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At least 199 records · Page 11

Traction free finite elements with the assumed stress hybrid model

An effective approach in the finite element analysis of the stress field at the traction free boundary of a solid continuum was studied. Conventional displacement and assumed stress finite elements were used in the determination of stress concentrations around circular and elliptical holes. Specialized hybrid elements were then developed to improve the satisfaction of prescribed traction boundary conditions. Results of the stress analysis indicated that finite elements which exactly satisfy the free stress boundary conditions are the most accurate and efficient in such problems. A general approach for hybrid finite elements which incorporate traction free boundaries of arbitrary geometry was formulated.

Kafie, Kurosh↗

Development of a Fatigue Crack Growth Coupon for Highly Plastic Stress Conditions

This paper presents an analytical approach used to develop a novel fatigue crack growth coupon for a highly plastic 3-D stress field condition. The flight hardware investigated in this paper is a large separation bolt that fractures using pyrotechnics at the appointed time during the flight sequence. The separation bolt has a deep notch that produces a severe stress concentration and a large plastic zone when highly loaded. For this geometry, linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) techniques are not valid due to the large nonlinear stress field. Unfortunately, industry codes that are generally available for fracture mechanics analysis and fatigue crack growth (e.g. NASGRO (11) are limited to LEFM and are available for only a limited number of geometries. The results of LEFM based codes are questionable when used on geometries with significant plasticity. Therefore elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) techniques using the finite element method (FEM) were used to analyze the bolt and test coupons. scale flight hardware is very costly in t e r n of assets, laboratory resources, and schedule. Therefore to alleviate some of these problems, a series of novel test coupons were developed to simulate the elastic-plastic stress field present in the bolt.

Allen, Phillip A.↗

The effects of inherent flaws on the time and rate dependent failure of adhesively bonded joints

Inherent flaws, as well as the effects of rate and time, are shown by tests on viscoelastic adhesive-bonded single lap joints to be as critical in joint failure as environmental and stress concentration effects, with random inherent flaws and loading rate changes resulting in an up to 40% reduction in joint strength. It is also found that the asymptotic creep stress, below which no delayed failure may occur, may under creep loading be as much as 45% less than maximum adhesive strength. Attention is given to test results for the case of titanium-LARC-3 adhesive single-lap specimens.

Sancaktar, E.↗

Flexural Fillet Geometry Optimization for Design of Force Transducers Used in Aeronautics Testing

Force transducer designs used in the ground testing aeronautics community have seen minimal change over the last few decades. With increased focus on data quality and long- term performance capabilities over the life of these instruments, it is critical to investigate new methods that improve these designs. One area of focus in the past few years at NASA has been on the design of the exural elements of traditional force balance transducers. Many of the heritage balances that have been heavily used over the last few decades have started to develop fatigue cracks. The recent focus on the exural design of traditional single-piece force balances revolves around the design of these elements such that stress concentrations are minimized, with the overall goal of increasing the fatigue life of the balance. Recent research in the area of using conic shaped llets in the highly stressed regions of traditional force balances will be discussed, with preliminary numerical and experimental data results. A case study will be presented which discusses integration of this knowledge into a new high-capacity semi-span force balance

Lynn, Keith C.↗

Flexural Fillet Geometry Optimization for Design of Force Transducers Used in Aeronautics Testing

Force transducer designs used in the ground testing aeronautics community have seen minimal change over the last few decades. With increased focus on data quality and long-term performance capabilities over the life of these instruments, it is critical to investigate new methods that improve these designs. One area of focus in the past few years at NASA has been on the design of the flexural elements of traditional force balance transducers. Many of the heritage balances that have been heavily used over the last few decades have started to develop fatigue cracks. The recent focus on the flexural design of traditional single-piece force balances revolves around the design of these elements such that stress concentrations are minimized, with the overall goal of increasing the fatigue life of the balance. Recent research in the area of using conic shaped fillets in the highly stressed regions of traditional force balances will be discussed, with preliminary numerical and experimental data results. A case study will be presented which discusses integration of this knowledge into a new high-capacity semi-span force balance.

Lynn, Keith C.↗

Combined bending-torsion fatigue reliability of AISI 4340 steel shafting with K sub t = 2.34

Results generated by three, unique fatigue reliability research machines which can apply reversed bending loads combined with steady torque are presented. Six-inch long, AISI 4340 steel, grooved specimens with a stress concentration factor of 2.34 and R sub C 35/40 hardness were subjected to various combinations of these loads and cycled to failure. The generated cycles-to-failure and stress-to-failure data are statistically analyzed to develop distributional S-N and Goodman diagrams. Various failure theories are investigated to determine which one represents the data best. The effect of the groove and of the various combined bending-torsion loads on the S-N and Goodman diagrams are determined. Three design applications are presented. The third one illustrates the weight savings that may be achieved by designing for reliability.

