Fatigue Crack Propagation Analysis of Aircraft Structures.

Abstract

This thesis is a comparative study of aircraft fatigue life calculations based upon crack propagation and upon cumulative damage. The stress concentration factor, which supplies sufficient geometric information for Miner's Law of cumulative damage, is found to not completely specify the geometry for the crack propagation approach. Effects on fatigue life of variations in initial crack length, plate width, hole size, and hole geometry for the same stress concentration factor have been investigated; also both ordered and random load histories were used to compare the two approaches. Complete FORTRAN computer program input documentation for the IBM 360/67 system has been included as an appendix to enable this thesis to serve as a user's manual for CRACK'S II, an Air Force crack propagation program for aircraft fatigue damage. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1978
Accession Number
ADA053835

Entities

People

  • Larry Don Newsome

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aeronautical Engineering
  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Crack Propagation
  • Crack Tips
  • Cracks
  • Fatigue Life
  • Fracture (Mechanics)
  • Geometry
  • Intensity
  • Mechanics
  • Stress Concentration
  • Stress Intensity Factors
  • Stresses

Readers

  • Computer Science.
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.