Multiple-site damage crack growth behaviour in Fibre Metal Laminate structures

Fibre metal laminates (FMLs)were developed and refined for their superior crack growth resistance and critical damage size that complimented the damage tolerance design philosophy utilized in the aerospace sector. Robust damage tolerance tools have been developed for FMLs. However, they tend to focus on the evolution of an isolated crack. There...

Knowledge based method for solving complexity in design problems

The process of design aircraft systems is becoming more and more complex, due to an increasing amount of requirements. Moreover, the knowledge on how to solve these complex design problems becomes less readily available, because of a decrease in availability of intellectual resources and reduced knowledge transfer opportunities. Aerospace...

Bearing Strength Characteristics of Standard and Steel Reinforced GLARE

Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs) are hybrid materials, which consist of thin metal sheets bonded together with alternating unidirectional fibre layers. This material concept has resulted in superior fatigue characteristics with respect to the metallic counterpart. Several static characteristics are however negatively influenced due to the fibre...

Subsurface fatigue crack growth in Glare fibre metal laminates

The investigation of the present thesis is concerned with the fatigue crack growth behaviour of part through the thickness cracks in Glare™ fibre metal laminate (FML) subjected to combined tension and bending. An experimental program was executed which required the development of a novel fatigue specimen, the Milled Open Hole Tension Bending ...

Characterisation of fibre metal laminates under thermomechanical loadings

Fibre metal laminates, such as Arall or Glare, can offer improved properties compared to monolithic materials. Glare for example shows improved fatigue, residual strength, burn-through, impact and corrosion properties with respect to aluminium 2024, together with a considerable weight reduction and competitive costs. A large research program has...

Numerical analysis of failure mechanisms in fibre metal laminates