Xy. Deng et Jw. Hutchinson, APPROXIMATE METHODS FOR ANALYZING THE GROWTH OF LARGE CRACKS IN FATIGUE DAMAGED AIRCRAFT SHEET MATERIAL AND LAP JOINTS, Finite elements in analysis and design, 23(2-4), 1996, pp. 101-114
Several levels of approximation are investigated to account for the ef
fect of small fatigue cracks on the residual strength of aircraft shee
t materials and fuselage lap joints containing major cracks. A version
of the Dugdale model is proposed which accounts for strain hardening
of the sheet in an approximate way and which incorporates a criterion
for crack advance leading to crack growth resistance. This model build
s upon the model proposed by Nilsson and Hutchinson [1] and accounts f
or the detailed interaction between the major crack and the small dama
ge cracks. A simpler version of the model uses the damage-reduced loca
l strength of the sheet or joint in assessing the effect of the major
crack on residual strength. The simpler approach thus bypasses the nec
essity of a direct determination of the highly complicated details of
the interaction of the small cracks in a lap joint with a major crack.