Fracture and Fatigue Strength Evaluation of Multiple Site Damaged Aircraft Fuselages. Curved Panel Testing and Analysis

摘要

As the fleet of commercial passenger aircraft is utilized beyond their design lives, flaws have developed at the rivet holes of fuselage lap joints on some aircraft which can grow and link up into cracks of significant length. Understanding, predicting, and controlling this crack growth and the ensuing linkup requires analysis and evaluation of the structural parameters in concert with confirmation by testing representative models of the fuselage. A dedicated test facility has been designed, built and tested for this purpose. Seven full-sized curved fuselage panels have been built and tested. The report describes the design rationale for the facility, the details of its construction and performance and the design and testing of compatible panels which simulate fuselage structural details.