Modeling damage in tapered flexbeams

Ashish S. Purekar; Darryll J. Pines

doi:10.1117/12.350712

9 June 1999 Modeling damage in tapered flexbeams

Ashish S. Purekar, Darryll J. Pines

Proceedings Volume 3668, Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.350712
Event: 1999 Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 1999, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

Flexbeams in hingeless rotors have non-uniform geometries to form virtual hinges for the lead-lag and flap motions of blades. For bearingless rotors, the flexbeams also contain a virtual hinge for the pitch of the blades. Commonly, flexbeams are damaged through high cyclic and vibratory loadings. Damage in the form of delamination for composite beams degrade performance and can potentially cause catastrophic failure. This paper develops an analytical model of tapered rotorcraft flexbeams. In a beam of uniform cross section, the transverse dynamics of a beam can be characterized by four wavetypes. By tracking the progression of the waves along the beam and back again, the wavetypes can be used to model the response. A more practical application of these wavetypes is to use them in a manner similar to shape functions for finite element analysis. The concept of a spectral element methodology is introduced for a uniform beam and then extended for an element with linearly varying width and thickness. A model of the delamination region is then incorporated into the spectral element methodology. Using this model for the dynamics of tapered beams, analytical results are then compared with experimental data for undamaged and damaged cases.

Citation Download Citation

Ashish S. Purekar and Darryll J. Pines "Modeling damage in tapered flexbeams", Proc. SPIE 3668, Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems, (9 June 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.350712

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