BANGALORE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY VISVESVARAYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

K.R. CIRCLE, BANGALORE - 560 001

A dissertation report on

“Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door

cutout”
Submitted to

BANGALORE UNIVERSITY

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of

MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY
In
MACHINE DESIGN
By
MANOJ KUMAR S N

20GAMH1009
IV semester M.Tech
For the academic year 2021-22
Under the Guidance of
Dr. Chandrashekhar Bendigeri
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
UVCE, Bangalore University, Bangalore-
560001
 UNIVERSITY VISVESVARAYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

K.R. CIRCLE
BANGALORE - 560 001

MACHINE DESIGN

Department of Mechanical Engineering

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled “Stress analysis of fuselage

stiffened panel with and without a door cutout” is an authentic record
of the project work carried out by Mr. MANOJ KUMAR S N, bearing
Registration Number 20GAMH1009 in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of the degree of Master of Technology in Machine Design under
Bangalore University, Bangalore during the year 2021-2022 is a bonafide
record of work successfully carried out at University Visvesvaraya College of
Engineering K R Circle, Bangalore.

Dr. Chandrashekhar Bendigeri Dr. C K Umesh

Professor Chairman
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
UVCE, Bangalore. UVCE, Bangalore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name of the Examiner: Signature

1.

2.
 UNIVERSITY VISVESVARAYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
K.R. CIRCLE, BENGALURU – 560 001

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Dissertation work entitled “STRESS ANALYSIS OF FUSELAGE
STIFFENED PANEL WITH AND WITHOUT A DOOR CUTOUT” is a bonafide work
carried out by MANOJ KUMAR S N (20GAMH1009), in partial fulfillment of the award of
degree of MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY in MACHINE DESIGN during the year 2021-
2022. This work has been carried out in BANGALORE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES PVT
LTD under the guidance of MR. GIRISH K E and CHRISTY M PETER. To the best of
our knowledge, the report has been approved.

External Guide

MR. GIRISH K E MR. CHRISTY M PETER

Co Founder and Director, BAIL Assistant Structural Engineer, BAIL

Bangalore 562129 Bangalore 562129
 UNIVERSITY VISVESVARAYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
K.R. CIRCLE, BENGALURU – 560 001

BANGALORE UNIVERSITY

Declaration Certificate

I MANOJ KUMAR S N bearing Registration number 20GAMH1009 studying in M.Tech

in Machine Design hereby declare that the entire work embodied in this Dissertation work
has been independently carried out by me under the supervision of guide

Dr. CHANDRASHEKHAR BENDIGERI, Professor, Department of Mechanical

Engineering, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering, Bengaluru in partial
fulfillment of the requirement of the Master of Technology degree in Machine Design. I
further declare that the report has not been submitted either in part or in full to any other
university for the award of any Degree.

Date: MANOJ KUMAR S N

Place 20GAMH1009
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank my guide Dr. Chandrashekhar Bendigeri, Professor, Department of Mechanical

Engineering, University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bangalore, for his
excellent guidance, support and constant encouragement throughout my work. His vast
knowledge and experience have been valuable throughout this venture. It has been a
tremendous learning experience during all my discussion that I had with him.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. C N Umesh, Chairman and

Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UVCE, Bangalore, for his inspiring
guidance, continuous encouragement and everlasting motivation throughout the course of the
present work.

I am extremely thankful to Professor Dr. H.N. Ramesh, Principal, UVCE, Bangalore,

for providing the academic ambience and necessary infrastructure to study and work and
shape my career.
Also, I like to show my greatest gratitude to Girish K E, Co-Founder and Director, BAIL and Christy M
Peter , Assistant Structural Engineer, BAIL Bengaluru for his continuous help, monitoring and patience
during the whole work.

I take this opportunity to thank all my teaching and technical staff that has helped me
in all the technical aspects.

Lastly, but not the least, I like to acknowledge the significant help given by my family
members in lending financial and moral support throughout my academic career. I would also
like to thank all my friends for their help and support.

MANOJ KUMAR S N
 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and
without a door cutout
ABSTRACT
Aircraft is a complex engineering structure. The safety of the structure and the weight of the
structure are the two important aspects to be kept in mind while designing the aircraft structure. It is
an uphill task for an aircraft structural designer to bring out a safest structure with minimum weight.
The current project deals with the stress analysis of the fuselage-stiffened panel with and without a
large cutout for an emergency exit door. Cabin pressurization load case, which is one of the critical
load cases used for the stress analysis. When the aircraft is flying above 40000 ft. altitude pressure
is applied to fuselage inside cabin to create sea level atmospheric pressure. Stress analysis of the
fuselage segment will be carried out to capture the global response of the fuselage under
pressurization. A skin panel with fuselage frame and stringers representing the fuselage features
will be considered for the local analysis to capture global response. An emergency exit door cutout
will be introduced in the stiffened panel and analyzed for stress distribution around the cutout.
Stress concentration factor and variation of stress from cutout edge towards the free edge of the
panel will be obtained from the stress analysis results.

Keywords: Transport aircraft, Fuselage, Bulkhead, Orthogonal stiffening, Finite element method,
stress analysis, emergency exit door cutout, Stress concentration factor.
 CONTENTS

Ch. