21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-7.7.3

A DESIGN AND TEST PROGRAMME INVOLVING WELDED SHEET-STRINGER COMPRESSION PANELS

Gibson A., Sterling S. G.
The Queen's University of Belfast, United Kingdom

Keywords: welded sheet-stringer compression panels

In order to assess the potential savings in using welding as a joining process for airframe structures, test articles must be designed, manufactured and evaluated. The design/analysis phase must incorporate an allowance for the detrimental effects of welding on airframe type alloys and joint design must reflect the prevalent loading conditions. This paper focuses on the design/analysis of a flat, welded, stiffened panel loaded in compression and proposes methods for allowing for degradation of material properties in the heat-affected zones (HAZ's) surrounding the welded joints. The analysis follows the same procedure as that for a riveted panel with suitable modifications where required. The aim is to develop simple design rules and analysis methodology for this type of structure. Theoretical results show that, using the weldable 6013-T6 alloy, it is possible to achieve weight savings of up to 10% for the same overall performance as a riveted panel. In order to verify, or otherwise, the proposed analysis and predictions, it will be necessary to initiate a suitable test programme. A preliminary test stage is discussed and methods are proposed for determining actual values for the estimated variables which were used in the theoretical analysis.

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