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Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33

3rd International Conference on Material and Component Performance

under Variable Amplitude Loading, VAL2015

Simulation of Operational Loading Spectrum and its Effect on

Fatigue Crack Growth
Jiří Běhala,*, Petr Homolaa
a
VZLÚ, Beranových 130, Prague 199 05, Czech Republic

Abstract

The paper presents analyses of crack growth rates for two different types of load sequences. The first one was the measured natural
sequence of operational loads and the second one was evaluated as a blocked sequence with the same loading spectrum. Specimens
from 2124-T851 aluminum alloy were made and tested. Numerical simulations of the performed tests were made using the
FASTRAN retardation model implemented in the AFGROW software and the effect of the type of loading sequence was identified.
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of theof the Czech
Czech SocietySociety for Mechanics.
for Mechanics

Keywords: Operational loading; block sequence; load spectrum; crack growth; computational analysis

1. Introduction

Fatigue crack growth evaluation is an important part of DAMAGE TOLERANT analyses. According to the
Airworthiness requirements [1] it can be done by experiments or calculations supported by experiments. A loading
sequence as the representative of the real aircraft in service missions has to be designed for the structural certification.
The most realistic method for loads ordering is a random application of load peaks in particular flights but the ordered
loading blocks can be applied as well, if the loads are ordered from low-to-high-to-low load amplitudes in particular
flights [2].

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +420 225 115 193; fax: +420 283 920 018.
E-mail address: behal@vzlu.cz

1877-7058 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Czech Society for Mechanics
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2015.02.005
 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33 27

The fatigue crack growth is significantly affected by load peak successions. Standard airplane spectra are presented
as cumulative exceedances for each maximum and minimum value of load factors in the loading time series
encountered. Thus two significant facts can be stated:

x No information about any subsequent load peaks is for disposal to simulate the load consequence effect on material
behavior.
x All load ranges in generated sequence are maximized based on the same occurrence of the upper and lower peaks.

The first problem is sometime solved by randomization of the spectrum load ranges despite that a new problem
arises – what is the right random ordering.
The second problem consists in the fact, that most of the load ranges are really smaller than it is encountered in the
one-parametric sequence – a transition on the given upper level is from different lower levels, as can be seen from
Fig.1.
In order to study the problem, a real operational sequence was used to eliminate a discussion if the other randomly
generated sequence is credible. Of course, it is only one realization on one airplane, the spectrum is not representative
for whole fleet of the given airplanes, but the main goal of this study regarding to the load range consequence can be
studied very well.

Nomenclature

ny airplane load factor

'ny airplane load factor range
Ncycle number of load cycles
Nflight number of simulated flights
'a crack length increment
da/dN fatigue crack growth rate
R stress ratio
'K stress intensity factor range
'Keff effective value of stress intensity factor range
D stress state coefficient
V1g stress level at horizontal flight
W width of specimen
B thickness of specimen

2. Description of the loading sequences

2.1. Naturally random ordered sequence

A few sequences with random ordering of loads were developed and standardized, for example TWIST [3] and
FALSTAF [4] for transport airplanes or military fighters, both implemented in AFGROW program [5], HELIX and
FELIX [6] for rotorcraft. And more random sequences were developed using in-house generators.
Each of the mentioned sequences can be discussed how perfectly the operational loads are simulated. To exclude
these doubts, a real operational load measurement was used as an unique load sequence realization.
The MUL1 registration accelerometer was used to measure 2D load spectra. An advantage of the instrument is its
possibility to record all load peaks time series from which the 2D spectra are evaluated. The time data are presented
on the Fig.1a for all 187 registered flights, on the Fig.1b is a detail of the time series.
Very important is the fact, that the load peaks are naturally ordered what is primary control variable for the
mechanism of a crack growth increments formation. Even if the sequence represents less than 200 flights, it can be
used for 2D spectrum evaluation, see Fig.2.
28 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33

Fig.1. (a) Whole registered load sequence, (b) detail of the load sequence.

Fig.2. 2D load factor spectrum evaluated from the measured real operational loading.
 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33 29

The standard spectrum can be evaluated using the peak values of the measured load factors as well, see Fig.3. No
amplitude filter is used because the filter on 'ny = 0.1 level was applied in the MUL1 load factor registration device.
The device arrangement allowed to register the flight data only.

Fig.3. Standard 1-parametric load factor spectrum of the measured load factor sequence and its approximation by 10 levels for a block sequence
generation.

