and largest variant of the 747. After introducing the 747-400, Boeing considered larger 747 versions as alternatives to Airbus A3XX. The stretched 747 Advanced was launched as the 747-8 on November 14, 2005, for a market forecast of 300 aircraft. The cargo version was first delivered in October 2011 and the airliner began commercial service in June 2012.

Its fuselage is stretched by 18 ft (5.6 m) to 250 ft (76.3 m), making it the longest airliner until the 777X-9 which first flew in 2020.

On November 14, 2005, Boeing announced the launching the 747 Advanced as the "Boeing 747-8". The 747-8 was intended to use the same engine and cockpit technology as that of the 787, including the General Electric GEnx turbofan and fly-by-wire ailerons and spoilers. Boeing states that the 747-8 is more than 10 percent lighter per seat and consumes 11 percent less fuel per passenger than the A380, translating into a trip-cost reduction of 21 percent and a seat-mile cost reduction of over 6 percent.

The airliner version can carry 467 passengers in a typical three-class configuration over a range of 7,790 nmi (14,430 km), at the cruise speed of 0.86 (914 km/hr).

Length: 76.3 m

Height: 19.4 m

Wingspan: 68.4 m

Maximum Take-Off Weight(MTOW): 4,47,696 kg

Maximum Taxi Weight(MTW): 4,49,056 kg

Maximum Landing Weight(MLW): 3,12,072 kg

Power-Plant: 4x GEnx-2B67 (296 kN)

Engine-Model: General Electric GEnx

1.Blueprint-Setup:

• There are three different views used in the blueprint setup (Front, Side and TOp views). By using the Sketch-Picture Option, the images are inserted and the required dimensions are given to it. By Locking the Feature of Blueprints in the Feature-Manager Tree, we make sure that the changes are not made in the Blueprints Sketch by mistake.

Fig: Blueprints Setup for Fuselage (Livery)

2) Fuselage:

• The fuselage, or body of the airplane, is a long hollow tube which holds all the pieces of an airplane together. The fuselage is hollow to reduce weight. The shape of the fuselage is normally determined by the mission of the aircraft. An airliner has a wider fuselage to carry the maximum number of passengers. On an airliner, the pilots sit in a cockpit at the front of the fuselage. Passengers and cargo are carried in the rear of the fuselage and the fuel is usually stored in the wings. For a fighter plane, the cockpit is normally on top of the fuselage, weapons are carried on the wings, and the engines and fuel are placed at the rear of the fuselage.

• Initially, required sketches of fuselage are created in the Solidworks, and then by using Surface Loft command, the half section of the fuselage is modelled. The other half section is created by using Mirror command. To convert the following Surface Body to Solid Body, the Knit command is used.

Fig: Fuselage

Fig: Boeing-Family Fuselage(at the assembly point)

3) Belly Fairing:

A belly fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag. These structures are covers for gaps and spaces between parts of an aircraft to reduce form drag and interference drag. It is also called as "Ventral-Fairing".

It is located on the underside of the fuselage between the main wings. It can also cover additional cargo storage or fuel tanks and it also gives space to Body Landing Gears.

• Belly Fairing is modelled using Boss & Extrude, Fillet, Mirror and Combine command.

Fig: Belly Fairing

4) Nose Cone:

A nose cone is the conically shaped forwardmost section of a rocket, guided missile or aircraft, designed to modulate oncoming airflow behaviours and minimize aerodynamic drag.

On airliners the nose cone is also a radome protecting the weather radar from aerodynamic forces.

The shape of the nose cone must be chosen for minimum drag so a solid of revolution is used that gives least resistance to motion.

Fig: Nose Cone

5) Pitot-Tubes:

It is also known as "pitot-probes". It is basically a flow measurement device used to measure fluid flow velocity. It is widely used to determine the airspeed of an aircraft. It is the pressure-sensitive instruments used to measure

1) Aircraft's airspeed

2) Mach number

3) Altitude

4) Altitude trend.

