2004 Volume 53 Issue 3Appendix Pages 26-33
In order to clarify the effect of tear strap in airplane fuselage on crack arrest, experimental research and numerical simulation were carried out in this study. Interaction of multiple axial pre-cracks in a pressurized fuselage was investigated using a small-scale model of an idealized fuselage. The strain between multiple cracks under the situation of rapid crack propagation was measured. The experimental results of a rupturing model fuselage represented the variations of stress intensity factors KI and KII in the mixed mode and the remote stress components σox with crack extension. Deformation at the tips of asymmetrical cracks along the stringer was analyzed by a hybrid method using a finite element analysis program, MDC DYTRAN. The recorded crack velocities were in good agreement with the results of finite element analysis. The crack kinking location, kinking angle and the off-axis crack trajectory were also predicted by numerical analysis and the validity of the calculated results was discussed in comparison with the experimental data.
