Stage 1 : The Material Preparation task utilizes Ansys Engineering Data tool [20] to prepare necessary material properties such as stiffness, strength, fatigue S-N properties, Paris Law, etc. TheGeometry Preparation task utilizes Ansys SpaceClaim geometry tool [20] to import/create wing plank, crack, and repair patch geometries;
Stage 2 : During Mesh Generation task high quality finite element mesh is generated on prepared wing plank and repair patch geometries in Ansys Mesher tool [18], as well as to produce crack mesh. The Model Setup task is done through Ansys Mechanical tool [18], in which the practical loads and constrains are applied on wing plank structure, connecting repair patch, etc.;
Stage 3 : The Fatigue Damage Analysis quantifies the fatigue damage accumulation in estimating crack initiation. It utilizes the Fatigue Tool capability in Ansys Mechanical to predict the repaired structure’s extended service life before new crack initiates in repair techniques with crack tip treatments such as stop-drill or damage-removal. The Crack Propagation Analysis task will analyze the crack growth under fatigue loading, using the Fracture tool and SMART Crack Growth capabilities in Ansys Mechanical. The task produces the relationship between service loading cycles and crack advance quantity for unrepaired or repaired fatigue crack service life estimation.