Crack Growth Direction Analysis Based on Elastic-Plastic Property of Material

The finite element software ANSYS was employed to create a finite element model of the cracked wing beam integrated structure, and the stress field of the crack tip was got by the material nonlinearity (elastic-plastic) analysis method. Based on the maximum tensile stress theory criteria, the crack deflection angle was obtained. The crack deflection angles with different geometry parameters (crack length, wed thickness, the height-thickness ratio of the stringer, cross-sectional area, and the location of the stringer) of the wing beam integrated structure were calculated and compared with each other. So the influences of the geometry parameters of the wing beam integrated structure on the crack deflection were studied. The crack deflection angles obtained in elastic analyzing and elastic-plastic analyzing were compared to investigate the effects of the material property on the crack deflection angle.