National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore

Structural Analysis and Design Group

FINITE ELEMENT STRESS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OPTIMISATION OF OPTIMUM STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF SARAS COMPOSITE WING
AEROSPACE STRUCTURES

Metallic Leading Edge

A. PROJECTS:

1. Design Optimisation and Stress Analysis Support for Civil Transport Aircraft Programmes: CFC Top Skin

Aileron

a.AEW (Airborne Early Warning ) Aircraft Fuselage Attachment

Skin
b.HANSA Programme O/B Flap
c.SARAS Programme
Symmetry
d.SARAS Production Standard Aircraft: Design optimisation of composite wing Elasto-plastic analysis of local high- Plane
stress regions of SARAS wing CFC Aft Skin

I/B Flap

2.Design and Stress Analysis Support for Reusable Launch Vehicle –Technology Demonstrator
for VSSC, Trivandrum.

3.Non-linear Stress Analysis of LTA (Lighter Than Air ) Vehicles:

a. Two Thousand cu. m. AKASHDEEP Aerostat for ADRDE, AGRA

b. NAL BLIMP: Multi-purpose 300 cu. m. air ship for civil applications

4. Design and Analysis of RADOMES for Civil and Military Applications

5. Computational Vibro Acoustics: Passive Control of SARAS Cabin Noise

B. SOFTWARE PACKAGES:

a. ABAQUS: STANDARD/EXPLICT
b. ACTRAN: FE-based Acoustics SW
c. MSC/NASTRAN
d. MSC/DYTRAN
e. MSC/PATRAN, HYPERMESH, FEMAP
Optimised Weight of CFC Wing
210.00

C: FUTURE WORK: W
e
Limit Load
Ultimate Load Optimum Weight Optimum
CONTACT: i
g
205.00
Sl.
Description
of Weight of
Remarks
h 200.00
No Half-Wing Full-Wing
Multi-Disciplinary Optimisation Head, Structural Technologies Division t . Kg kg
High Altitude Airship NAL, Bangalore R
195.00
Excludes nose
Weight of Torque
e 1 162.27 324.54 box flap&
t
190.00
Box
aileron
a
185.00
i Includes Nose
n Weight of Clean
2 177.49 354.98 Box weight of
e 180.00
Wing
d 15.22 kg
, 175.00

k 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Includes Flap
g Design Cycle No Weight with Flap and Aileron
3 205.88 411.76
Optimisation of CFC Half-Wing: & Aileron Weight of
Design Cycle vs. Weight retained at the End of the Design Cycle 28.39 kg

Analytical & Computational Modeling of Aircraft Structures Using Numerical Simulations on Ductile Fracture of Pressure Sensitive Solids

Fracture Mechanics Approach
Background: Importance and motivation Motivation: Many important engineering materials including metals exhibit pressure sensitive yielding
Designing against fracture is important in aircraft structures, since the presence of cracks would modify the local stresses to
and volume change during plastic deformation (plastic dilatancy) to some extent. This type of material
such an extent that the elastic stress analyses are inadequate. When a crack reaches a certain critical length, it can propagate behavior is ignored in classical metal plasticity theory but can profoundly influence ductile fracture.
catastrophically through the structure, even though the gross stresses are much less than the material yield strength. Fracture
mechanics p principles
p need to be deployed
p y to ensure damage g tolerant design
g of airframes. It assumes a p pre-existing
g crack,, and Objective: To systematically study the effects of pressure sensitive plastic response on ductile fracture.
determines the quantitative relations between the crack length, the inherent resistance of the material to crack growth, and the
stress at which the crack propagates at high speed leading to structural failure. Therefore, the present study is essential for the
damage tolerance analysis and a systematic review of design procedures that are required to design, manufacture, and maintain
Approach: 2D and 3D numerical simulations using ABAQUS, in‐house developed programs and 2D
airframes that are structurally safe and economically prudent. analytical solutions under different mode mixities (Mode I + II) and constraint levels
Focus & objectives Applicability: Fracture problems in metals, polymers, toughened ceramics, metallic glasses
¾Finite element analysis related to crack initiation and crack growth studies in metallic and composite structures
¾Post buckling analysis of composite structures
σ3 σh
¾Analytical and finite element solution for determining the crack tip parameters using fracture mechanics principle

Schematic of organization of the programme

Mises
σ1

Analytical & computational Analytical & numerical Computational fracture Computational fracture
fracture analysis of metallic fracture analysis of analysis for metallic & analysis for delamination σ2 Drucker‐Prager
plates for SIF
SIF, SERR orthotropic & laminated composite skin/stiffener propagation & post buckling
calculation composite plates structures studies
Yield surfaces in stress space Near‐tip FE mesh with notch and void Hydrostatic stress contours

Major results
h
¾Analytical solution for Stress Intensity factors in the case of isotropic and orthotropic plates
¾Finite element solution for strain energy release rate in composite structures crack

Major achievements
Small load (plastic zone << h)
Publications
Fracture resistance curves
International Journals: 4 Notch and Void growth 
Algorithms: Integral transform technique and Finite element method
Publications
Applications Aircraft structural damage tolerant analysis 1. Subramanya, H. Y. et al., A three‐dimensional numerical
study of mode I crack tip fields in pressure sensitive
Outstanding Scientific issues: Development of Cohesive fracture models
plastic solids (Int.
(Int Journal of Sol.
Sol & Str.
Str 2007)
Collaboration & networking: - 2. Subramanya, H. Y. et al., Influence of crack tip
constraint on void growth in pressure sensitive plastic
Contact: Head, Structural Technologies Division, NAL, Bangalore Large load (plastic zone ≈ 0.5 h) solids‐I: 2D analysis (Engg. Fracture Mechanics 2008)
3. Subramanya, H. Y. et al., Constraint effects on multiple
Future plan & perspective: 3D plastic zone evolution void interaction in pressure sensitive plastic solids
Plastic strain contours  (Engg. Fracture Mechanics 2008)
Skin-stiffener structures are common features of airframes. Cracks can occur in such structures in the vicinity of the stiffener. 4. Subramanya, H. Y., et al., Influence of crack tip
Aircraft structures are basically wing skins with bonded stringers. Since skin-stiffener separation is a potential damage mode constraint on spherical void growth in pressure
that disturbs the integrity of the structure, in the present study, the competing damage types namely delamination and skin-
Outcome: Pressure sensitive yielding affects both ductile sensitive plastic solids. (IQICF‐India 2008)
stiffener debond will be considered. Computational methodology will be developed by deploying the cohesive theory to study fracture initiation and tearing modulus. Further deterioration 5. Subramanya, H. Y. et al., A three‐dimensional numerical
study of mixed mode (I and II) crack tip fields in elastic‐
the debond failure of a typical skin-stiffener structure. This project would serve as an important tool for the on-going occurs in presence of plastic incompressibility. Irrespective of plastic solids. (Int. Journal of Fracture 2005)
composite aircraft design projects at NAL. 6. Narasimhan R., et al., Stationary crack tip fields in
pressure sensitivity, constraint loss results in enhancement of
elastic‐plastic solids: An overview of recent numerical
fracture resistance. simulations. (Journal of Physics D: Appl. Physics. 2009)