Conclusions
In this study, we developed and validated a FEA analysis process-Bonded Repair Structural Workflow (BRSW), from wing CAD model, cracks initiation and propagation under fatigue loading, to prediction and comparison of its service life before and after the bonded repairs. The simulations were performed using several of the built-in tools in Ansys software environment. Using the proposed BRSW workflow, we examined four case studies and compared the service life and sustained crack growth for each case. These four cases were un-repaired damaged structure, live repair, stop-drill repair, and damage-removal repair. The results showed that damage-removal repair yielded the best outcome by improving service life (in cycles) by at least three folds comparing to live repair and 20 times comparing to un-repaired. All three repair techniques are proven to be effective in reducing crack growth and extending service life compared to un-repaired case. Through the design of the workflow and the simulations of repair techniques, we successfully achieved the predictability of effectiveness of an aircraft structural repair. Traditional means of analytically predicting its service life with fatigue loading has limited the innovations of various repair techniques. We expect that with the proposed workflow, it is now easier and possible to investigate design new repair techniques.
Acknowledgement : This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Data Availability: The processed data required to reproduce these findings are attached to data.mendeley.com for this submission.