Crack Growth Simulation for Stiffened Panels

Authors:

  • Troncy Ludovic

Publish date: 2006-01-01

Report number: FOI-R--2098--SE

Pages: 72

Written in: English

Abstract

One trend today in the aircraft industry is to replace build-up panels by integral panels. This new design needs studies that analyse the behaviour of such structures in fatigue conditions. This report shows a crack growth simulation with the finite element method and the linear elastic fracture mechanics method for two different stiffened panels. The simulation for the first panel highlights the delay of stringer in crack growth. It also shows the role played by the mesh in the crack growth simulation as well as the effect of the order of polynomials in the calculation of the stress intensity factors. The second stiffened panel allows us to compare computational data to experimental data. The goal is to find the best mesh and polynomial configuration to simulate crack growth in stiffened panels using the finite element method.