Analysis of Composite Orthogonal Grid Stiffened Flat Panel

Composites offer strength to weight ratio which is necessary for a aerospace industry. Commercial aircraft flooring is about 1cm thick, 2ft by 4ft in size and is made of glass or carbon fiber reinforced epoxy skins with a nomex honeycomb core. The use of sandwich construction, is efficiently the most structurally efficient component. The substitution of Advanced Grid Stiffened (AGS) structures is not required in reducing structural weight, but at reducing cost factor. Advanced structures are characterized by a lattice of rigid, interconnected ribs, which proves to be a highly efficient design. AGS structures also offer other inherent advantages such as high impact resistance, when damaged, delamination and crack propagation tend to remain isolated to a cell. Commercial aircraft floors are designed to withstand high compression loads. The project deals with Design and Analysis of a flat panel of sizes 410mm X 410mm with an orthogonal grid, 4 longitudinal and 4 transverse stiffeners of 10mm width and 14mm height has been considered. The flat panel has been designed and structural analysis is carried out by using ANSYS Software for two different types of materials (Carbon/epoxy, glass/epoxy).