Analysis of elastically coupled thick-walled composite blades

A formulation for thick-walled composite blades is devised and implemented numerically. A parametric study which is focused on the influence of wall t hickness on the structural behavior of blades, with an emphasize on the ela stic couplings induced by composite materials is also presented. In contras t with models for thin-walled blades, the shear stresses perpendicular to t he local wall direction are accounted for. The numerical solution is based on a finite-difference scheme where the displacement field is described by four global displacements for each cross-section and an out-of-plane warpin g function for each material Feint. Overall, the solution procedure employs an iterative scheme that enables the inclusion of a large number of indepe ndent variables. The results reveal and demonstrate the discrepancies betwe en thick-walled modeling and thin-walled modeling as functions of the wall thickness for various loading modes, and supply a clear indication of regio ns where employing a thick-walled model is inevitable. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.