Damage Tolerance Characterisitics of Composite Sandwich Structures
Abstract
Current damage tolerance requirements impose strict constraints on the design of composite aircraft structures, since the various forms of defects taken into consideration must show no-growth' characteristics in the environmental and loading conditions expected in the operative life. A research activity was carried out by Agusta, in collaboration with the University of Pisa, with the purpose of assessing the damage tolerance characteristics of typical composite sandwich structures used by the helicopter industry. A particular effort was dedicated to the study of delamination growth under compression loading, a basic step for understanding the damage tolerance behavior of composite structures. The results of the numerical analysis carried out show that G, the Strain Energy Release Rate, is a suitable parameter for describing the behavior of the delamination, but it is essential to consider its partition according to the fundamental modes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADP010637
Entities
People
- L. Lazzeri
- U. Mariani
Organizations
- University of Pisa