Axially compressed circular cylindrical shells with large diameter-to-thickness ratios are highly susceptible to local buckling, and their load-carrying capacities known be very sensitive initial geometric imperfections. Hence, severe knock-down factors on theoretical buckling loads typically prescribed in design specifications, which greatly impair structural efficiency. With the aim of enhanc...

The gas turbine exhaust uptakes in the HALIFAX class frigates of the Canadian Navy have experienced thermally-induced fatigue cracking since soon after the commissioning of these ships. The uptake structure is heavily stiffened in order to meet shock resistance requirements. Unfortunately, the result has been that thermal expansion of the uptake shell is constrained, thus every flash-up and shu...

This work is focused on the numerical prediction of the fracture resistance of a flat stiffened panel made of the aluminium alloy 2024 T3 under a monotonic traction condition. The performed numerical simulations have been based on the micromechanical Gurson-Tvergaard (GT) model for ductile damage. The applicability of the GT model to this kind of structural problems has been studied and assesse...

2014 Recent experiments have shown that interdigital transducers can couple strongly to plate modes in piezoelectric composite membranes. In this paper the dispersive properties and the piezoelectric coupling (039403BD/03BD) to these plate modes are presented The various types of modes are identified and related to crystalline symmetry. Results are given for stiffened-shear modes in zinc oxide ...

NASA has conducted an Airframe Structural Integrity Program to develop the methodology to predict the onset of widespread fatigue damage in lap-splice joints of fuselage structures. Several stress analysis codes have been developed or enhanced to analyze the lap-splice-joint configuration. Fatigue lives in lap-splicejoint specimens and fatigue-crack growth in a structural fatigue test article a...