There are four pitot tubes available on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft. Two pitot tubes are on the left hand side and the other two are located on the right hand side of the fuselage. Errors in pitot-static system readings can be extremely dangerous as the information obtained from the pitot static system, such as airspeed, is potentially safety-critical. It is modelled by using Extruded Bose/Base, Fillet and Revolve command.

Fig: Pitot-Tubes

6) Cockpit Windows:

A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which the pilot controls the whole aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flights instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls that enable the pilot to fly the aircraft.

Cockpit windows may be equipped with a sun shield. Most cockpits have windows that can be opened when the aircraft is on the ground. Nearly all glass windows in large aircraft have an anti-reflective coating, and an internal heating element to melt ice. Ergonomics and Human factors concerns are important in the design of modern cockpits.

There are two main functions of Cockpit:

1) To provide the pilot with a good angle of view and

2) To make all control mechanisms accessible to them.

How strong is the cockpit Window?

The cockpit window glass is approximately 6 centimeters thick and is reinforced with various chemicals. These glasses consist of several layers and can withstand temperatures ranging from -60 degrees to 40 degrees Celsius.

It is impossible for the glass to crack completely under normal conditions. Under extreme conditions, only first layer of the window breaks.

It is modelled by using Extruded Boss/Base, Fillet, Thicken, Offset Surface commands.

Fig: Cockpit Window & Windshield Wipers

Fig: Cockpit Windshield Structure of Boeing 747-8

7) Windshield Wipers:

A windshield wiper is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice, washer fluid, water and debris from an aircraft's front window.

A windscreen washer system is also used to improve and expand the function of the wiper(s) to dry or icy conditions. This system sprays water, or an antifreeeze window washer fluid, at the windscreen using several well-positioned nozzles. This system helps remove dirt or dust from the windscreen when it is used in concert with the wiper blades. When antifreeze washer fluid is used, it can help the wipers remove snow or ice.

8) Passenger Windows:

A typical cabin window consists of three panes:

1) an outer pane flush with the outside fuselage

2) an inner pane- which has a little hole used for maintaining pressurization and de-pressurization of an aircraft during ascents and descents.

3) a thinner, non- structural plastic pane called a scratch pane.

The aircraft cabin windows are not made of glass, but with something called “stretched acrylic”.

Inner panes are generally thinner at approximately 0.2” thick and are only present as a fail-safe if the outer pane fails. The outer panes are thicker at approximately 0.4” thick and carry the pressure loads for the life of the window. The air gap is approximately 0.25” and also varies for each aircraft.

Fig: Passenger Windows

9) Doors & Hatches:

There are total 6 doors on each side of the Boeing 747-8. The cockpit escape hatch is placed above the cockpit. In case of emergency, pilots can escape through this hatch. There are total 3 hatches available on the right side of the fuselage. These hatches are available for the cargo compartment.

10) Lights & Antennas:

Aircraft lighting systems provide illumination for both exterior and interior use. Lights on the exterior provide illumination for such operations as landing at night, inspection of icing conditions, and safety from midair collision. Interior lighting provides illumination for instruments, cockpits, cabins, and other sections occupied by crewmembers and passengers. Certain special lights, such as indicator and warning lights, indicate the operation status of equipment.

Position, anticollision, landing, and taxi lights are common examples of aircraft exterior lights.

Aircraft operating at night must be equipped with position lights. A set of position lights consist of one red, one green, and one white light.

The green light unit is always mounted at the extreme tip of the right wing. The red light is mounted in a similar position on the left wing. The white light is usually located on the vertical stabilizer in a position where it is clearly visible through a wide angle from the rear of the aircraft.

Variety of antennas are available on an aircraft. These are:

1) Communication antennas

2) GPS Antennas

3) Loran Antennas

4) Loop Antennas

5) Marker Beacon Antennas

6) Navigation Antennas

7) Radio Altimeters

8) UHF Antennas

These units are modelled using Extruded Boss/Base, Revolved Boss/Base, Revolve, Fillet and Move commands.

Fig: Lights & Antennas

Fig: Different Types of Antennas

11) Auxiliary Power Unit(APU):

An Auxiliary Power Unit or APU allows an aircraft to operate autonomously without reliance on ground support equipment such as a ground power unit, an external air-conditioning unit or a high pressure air start cart.

