Browsing by Author "You, Chao"
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Item Open Access Identification of the key design inputs for the FEM-based preliminary sizing and mass estimation of a civil aircraft wing box structure(Elsevier, 2021-12-14) You, Chao; Yasaee, Mehdi; He, Shun; Yang, Daqing; Xu, Yigeng; Dayyani, Iman; Ghasemnejad, Hessam; Guo, Shijun; Webb, Phil; Jennings, James; Federico, GiovanniFEM-based preliminary structural sizing has been successfully carried out for a typical single-aisle wing box structure using MSC Nastran, by considering various load cases representing typical aircraft manoeuvres, engine loads, landing and ground handling conditions. The strength, buckling and fatigue criteria have been applied as the design constraints for sizing. The resultant total mass and the structural (static and modal) behaviour of the sized wing box model have been verified against a validated high-fidelity wing box model. A sensitivity analysis has been performed to evaluate the influence of the number of design fields and the selected design inputs (i.e. load cases and design constraints) on the accuracy of sizing and mass estimation of the wing box. This sensitivity analysis has also been extended to the static and modal behaviour of the wing box structure obtained from sizing. It provides an insight into the significance of considering the buckling and fatigue constraints, aircraft rolling loads, engine loads and landing loads in sizing, in addition to the commonly-applied 2.5 g aircraft pull-up loads under the strength constraint. The findings of this study highlight the trade-off between the sizing efficiency and accuracy of a civil aircraft wing for modelling purposes.Item Open Access Multi-objective topology optimization and structural analysis of periodic spaceframe structures(Elsevier, 2020-02-05) Lim, Jarad; You, Chao; Dayyani, ImanReduction of structural weight provides significant benefits in many engineering applications. While methods to optimise structural shape and topology of both continuous solids and discrete frame structures have existed for a while, the advent of additive layer manufacturing processes has enabled more complex geometries to be feasible. In this paper, a periodic spaceframe structure is designed for minimum mass and maximum effective flexural and torsional rigidities. A method of parametrising the spaceframe through its constituent unit cells is proposed, and Genetic Algorithm (GA) multi-objective optimisation is used to optimise its topology, size and geometry as a generic structure. The superior performance of the topology optimised periodic spaceframe is highlighted in terms of structural rigidity, large deformation capability, buckling and vibrational modal analysis in compare to equivalent beam structures of identical weight and comparable domain. The results show that the proposed method can effectively generate lightweight substitute structures of great mechanical performance in many beam structures applications, such as: aircraft wing spars. The periodic spaceframe is applied into a conventional aircraft wing structure to demonstrate the possibilities of promoting weight saving in the design of civil aircraft wings.Item Open Access Numerical modelling of the fatigue crack shape evolution in a shot-peened steam turbine material(Elsevier, 2017-07-17) You, Chao; He, B. Y.; Achintha, M.; Reed, P. A. S.In this study, the short crack initiation and growth behaviour in a notched sample under low-cycle fatigue (LCF) was investigated in a low-pressure steam turbine material. Different crack initiation mechanisms and crack shape evolution processes were experimentally observed in samples subjected to different surface treatments: polished, T0 (industrially applied shot peening process) and T1 (a less intense shot peening process). To better understand the effects of shot peening on fatigue, a 3D finite element (FE) model was developed to investigate the interaction between crack growth and the effects induced by shot peening. Firstly, residual stress redistribution caused by both mechanical loading and the presence of a crack was numerically investigated. This model was also used to successfully predict the differences in crack shape evolution between varying surface conditions, and quantified the retardation of short crack growth behaviour resulting from shot peening. Finally, the 3D model introduced in this study was compared with a previously developed 2D model with plane strain assumptions to demonstrate the limitation of the 2D model in simulating the crack growth behaviour, and to emphasise the importance of taking the 3D crack shape into account when evaluating the short crack growth behaviour.Item Open Access Structural similitude design for a scaled composite wing box based on optimised stacking sequence(Elsevier, 2019-07-27) You, Chao; Yasaee, Mehdi; Dayyani, ImanTesting appropriately-designed scaled-down structures instead of the full-size prototype structure is beneficial for quickly understanding the prototype structural behaviour in a cost-effective way. In this study, a novel approach is proposed to design scaled composite structures that can be used to predict the structural responses (e.g. static bending, modal behaviour, and compressive buckling) of the prototype. The objective is to overcome the main drawback of the conventional design method, which tends to result in low accuracy of the prototype prediction when certain variables cannot be appropriately scaled due to manufacturing constraints (e.g. ply thickness). In the present work, a set of scaling laws being independent of boundary conditions were firstly derived for plates and beams respectively based on their governing equations. The genetic algorithm (GA) was then applied to help design the stacking sequence of the scaled models, accommodating the mismatch in similarity conditions resulting from the manufacturing constraint in ply thickness. This GA-based design method was demonstrated to be effective in designing scaled plate, I-beam, and stiffened plate models, with improved accuracy in predicting the prototype structural behaviour compared with the conventional method. The application of this new design method was also extended to an A320 size wing box structure, validating its robustness for complex structures.