Lecture #4

Buckling in aircraft structures

PLATES IN UNI-AXIAL COMPRESSION
Object Buckling factor k
0.9 kE
cr
b 2

2
PLATES IN SHEAR
Object Buckling factor k

kE
cr
b 2
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STRUCTURAL REINFORCEMENT OF
WEBS Flanged holes

Vertical
stiffeners

Sinewave Isogrid (A350) 4

CYLINDRICAL RODS IN COMPRESSION
Object Buckling factor k
0.3
k kEh
cr
0.25 R
0.2

0.15

0.1
analytically k=0.6!
0.05
R/h
0
0 500 1000 1500 5
SHPERICAL SHELL UNDER EXTERNAL
PRESSURE
Object Buckling factor k
0.2
k
kEh
0.15 cr
R
0.1

0.05
R/h
0
0 500 1000 1500
analytically k=0.6!
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FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THE
ACCURACY OF BUCKLING ANALYSIS

Initial imperfections (the effect is especially large for

cylindrical and spherical shells);
Curved geometry (very actual for aircraft panels);
Uncertain supporting conditions;
Inelastic behavior of material (the effect is crucial for
lightweight and high-loaded aircraft structures).

Ways to increase the accuracy of calculations:

Use empirical methods and formulas (lots of testing

required);
Use numerical methods.
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COMPARISON BETWEEN CIRCULAR
AND SQUARE CROSS SECTIONS

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WAYS TO FIND THE CRITICAL STRESS
WHICH IS BEYOND THE YEILD LIMIT

Empirical determination of critical stress (Southwell

method).

Usage of plasticity correction factors calculated by

empirical formulas.

Finite element analysis (FEA).

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SOUTHWELL METHOD FOR PLATES
The deformed shape of panel is

m x n y
w x , y Amn sin sin
m 1 n 1 a b
C mn N x
The view of coefficients is Amn
f m, n N x
Near the buckling mode corresponding C mn N x
to m and n, the displacement is wmax
N x cr N x
Thus, the graph of wmax against wmax will form
a Nx
N x cr
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PLASTICITY CORRECTION EMPIRICAL
FORMULAS
Kan and Sverdlov proposed the following formula to
take into account the plastic behavior of material:
1
cr u ,
1 2

u
where ;
cr , el
cr , el - elastic critical stress (calculated using linear
physical law);
u - material ultimate stress.

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PLASTICITY CORRECTION EMPIRICAL
FORMULAS
According to Gerard, the nonlinear material behavior
could be taken into account using the plasticity
correction factor :
0.9 k E
cr
b 2

1 E s 1 1 1 3 Et
2
el

1 2
pl E 2 2 4 4 E s
Et , E s - tangent and secant moduli;
el , pl - elastic and inelastic Poissons ratios.
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BUCKLING MODES OF AIRCRAFT
PANEL

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POST-BUCKLING BEHAVIOR

The post-buckling
behavior of aircraft
panels is usually
studied using the
concept of attached
skin having the
2c
width of 2c: str

cr , skin cr , skin
2c t
str
t
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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING
Linear
FEA
compression Linear physical law is used

Linear buckling Probable modes of buckling are

found, dangerous one is chosen
depending on the area of interest
Transfer of initial
imperfections The model is slightly modified
according to buckling mode,
Nonlinear analysis nonlinearities are specified
The critical force corresponds to
the loss of convergence
Results
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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Dimensions of the panel:
a = 60 mm, h = 22 mm, 1 = 4 mm, 2 = 6 mm.
Length is 300 mm.

Supporting conditions: clamped at all sides.

Problem is to find a critical stress for this panel.
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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING
Linear
FEA
compression

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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Linear buckling

1st mode
884 MPa

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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Linear buckling

2nd mode
996 MPa

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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Linear buckling

3rd mode
1210 MPa

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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Transfer of initial 1) Rename *.rst file to
imperfections "buckling.rst, move it from
buckling to structural analysis directory.

2) Insert a command object in the environment:

/prep7
upgeom,0.1,1,1,buckling,rst
/solu

3) Set nonlinearities:
large deflection -> on
nonlinear effects -> yes

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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Nonlinear analysis

485 MPa
last substep
converged

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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Shortening, mm Results

Nonlinear FEA predicted

509 MPa which is 1.73
times smaller than
elastic solution.

Stress, MPa
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FLOWCHART OF NONLINEAR
BUCKLING FEA
Shortening, mm Results

The application of
Southwell method:
tan of straight portion
gives 509 MPa

Shortening / stress, mm / MPa

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EFFECT OF BUCKLING ON A STRUCTURAL
LAYOUT
Structural layout
Determinative factor
dimension

Distance between ribs and

Primary buckling of panels
fuselage frames

Local buckling of skin

Distance between stringers
between stringers

Distance between spar web Buckling of spar web under

stiffeners shear loads

Distance between rivets in Local buckling of skin

longitudinal joints between rivets
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EFFECT OF BUCKLING ON A STRUCTURAL
LAYOUT

The stringer cross section is dramatically affected by

buckling, showing the compromise between buckling
resistance and technological simplicity:

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WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION?

Megson. An Introduction to Aircraft Structural Analysis. 2010

Chapter 9

Internet is boundless
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TOPIC OF THE NEXT LECTURE

The concept of thin-walled beam.

Normal stresses

All materials of our course are available

at department website k102.khai.edu
1. Go to the page
2. Press Structural Mechanics (lecturer Vakulenko S.V.)
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