The APU is a small jet engine which is normally located in the tail cone of the aircraft but, in some cases, is located in an engine nacelle or in the wheel well. The APU can be started utilizing only the aircraft battery(s) and, once running, will provide electrical power to aircraft systems as well as bleed air for air conditioning and for engine start.

It can also be used as a source of bleed air for starter assist for an inflight engine relight or to power the air-conditioning packs in the event conditions. It generally produces 115 V AC Voltage at 400 Hz to run the electrical systems of an aircraft. It can produce power through single or three-phase AC Systems.

Fig: Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)

Fig: AI-9V APU

12) Vertical Stabilizer:

The Vertical Stabilizer is found on the tail of the aircraft. The vertical stabilizer, however, is installed vertically on the airplane’s tail. It is a component that is specially designed to minimize side slip(Yaw Slip). It is also called as Rudder, which allows pilots to control the Yaw movement.

There are two types of vertical Stabilizers:

1) Single-Type Stabilizers

2) Multi-Type Stabilizers

Conventional Tail, T-tail and Cruciform tail are the types of Single-Type Stabilizers.

Twin Tail, Triple Tail, Quad-Tail and V-Tail are the types of Multi-Type Stabilizers.

13) Horizontal Stabilizer:

A Horizontal Stabilizer is used to maintain the aircraft in longitudinal balance, or (trim). It exerts a vertical force at a distance so the summation of pitch moments about the center of gravity is zero.

Another role of Horizontal Stabilizer is to provide longitudinal static stability. It refers to the tendency of the aircraft to return to the trimmed condition if it is disturbed. This maintains a constant aircraft attitude, with unchanging pitch angle relative to the airstream.

The elevator serves to control the pitch axis; in case of a fully-movable tail, the entire assembly acts as a control surface. It also prevents up-down or pitching movement. During take off the elevators are used to bring the nose of the aircraft up to begin the climb out. During a banked turn, elevator inputs can increase the lift and cause a tighter turn. That is why elevator performance is so important for fighter aircraft.

Fig: Empennage (Horizontal + Vertical Stabilizer)

Fig: Graphical Image(Stabilizers)

14) Wings:

Wings develop the major portion of the lift of a heavier-than-air aircraft. The particular design of a wing depends on many factors, such as the size, weight, speed, rate of climb, and use of the aircraft. The wing must be constructed so that it holds its aerodynamics shape under the extreme stresses of combat maneuvers or wing loading.

A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift of a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one or two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing.

For a wing to produce lift, it must be oriented at a suitable angle of attack. When this occurs, the wing deflects the airflow downwards as it passes the wing. Since the wing exerts a force on the air to change its direction, the air must also exert an equal and opposite force on the wing, resulting in different air pressures over the surface of the wing.

Fig: Wings, Flaps & Ailerons

15) Flaps & Ailerons:

Flaps are mounted on the trailing edge on the inboard section of each wing (near the wing roots). They are deflected downward to increase the effective curvature of the wing. Flaps raise the maximum lift coefficient of the aircraft and therefore reduces the stalling speed. They are used during low speed, high angle of attack flight including take-off and descent for landing. Some aircraft are equipped with "flaperons", which are more commonly called "inboard ailerons".

The aileron controls the rolling movement along the lateral axis of an aircraft. Whenever lift is increased, induced drag is also increased. When the stick is moved left to roll the aircraft to the left, the right aileron is lowered which increases lift on the right wing and therefore increases induced drag on the right wing. Differential ailerons are ailerons which have been rigged such that the downgoing aileron deflects less than the upward-moving one, reducing adverse yaw.

Fig: Boeing 747-8 Left Wing(Flaps & Ailerons)

16) Flap Track Fairings:

A flap track fairing is a secondary structure whose function is to provide an aerodynamic cover and so reduce drag. Flaps are used to reduce take-off and landing distance. It is mounted under the trailing edge of the fixed wing aircraft.

Boeing 747-8 has total 8 flap track fairings, 4 on the left and 4 on the right.

