Fracture analysis of multi-site cracking in fuselage lap joints

Abstract

A two-dimensional plane stress elastic fracture mechanics analysis of a cracked lap joint fastened by rigid pins is presented and results are applied to the problem of multi-site damage (MSD) in riveted lap joints of aircraft fuselage skins. Two problems are addressed, the problem of equal length MSD cracks and the problem of alternating length MSD cracks. For the problem of equal length cracks, two models of rivet/skin interactions are studied and the role of residual stresses due to the riveting process is explored. Stress intensity factors are obtained as a function of normalized crack length. Also, the load distribution among rivet rows and the compliance change of the joint due to MSD cracking are obtained. For the problem of alternating length cracks, attention is focussed on how load is distributed between columns of rivets and how this load shedding can alter crack tip stress intensity factors. The equal and alternating length crack analyses reveal no clear-cut mechanism to explain the relative uniformity of fatigue cracks emerging from lap joint rivet holes in actual aircraft and in mechanical lap joint tests.