Ultimate strength prediction of cracked panels under extreme cyclic loads considering crack propagation

Abstract

The objective of this study is to gain insights on the failure mechanism and behavior of cracked panels under cyclic loading. Numerical analyses were performed to investigate the ultimate strength of cracked panels. The prefabricated crack is assumed to be transverse and through-thickness, the relevant three types of crack location models are studied. Crack propagation arisen out of extreme cyclic loads is taken into consideration and the element erosion approach is adopted to simulate the process of crack growth. The influences of the amplitude of cyclic loads, the crack location, the panel thickness and the aspect ratio of panel on the ultimate strength of cracked panels under extreme cyclic loads are discussed in detail. Based on numerical results, the prediction formulae for dimensionless ultimate strength considering crack propagation are derived to estimate the ultimate strength of cracked panels under cyclic loads.