DAMAGE TOLERANCE PREDICTIONS FOR STIFFENED COMPOSITE PANELS .1. STRAIN FIELD PREDICTIONS

An analysis method suitable for prediction of strain fields in a stiff ened composite panel containing a center crack is presented. The analy sis is based on the superposition of anisotropic elasticity solutions for an infinite plate. Strain field predictions are made for two panel configurations and compared with strain gage data. Reasonable compari sons between predictions and measurements are obtained. This paper lay s the foundation for the predictions of the damage tolerance of stiffe ned composite panels that will be discussed further in a second paper.