Why can airplane wings, which are so thin, support engines weighing dozens of tons?

The main components of the wing include ribs, spars, stringers and skins. The basic function of the wing structure is to form the streamline shape of the wing and transfer the external loads to the fuselage.

The wing structure should have sufficient strength, rigidity and life under external loads. Sufficient rigidity refers to the ability of the skin to maintain the airfoil shape under aerodynamic loads, and also includes the ability of the wing to resist torsion and bending deformation.

The main function of the wing is to generate lift to support the aircraft in flight, and it also plays a certain role in stability and control.

The design of an airplane wing is mainly to cut the airflow into two parts, upper and lower, and to create a difference between the two parts when the wing is flying in the air.

The main reason for an airplane to rise is the pressure difference. The upper and lower surfaces of the wing are asymmetrical, so the air moves a longer distance along the upper surface of the wing and naturally flows faster. The faster the speed, the lower the air pressure, and the pressure difference between the upper and lower surfaces provides lift.

The faster the plane moves, the greater the pressure difference, that is, the lift, so the plane must move forward at high speed when taking off. When the plane needs to descend, it only needs to reduce its forward speed, and its lift will naturally become smaller.

How do aircraft wings bear heavy weight? Given the weight of the wing itself, the ability to safely bear the operating load (which will be magnified as the design load in the design) depends on the correct selection of structural materials, the reasonable arrangement of structural components, and the careful design, analysis, and optimization of structural dimensions.

① Choice of wing materials

The skin of the wing tends to be made of composite materials, while the load-bearing structure still uses metal materials. Carbon fiber composite materials are light in weight and heavy in load-bearing, making them very suitable for use on aircraft wings.

② Reasonable arrangement and size optimization of wing structural components The reason why the aircraft wing can bear most of the weight is that the main load-bearing structure is the wing box, which is made of very light and strong carbon fiber material, and its interior is composed of hundreds of skeletons. So don’t be fooled by the thinness of the aircraft wing, in fact, the internal structure and load-bearing capacity are very powerful.

At the beginning of the design, the designers will add the weight of the wing and the maximum weight that the entire aircraft will carry into the design and calculation, and design and optimize the entire wing based on the maximum weight. Before any new aircraft is put on the market, it will be tested countless times.

The fuel tanks of most civil aircraft are located on the wings. Many people may be curious: since the aircraft is so large and has so much space, why do we have to install the fuel tanks on the wings?

In fact, the plane looks very large, but most of the space is reserved for passengers and onboard equipment, leaving little space for fuel tanks. However, the wings are a good place to store fuel because the wings have sufficient load-bearing capacity and large space, and storing fuel on the wings also helps the plane to fly smoothly. In general, the excellent performance of the aircraft wing mainly depends on the advanced materials itself, coupled with the unique wing design and the optimization of the structural design, which ensures the safety and stability of the aircraft during flight.