Advanced damage tolerance and risk analysis methodologies and tools for aircraft structures containing multiple-site and multiple-element fatigue damages

Abstract

This article presents the results obtained from the development of advanced damage tolerance analysis (DTA) and risk analysis methodologies and tools for aircraft structures, including build-up structures containing multiple-site fatigue damage (MSD) and multiple-element damage, to support the Canadian Forces aircraft structural life cycle management. The DTA methods developed include new closed-form solutions and generic finite element (FE) based tools to calculate the stress intensity factors and the β-solutions for build-up structural configurations. To facilitate the risk assessment, an in-house crack growth analysis program, CanGROW, was developed to simultaneously grow multiple cracks. Guidelines were established to calculate the residual strength of structures with MSD and multiple-element damage using global and/or local FE models, considering load redistribution among adjacent components. For the MSD risk analysis, an efficient Monte Carlo simulation technique was developed to determine the crack size distributions at different inspection intervals, which were then used in National Research Council Canada’s risk analysis code probabilistic damage tolerance analysis to calculate the single flight hour probability of failure. Case studies on critical locations of the CC-130 centre wing structure are presented to demonstrate the capability of the developed methods and tools.

Keywords

damage tolerance risk analysis multiple-site fatigue damage multiple-element damage finite element analysis Monte Carlo simulation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

National Transportation Safety Board. LAX02GA201, 2002, available from http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20020621X00954&key=1 (accessed 1 September 2010).

Liao, M., Bombardier, Y., Renaud, G., Bellinger, N., and Cheung, T. Development of advanced risk assessment methodologies for aircraft structures containing MSD/MED. In Proceedings of the 25th symposium of the international committee on aeronautical fatigue, ICAF 2009, bridging the gap between theory and operational practice (Ed. J. Bos), Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 27–29 May 2009, pp.811–837 (Springer, Rotterdam).

Federal Aviation Administration. Federal aviation administration - regulations and policies (task 6 – widespread fatigue damage), 2006, available from http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/arac/media/tae/TAE_AA_T6.pdf (accessed 1 April 2011).

Federal Aviation Administration. Aging airplane program: widespread fatigue damage. Fed. Reg., 2010, 75(219), 69746–69789.

Federal Aviation Administration. Damage tolerance and fatigue evaluation of structure. Report no. AC 25.571–1D, (Washington, D.C., Federal Aviation Administration. 13 January 2011.

Federal Aviation Administration. Establishing andimplementing limit of validity to prevent widespread fatigue damage. Report no. AC 120-104, (Washington, D.C., Federal Aviation Administration. 13 January 2011.

Bombardier, Y., Liao, M., and Renaud, G. Fracture mechanics modelling of multiple site damage scenarios. In Proceedings of the 12th International Congress of Fracture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 12–17 July 2009.

Bombardier, Y. and Liao M. A new stress intensity factor solution for cracks at an offset loaded fastener hole. In Proceedings of the 51st AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC structures, structural dynamics, and materials conference, Orlando, Florida, 12–15 April 2010, paper no. AIAA-2010-2864 (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, Virginia).

Bombardier

Liao

Stress intensity factor solution for a through-the-thickness edge crack growing through an open hole , 2011, (Ottawa, Canada, Report no. LTR-SMPL-2011-0015, National Research Council Canada.

10.

Rooke

D. P.

Cartwright

D. J.

Compendium of stress intensity factors, 1976, (London, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office.

11.

Bombardier

Liao

Evaluation of stress intensity factor solutions for radially and diametrically corner cracked holes , 2009, (Ottawa, Canada, Report no. LTR-SMPL-2009-0112, National Research Council Canada.

12.

Bombardier, Y., Liao, M., and Renaud, G. Modeling of continuing damage for damage tolerance analysis. In Proceedings of the 26th Symposium of the International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue (ICAF), Montreal, Canada, 1–3 June 2011, pp. 231–248.

13.

Bombardier

Liao

Stress intensity factor solution for cracks at an offset loaded fastener hole. J. Aircr., 2011, 48(3), 910–918.

14.

Poe JR, C. C. Stress intensity factor for a cracked sheet with riveted and uniformly spaced stringers, 1971, (Washington, D.C, NASA Technical Report R-358, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

15.

Bombardier, Y., Liao, M., and Renaud, G. Stress intensity factors for a crack in a panel with arbitrarily located stringers. In Proceedings of the 2011 Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment Conference, San Diego, California, 18–21 April 2011.

16.

Renaud, G., Liao, M., and Bombardier, Y. Development of an efficient methodology and tool to determine stress intensity correction factors for complex aircraft structures. In Proceedings of the 26th Symposium of the International Committee on Aeronautical Fatigue (ICAF), Montreal, Canada, 1–3 June 2011, pp. 335–346.

17.

Renaud, G., Liao, M., and Bombardier, Y. Development of stress intensity correction factors for built-up structures with multiple element damage. In Proceedings of the 2010 Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment Conference, Austin, Texas, 10–13 May 2010.

18.

Renaud

Liao

Bombardier

Development of FE-based stress intensity factor correction solutions for adjacent structures effects , 2009, (Ottawa, Canada, Report no. LTR-SMPL-2009-0240, National Research Council Canada.

19.

Bombardier, Y., Liao, M., and Renaud, G. A new crack growth analysis tool for the assessment of multiple site fatigue damage. In Proceedings of the 2010 Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment Conference, Austin, Texas, 10–13 May 2010.

20.

Miedlar, P. C., Berens, A. P., Gunderson, A., and Gallagher, J. P. USAF damage tolerant design handbook: guidelines for the analysis and design of damage tolerant aircraft structures. Report no. AFRL-VA-WP-TR-2003-3002, Air Vehicles Directorate - Air Force Material Command – Air Force Research Laboratory – Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, 2002.

21.

Swift, T. Widespread fatigue damage monitoring - issues and concerns. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Structural Airworthiness of New and Aging Aircraft, Hamburg, Germany, 16–19 June 1993, pp. 829–870.

22.

Department of National Defence. Department of National Defence airworthiness directive: review of open records of airworthiness risk management. Report no. DND-AD-2007-01, Department of National Defence, 2007.

23.

Department of Defense. Aircraft structures, report no. JSSG-2006, 1998, (Washington, D.C., Department of Defense.

24.

Department of Defense. Department of Defense – standard practice – Aircraft structural integrity program (Asip) , 2005, (Washington, D.C., Report no. MIL-STD-1530C, Department Of Defense.

25.

Liao, M., Bellinger, N. C., Forsyth, D. S., and Komorowski, J. P. A new probabilistic damage tolerance analysis tool and its application for corrosion risk assessment. In Proceedings of the 23rd ICAF Symposium, Hamburg, Germany, 6 June 2005, pp. 241–252.

26.

Liao, M., Renaud, G., Bombardier, Y., and Bellinger, N. C. Development of initial crack size distribution for risk assessment of aircraft structures. In RTO Meeting Proceedings – Ensure Military Platform Availability, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 13 October 2008.

27.

Liao, M., Bombardier, Y., and Renaud, G. Monte Carlo simulation based probabilistic risk analyses for aircraft structures containing MSD/MED. In Proceedings of the 2011 Aircraft Airworthiness and Sustainment Conference, San Diego, California, 18–21 April 2011.