Analysis of fatigue crack growth behavior in composite-repaired aluminum plate

복합재 패치로 한쪽 면을 보강한 평판의 균열선단 진전거동 해석

An analytical study was conducted to characterize the fatigue crack growth behavior of pre-cracked aluminum plates repaired with asymmetric bonded composite patch. For single-sided repairs, due to the asymmetry and the presence of out-of-plane bending, crack front shape would become skewed curvilinear started from a uniform through-crack profile, as observed from previous studies. In this study, the fatigue analysis of single-sided repairs considering crack front shape development was conducted by implementing three-dimensional successive finite element method coupled with linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) concept, which enables the growing crack front to be directly traced and modeled in a step by step way. Through conducting present analysis technique, crack path of the patched plate as well as the fatigue life was evaluated with sufficient accuracy. The analytical predictions of both the crack front shape evolution and the fatigue life were in good agreement with the experimental observations.