Why Plane Windows Are Round
Description: In 1954, two jet airliners broke apart in the sky. The problem started at a corner.
Every flight, a pressurized cabin stretches a little, and sharp corners take the worst of it. On the de Havilland Comet, fatigue cracks grew near squarish windows on the roof until the cabin tore open. Investigators proved it by putting a whole fuselage in a giant water tank and pressurizing it over and over, until it split at a window corner.
Rounded corners weren’t the whole fix: later Comets also got a stronger structure. But curves let stress flow around a window instead of piling up, and that’s why the window you sit beside is rounded.
The Comet cabin was recreated in 3D for this video. All scenes are illustrations, and the pressurization is exaggerated.
The Tech You Never See.
Source: FAA Lessons Learned, de Havilland DH-106 Comet 1.
#aviation #engineering #howitworks Close description
Every flight, a pressurized cabin stretches a little, and sharp corners take the worst of it. On the de Havilland Comet, fatigue cracks grew near squarish windows on the roof until the cabin tore open. Investigators proved it by putting a whole fuselage in a giant water tank and pressurizing it over and over, until it split at a window corner.
Rounded corners weren’t the whole fix: later Comets also got a stronger structure. But curves let stress flow around a window instead of piling up, and that’s why the window you sit beside is rounded.
The Comet cabin was recreated in 3D for this video. All scenes are illustrations, and the pressurization is exaggerated.
The Tech You Never See.
Source: FAA Lessons Learned, de Havilland DH-106 Comet 1.
#aviation #engineering #howitworks Close description
