Numerical analysis for determination of the J integral and crack opening displacement in the cracked aluminum plates repaired with FML composite patches

Gholamhassan Payganeh^*, Faramarz Ashenai Ghasemi, Ali Pourkamali Anaraki, Ahmad Fallah Rahmatabadi

Journal of Applied Sciences, Volume 12, Issue 21, 2012(11), Pages 2259-2265. (ISI)

Abstract

Fiber Metal Laminates (FMLs) are widely used in aerospace industries nowadays. In this study, numerical investigations of adhesively bonded FML composite patch repairs of cracked aluminum panels is reported. Pre-cracked 3035 Aluminum panels of 179x76x1.5 mm repaired with rectangular single sided FML patch were used as test specimen. The finite element analyses were performed on the test specimen using quadratic brick elements for the Aluminum panels and FML patch subjected to uni-axial tensile loading. The FML patches were made of one aluminum layer and two woven glass-epoxy composite layers. Three different crack lengths in three crack angles and different patch lay-ups were examined. The crack opening displacements and J integrals obtained show that the lay-up of the patches and the place where the metal layer was embedded in the FML patches had an important effect on the tensile response of the tested specimens. When the aluminum layer is farther, the ultimate tensile load has the highest amount and when the aluminum layer is in the middle the ultimate load has the lowest amount.

Keywords

Crack; Fiber metal laminate; Patch lay-up; Crack intensity displacement; J integral.

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