Discrete crack growth analysis methodology for through cracks in pressurized fuselage structures

Abstract

Abstract A methodology for simulating the growth of long through cracks in the skin of pressurized aircraft fuselage structures is described. Crack trajectories are allowed to be arbitrary and are computed as part of the simulation. The interaction between the mechanical loads acting on the superstructure and the local structural response near the crack tips is accounted for by employing a hierarchical modelling strategy. The structural response for each cracked configuration is obtained using a geometrically non‐linear shell finite element analysis procedure. Four stress intensity factors, two for membrane behaviour and two for bending using Kirchhoff plate theory, are computed using an extension of the modified crack closure integral method. Crack trajectories are determined by applying the maximum tangential stress criterion. Crack growth results in localized mesh deletion, and the deletion regions are remeshed automatically using a newly developed all‐quadrilateral meshing algorithm. The effectiveness of the methodology, and its applicability to performing practical analyses of realistic structures, is demonstrated by simulating curvilinear crack growth in a fuselage panel that is representative of a typical narrow‐body aircraft. The predicted crack trajectory and fatigue life compare well with measurements of these same quantities from a full‐scale pressurized panel test.