Title: 3D fatigue crack propagation analysis of a helicopter component

Authors: Daniele Colombo, Marco Giglio, Andrea Manes

Addresses: Dipartimento di Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via la Masa 34, Milano 20158, Italy. ' Dipartimento di Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via la Masa 34, Milano 20158, Italy. ' Dipartimento di Meccanica, Politecnico di Milano, Via la Masa 34, Milano 20158, Italy

Abstract: In this paper, the analysis of fatigue crack propagation on the folding beams mounted on the rear fuselage of a helicopter is performed under complex flight and folding load spectra; a preliminary cumulative damage fatigue analysis is used to select the zone of the structure where cracking is most likely to occur. A damage tolerance analysis is then carried out in the selected zone using an FEM-based approach in conjunction with a Three-Dimensional (3D) automatic crack propagation algorithm developed by the authors. The submodelling technique is used to obtain accurate results in the assessment area with a limited increase in the amount of time required for calculations. The numerical approach is validated by the experimental results of full-scale fatigue tests on the rear fuselage of the helicopter.

Keywords: helicopter components; finite element method; FEM; submodelling; 3D crack propagation; fatigue design; folding beams; fatigue damage analysis; cracking; rear fuselage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMPT.2007.013116

International Journal of Materials and Product Technology, 2007 Vol.30 No.1/2/3, pp.107 - 123

Published online: 09 Apr 2007 *

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