2.2. Block ordered sequence

According to [2] the other acceptable type of a sequence is the sequence with the loads ordered in blocks with the
same 1-parametric loading spectrum.
The information about a natural load peaks ordering is lost if the 2D load factor spectrum is reduced to 1-parametric
spectrum. To minimize an effect of the loss of the loads real ordering the loads can be ordered in a form of short
blocks with the loads ordered from low to high to low load amplitudes in particular flights [2].
The CESAR loading sequence generator was developed in the frame of the homonymic European project [7] for
this purpose. The sequence consists from particular flights, each flight can consists from flight phases, landing impact,
braking, turns and taxiing.
The used sequence contained flight loads only, which were split into 3 flight phases to generate short blocks and
particular flights were separated by ny = 0. Loading levels and its occurrence are evaluated to approximate the real
spectrum, Fig.4. According to the Airworthiness Standards [2] loads in each phase are ordered from low-to-high-to-
low load amplitudes, see Fig.5
30 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33

Fig.4. 2D load factor spectrum evaluated from the block loading sequence.

Fig.5 Segment of the block loading sequence.

3. Experiment

3.1. Specimen geometry

For testing under variable amplitude, two middle tension, M(T), specimens of dimensions of 350x100x4 mm
(height, width, thickness) were made of the 2124-T851 aluminum alloy plate of 50 mm in thickness. The specimens
were cut in L-T direction and an initial double-sided notch of the total length of 5 mm was sparked out symmetrically
in the specimens. The test specimen geometry is shown in Fig.6.
 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33 31

Fig.6 M(T) specimen dimensions.

3.2. Crack growth measurements

Two major stages, fatigue pre-cracking and fatigue crack growth under variable loading amplitude, were applied
during the fatigue crack propagation tests. The first stage is represented by cyclic loading with a sinusoidal form and
constant amplitude up to crack increment 'a = 1.3 mm, the second one was performed under the real random sequence
or the blocked sequence, both transformed at V1g = 70 MPa.
The tests were conducted in laboratory environment at room temperature. Visual method using index lines with 'a
= 1 mm spacing was used for crack propagation monitoring. All four surface crack traces were measured.

4. Crack growth evaluations

The FASTRAN retardation model implemented in the AFGROW computational program was used to predict the
crack growth under variable amplitude loading. Fatigue crack growth rates of the 2124-T851 aluminum alloy on three
levels of the stress ratios were measured in the VZLU material test lab [8] according to relevant ASTM standards.
A specific feature of the FASTRAN retardation model is an approach to the effective stress intensity factor
evaluation [9] which is different from the ASTM standard recommendation. To keep a consistency in stress intensity
transformation from 'K(R) to 'Keff at measured crack growth data evaluation and 'Keff to 'K(R) decomposition
internally in the FASTRAN code for actually applied loading peak, the measured data has to be re-evaluate according
to the same approach [10]. The evaluated data were approximated by the PARIS equation; see the regression line in
the Fig. 7.
32 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33

Fig. 7 Fatigue crack growth rates of the 2124-T851 aluminum alloy approximated by the PARIS equation.

The main advantage of the FASTRAN retardation model is a possibility to evaluate all parameters for the crack
growth analysis from the M(T) specimen standard tests [11] including the stress state factors D.
The tested specimens were relatively thin, its rate W/B = 25, and the crack growth was started from a through
cracks, the constant value of the stress state coefficient D = 1.73 can be used to get a good description of the stress
state in that specimens in comparison with the measured crack growth curves, see Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 Measured crack growth curves in comparison with the results of the AFGROW simulations using the FASTRAN retardation model.
 Jiří Běhal and Petr Homola / Procedia Engineering 101 (2015) 26 – 33 33

5. Conclusions

The real operational sequence was used to evaluate loss or gains, when one-parametric spectrum is used for test
load sequence generation.
The tests confirmed the block loading is about twice severe than the real operational loading, even if the load
exceedance spectrum is the same.
DAMAGE TOLERANT analyses using FASTRAN retardation model implemented in AFGROW computing
program provided practically the same results, but it is necessary to add, that the input data have to be evaluated
according to the algorithm on which the FASTRAN retardation model was developed.

Acknowledgements

The paper was funded with the support for research organisation development provided by the Ministry of Industry
and Trade of the Czech Republic.

References

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[2] FAA Advisory Circular, Fatigue, Fail-Safe, and Damage Tolerance Evaluation of Metallic Structure for Normal, Utility, Acrobatic, and
Commuter Category Airplanes, AC 23-13A, 2005
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