Experimental buckling of a simple aerofoil under combined shear and in-plane bending

Abstract

The buckling loads and postbuckling behaviour of complex structures can only be determined analytically by simplifying them into a number of component parts and examining these individually using existing design rules. This approach does not consider the effect of geometric imperfections and large deflections or the interaction between overall and local buckling modes. Alternatively, finite element analysis can be used. This approach has the advantage of allowing geometry, boundary and loading conditions to be modelled more accurately. Large-scale deflections and material plasticity can be modelled, the effects of imperfections examined and all possible modes of failure considered.

This paper outlines a series of experiments carried out to determine the accuracy of these two alternative techniques in predicting the buckling loads and postbuckling behaviour for the case of a simple aerofoil under combined shear and in-plane bending.

Keywords

aerofoil buckling shear bending

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