Date of Award

12-1990

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Anthony N. Palazotto, PhD

Abstract

Graphite/epoxy curved cylindrical panels were impacted in the center by an impact machine capable of measuring load during the test. Load, deflection and strain as functions of time were measured for six symmetric layup configurations for impact energies of 0.5 to 4.5 ft-lb. Damage was produced in all panels for certain impact energies. The extent and location of damage was determined from C-scans and optical microscopy of panel cross-sections. The cross-sections indicated that both delamination and transverse cracking contribute to internal damage. An in-house nonlinear finite element code was used to predict the panel deflections and stresses. The analysis produced good results in predicting the panel deflection and indicated transverse failure stresses were present in the panel center region. The deflections indicated that the panel was in between simply supported and clamped boundary conditions, with good agreement obtained for hinged support at each edge.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GAE-ENY-90D-19

DTIC Accession Number

ADA230853

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