Kececioglu, D.↗

A metal sheet stiffened by a partially debonded composite quarter-plate

An isotropic sheet stiffened by means of an orthotropic quarter-plate is considered. The quarter-plate is assumed to be perfectly bonded to the metal sheet everywhere except an area of debonding which may develop due to high stress concentrations. The adhesive which has a small constant thickness is treated as a shear spring. The loads are applied at infinity and supposed to be transmitted through the metal plate. Shear stress distribution between the two plates was obtained from the continuity of displacements along an area where they were bonded to each other.

Arin, K.↗

Combined bending-torsion fatigue reliability. III

Results generated by three, unique fatigue reliability research machines which can apply reversed bending loads combined with steady torque are presented. AISI 4340 steel, grooved specimens with a stress concentration factor of 1.42 and 2.34, and Rockwell C hardness of 35/40 were subjected to various combinations of these loads and cycled to failure. The generated cycles-to-failure and stress-to-failure data are statistically analyzed to develop distributional S-N and Goodman diagrams. Various failure theories are investigated to determine which one represents the data best. The effects of the groove, and of the various combined bending-torsion loads, on the S-N and Goodman diagrams are determined. Two design applications are presented which illustrate the direct useability and value of the distributional failure governing strength and cycles-to-failure data in designing for specified levels of reliability and in predicting the reliability of given designs.

Kececioglu, D.↗

Origin of moisture effects on crack propagation in composites

A study has been made of the origin of unexpected moisture effects on crack extension in fiberglass laminates. Water immersion has been found to greatly reduce the rate of crack growth under constant loading, while increasing the rate under cyclic loading, the latter effect being the expected one. Observations were made of the extension of the stable damage zone at the tip of precut notches in wet and dry environments. The damage zone size is postulated as a critical element in the relaxation of high stress concentrations in composites, such as those at notch or crack tips. Under constant load, moisture is shown to greatly expand the interply delamination region in the damage zone, thus reducing the local fiber stresses and increasing crack resistance. Under cyclic loading moisture has little effect on the delamination region, which is large even for dry environments, and the only effect is weakening of the material and acceleration of cracks. Severe hygrothermal conditions can so weaken the material that the crack resistance is reduced under constant loading as well.

Mandell, J. F.↗

Fatigue flaw growth behavior in stiffened and unstiffened panels loaded in biaxial tension

The effect was investigated of biaxial loading on the flaw growth rate of 2219-T87 aluminum alloy that would be typical of Space Shuttle cryogenic tankage design. The stress distribution and stress concentration factors for several integrally stiffened panels under various loading conditions were obtained. The flaw growth behavior of both stiffened and unstiffened panels under biaxial loading conditions was determined. The effect of a complex stress state was studied by introducing flaws in fillet areas of biaxially loaded stiffened panels.

Beck, E. J.↗

Stress analysis method for clearance-fit joints with bearing-bypass loads

Within a multi-fastener joint, fastener holes may be subjected to the combined effects of bearing loads and loads that bypass the hole to be reacted elsewhere in the joint. The analysis of a joint subjected to search combined bearing and bypass loads is complicated by the usual clearance between the hole and the fastener. A simple analysis method for such clearance-fit joints subjected to bearing-bypass loading has been developed in the present study. It uses an inverse formulation with a linear elastic finite-element analysis. Conditions along the bolt-hole contact arc are specified by displacement constraint equations. The present method is simple to apply and can be implemented with most general purpose finite-element programs since it does not use complicated iterative-incremental procedures. The method was used to study the effects of bearing-bypass loading on bolt-hole contact angles and local stresses. In this study, a rigid, frictionless bolt was used with a plate having the properties of a quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy laminate. Results showed that the contact angle as well as the peak stresses around the hole and their locations were strongly influenced by the ratio of bearing and bypass loads. For single contact, tension and compression bearing-bypass loading had opposite effects on the contact angle. For some compressive bearing-bypass loads, the hole tended to close on the fastener leading to dual contact. It was shown that dual contact reduces the stress concentration at the fastener and would, therefore, increase joint strength in compression. The results illustrate the general importance of accounting for bolt-hole clearance and contact to accurately compute local bolt-hole stresses for combined bearings and bypass loading.

Naik, R. A.↗

Thermoplastic matrix composites - Finite-element analysis of mode I and mode II failure specimens

A finite-element analysis was conducted to evaluate the stress distributions within mode I and mode II failure specimens, assuming both isotropic and orthotropic elastic material properties. The effects of anisotropy on both the magnitude and the location of the highest stress concentration at the vicinity of the crack tip are significant. The results from modeling realistic blunt crack tip geometry and resin-rich zones imply that local variations in the microstructure strongly influence the stress state near the crack tip and therefore the measured fracture properties. In addition, the features of a viscoelastic model for thermoplastic matrices are described. This model will be used in future investigations of matrix-dominated failure phenomena.

