Topological Design of a Lightweight Sandwich Aircraft Spoiler

Abstract

In this study, a lightweight sandwich aircraft spoiler (AS) with a high stiffness-to-weight ratio was designed. Excellent mechanical properties were achieved by the synthetic use of topology optimization (TO), lattice structure techniques, and high-performance materials, i.e., titanium alloy and aluminum alloy. TO was first utilized to optimize the traditional aircraft spoiler to search for the stiffest structure with a limited material volume, where titanium alloy and aluminum alloy were used for key joints and other parts of the AS, respectively. We then empirically replaced the fine features inside the optimized AS with 3D kagome lattices to support the shell, resulting in a lightweight sandwich AS. Numerical simulations were conducted to show that the designed sandwich AS exhibited good mechanical properties, e.g., high bending rigidity, with a reduction in weight by approximately 80% when compared with that of the initial design model. Finally, we fabricated the designed model with photosensitive resin using a 3D printing technique.