Experimental research on effect of opening configuration and reinforcement method on buckling and strength analyses of spar web made of composite material

Abstract

This study experimentally investigates the effect of the opening configuration on the buckling stability and bearing performance of a structural beam web used in a commercial aircraft made of composite materials. The buckling and strength analyses on three opening configurations (circular, oblong, and rhombic) were carried out using test samples with identical web surface size. It is found that the rhombic opening has the minimum effect on the buckling stability and strength of the structure. To compensate for the effect of the opening, two reinforcement methods, using reinforcement rib and thickening the sample, were also investigated in this study. It is concluded that thickening the sample can more effectively improve the buckling stability and strength performance of beam web structure and hence has relatively higher structural reinforcement efficiency.

Keywords

• composite structure
• buckling
• fem