Elasticity of a sheet reinforced by stringers and skew ribs, with applications to swept wings

Abstract

A rigorous theory has been developed for determining the stresses and displacements in a sheet reinforced by stringers and ribs which are not at right-angles to the stringers. The solution of many problems of practical importance has been facilitated by the introduction of a stress function. The theory has been applied to a cylinder oI rectangular section stiffened with such skew ribs (a simplified representation of a swept wing). It is shown that there are axes about which applied moments produce pure twist or pure curvature of the cylinder. There are simple formulae for determining these axes and the relationships between twist and curvature and the applied moments.