Abstract: In this work, it is proposed to carry out a detailed finite element fatigue analysis using ANSYS to evaluate fatigue life of vertical tail fin made up of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP).CAD modeling of the vertical tail fin will be done in CATIA V5 which will be followed by importing to ANSYS for fatigue analysis by feeding the boundary conditions and the mechanical properties. As composite materials have different mechanical properties in different directions, all the mechanical properties will be calculated using available formulae. The fatigue parameters are evaluated for different volume of fractions of fibers for both composite materials (CFRP and GFRP). Results are compared for both the composite material. The tail assembly of an aircraft structure commonly referred to as empennage, which provides directional stability to aircraft. Tail assembly includes horizontal fin (stabilizer) and vertical fin. A lot of research has been made on improving the fatigue life of an aircraft. Fatigue analysis of an aircraft includes determination of fatigue life, damage factor, safety factor, SN curve etc. Composite materials have been widely used in aerospace applications because of their low density and high strength property. Fatigue occurs when a material is subjected to repeated loading and unloading. If the loads are above a certain threshold, microscopic cracks will begin to form at the surface. The vertical fin will have infinite fatigue life i.e.,it will not see any cracks over its surface below a stress level called Endurance limit.
Keywords: Fatigue analysis, composite materials, vertical tail fin, Finite Element Method.
Title: Fatigue Analysis on a Vertical Tail Fin (Stabilizer) Using Finite Element Method
Author: Basavaraj Devakki, Imran Adam Khan, Saddam Hussain H
International Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Technology
ISSN 2348-7593 (Online)
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