Fig: Flap Track Fairings

17) Landing Gear Hatches Closed and Open:

To decrease drag in flight, undercarriages retract into the wings and fuselage with wheels flush with the surrounding surface or concealed behind flush-mounted doors. The doors are hinged back-to-back in the center of an Boeing 747-8 fuselage and open only when the landing gear are retracted or deployed. The landing gear Hatches are operated electrically ana hydraulically.

Doors remain closed and locked in the event of inadvertent landing gear deployment(during malfunction of landing gear deployment).

Fig: Landing Gear Hatches

18) Engine:

An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines(air-breathing engines). In commercial aviation the major Western manufacturers of turbofan engines are Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and CFM International.

In general, an aircraft engines are internal combustion engines. Most modern subsonic jet aircraft use more complex high by-pass turbofan engines. They give higher speed and greater fuel efficiency than piston and propeller aeroengines over long distances.

Turbofans are the dominant engine type for medium and long-range airliners. Turbofans are usually more efficient than turbojets at subsonic speeds, but at high speeds their large frontal area generates more drag.

The engine used for the Boeing 747-8 is General Electric GEnx-2B67 next generation engine. The design of the 747-8 aircraft engine is slightly modified variant of the GEnx engine developed for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The Engine provides 65,500 lb of thrust (296 kN).

Fig: Engine

Fig: GE Engine

19) Livery:

The aircraft liveries and logos of airlines are used to provide distinctive branding for corporate and commercial reasons. Often they also combine symbols of national identity while being acceptable to an international market.

Fig: Air France (KLM) Livery

BOEING 747-8 ASSEMBLY:

In this modelling, first the initial models were created and then the assembly was done. This type of approach is called as Bottom-Up Approach. Then the parts were assembled together using various mate options in the Solidworks Assembly Environment.

1) Nose Gear Assembly:

Nose Gear Base, Wheel and Nose Gear Suspension Arm are the parts used for Nose Gear sub-part.

Then all the models were created individually and then the assembly was done followed by the sub-assembly parts in the Solidworks assembly environment.

In Boeing 747-8, it has only one Nose Landing Gear.

Fig: Wheel

Fig: Nose Gear Assembly

2) Main Landing Gear Assembly:

It consists of Main Gear Base, two Main Gear Suspension Arms and four wheels.

This is also modelled and assembled by similar approach as done for the Nose Gear Assembly. Boeing 747-8 has 4 Main Landing Gears. 2 are Wing Landing Gears(Assembled under the Wing of an aircraft) and 2 are Body Landing Gears(Assembled under the fuselage of an aircraft).

Fig: Main Landing Gear Assembly

After the completion of all the model creation and sub-assembles of an aircraft, Final Assembly of Boeing 747-8 was done in the Solidworks Assembly Environment.

First, the livery part of the main body (fuselage with all the associated parts) are inserted into the assembly section and made fixed. Then the engine was inserted for the assembly. The engine was assembled using the Engine Right plane, Front plane and Top plane with the main livery part specific planes for the successful application of mates which we had given (Coincident, Concentric and Distance Mates).

Same steps were followed by the nose and main landing gears.

There are different types of mates used in this project:

1) Coincident Mates

2) Distance Mates

3) Concentric Mates

4) Angular Mates

5) Gear Mates

Gear mates plays an important role in the movement of the mechanical components modelled in Solidworks. This mate is appiled to nose and main landing gear so that it moves appropriately in the desired location.

Fig: BOEING 747-8 Final Assembly

RENDERING:

Rendering or image synthesis is the process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model by means of a computer program. The resulting image is referred to as the render.

It can done in two ways in Solidworks. These are:

1) Photoview 360

2) Solidworks Visualize

Some of the rendered BOEING 747-8 Final Assembly images are given below:

Conclusion: In this project, various models/parts were created using many commands and area like Surface, Solid modelling and combining all the models by using assembly feature available in Solidworks.

Rendering was done to comeout with realistic effect on the assembly that we have modelled using Photoview 360 and Solidworks Visualize.

Thank you,

Vedant Parekh