Detailed Analysis and Test Correlation of a Stiffened Composite Wing Panel

Abstract

State-of-the-art nonlinear finite element analysis techniques are evaluated by applying them to a realistic aircraft structural component. A wing panel from the V-22 tiltrotor aircraft is chosen because it is a typical modern aircraft structural component for which there is experimental data for comparison of results. A novel solution strategy which accounts for geometric nonlinearity through the use of corotating element reference frames and nonlinear strain displacement relations is used to analyze this detailed model. Results from linear analyses using the same finite element model are presented in order to illustrate the advantages and costs of the nonlinear analysis as compared with the more traditional linear analysis. Strain predictions from both the linear and nonlinear stress analyses are shown to compare well with experimental data up through the Design Ultimate Load (DUL) of the panel. However, due to the extreme nonlinear response of the panel, the linear analysis was not accurate at loads above the DUL. The nonlinear analysis more accurately predicted the strain at high values of applied load, and even predicted complicated nonlinear response characteristics, such as load reversals, near the observed failure load of the test panel. In order to understand the failure mechanism of the panel, buckling and first-ply failure analysis were performed. The predicted buckling load was 17% above the observed failure load while first- ply failure analyses indicated significant material damage at and below the observed failure load.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA243495

Entities

People

  • Dale Davis Jr

Organizations

  • United States Army Aviation and Missile Command

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerospace Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Composite Materials
  • Computational Science
  • Epoxy Composites
  • Equations
  • Failure Analysis
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Graphitic Materials
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Mechanics
  • Nonlinear Analysis
  • Stress Analysis
  • Structural Analysis
  • Structural Components
  • Tilt Rotor Aircraft

Readers

  • Structural Dynamics.
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.