Bankert, Ray J.↗

A New Merit Function for Evaluating the Flaw Tolerance of Composite Laminates: Arbitrary Size Holes and Center Cracks - Part 2

In a previous paper, a new merit function for determining the strength performance of flawed composite laminates was presented. This previous analysis was restricted to circular hole flaws that were large enough that failure could be predicted using the laminate stress concentration factor. In this paper, the merit function is expanded to include the flaw cases of an arbitrary size circular hole or center crack. Failure prediction for these cases is determined using the point stress criterion. An example application of the merit function is included for a wide range of graphite/epoxy laminates.

Martin, Mikulas M., Jr.↗

A New Merit Function for Evaluating the Flaw Tolerance of Composite Laminates: Arbitrary Size Holes and Center Cracks - Part 2

In a previous paper, a new merit function for determining the strength performance of flawed composite laminates was presented. This previous analysis was restricted to circular hole flaws that were large enough that failure could be predicted using the laminate stress concentration factor. In this paper, the merit function is expanded to include the flaw cases of an arbitrary size circular hole or a center crack. Failure prediction for these cases is determined using the point stress criterion. An example application of the merit function is included for a wide range of graphite/epoxy laminates.

Mikulas, Martin M., Jr.↗

A New Merit Function for Evaluating the Flaw Tolerance of Composite Laminates: Arbitrary Size Holes and Center Cracks - Pt. 2

In a previous paper, a new merit function for determining the strength performance of flawed composite laminates was presented. This previous analysis was restricted to circular hole flaws that were large enough that failure could be predicted using the laminate stress concentration factor. In this paper, the merit function is expanded to include the flaw cases of an arbitrary size circular hole or a center crack. Failure prediction for these cases is determined using the point stress criterion. An example application of the merit function is included for a wide range of graphite/epoxy laminates.

Mikulas, Martin M., Jr.↗

Structural Analysis of Pyrolytic Graphite Optics for the HiPEP Ion Thruster

The long lifetime requirements of interplanetary exploration missions is driving the need to develop long-life components for the electric propulsion thrusters that are being targeted for these missions. One of the primary life-limiting components of ion thrusters are the optics, which are continuously eroded during the operation of the thruster. Pyrolytic graphite optics are being considered for the High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) ion thruster because of their very high resistance to erosion. This paper describes the structural analysis of the HiPEP pyrolytic graphite. A description of the development of the grid model, as well as the development of the effective properties and stress concentrations in the apertured area of the grids is included. An evaluation of the use of curved grids shows that the increased stiffness (compared to flat grids) prevents intergrid impact during launch, however, the residual stresses introduced by curving the grids pushes the resulting peak stresses beyond the critical stress. As a result, flat grids are recommended as the design solution. Thermally induced grid displacements during normal thruster operation are also presented.

Meckel, Nicole↗

Fracture analysis of surface- and through-cracked sheets and plates.

The Neuber stress-concentration relation for notches in an elastic-plastic material subjected to shear loading was generalized for a crack in a finite plate subjected to tensile loading. An equation was derived which related the linear elastic stress-intensity factor, the applied stress, and two material parameters. The equation was then used as a two-parameter fracture criterion for surface- and through-cracked specimens. Fracture data from the literature on surface- and through-cracked sheet and plate specimens of steel, titanium alloy, titanium weldment, and aluminum alloy tested at room and cryogenic temperature were analyzed according to the proposed equation. For surface cracks, wide ranges of crack-depth to crack-length ratio and crack-depth to specimen-thickness ratio were considered. For through cracks, wide ranges of crack length and specimen width were also considered.-

Newman, J. C., Jr.↗

Influence of stress interaction on the behavior of off-axis unidirectional composites

The yield function for plane stress of a transversely isotropic composite lamina consisting of stiff, linearly elastic fibers and a von Mises matrix material is formulated in terms of Hill's elastic stress concentration factors and a single plastic constraint parameter. The above are subsequently evaluated on the basis of observed average lamina and constituent response for the Avco 5505 boron epoxy system. It is shown that inclusion of residual stresses in the yield function together with the incorporation of Dubey and Hillier's concept of generalized yield stress for anisotropic media in the constitutive equation correctly predicts the trends observed in experiments. The incorporation of the strong axial stress interaction necessary to predict the correct trends in the shear response is directly traced to the high residual axial stresses in the matrix induced during fabrication of the composite.

Pindera, M. J.↗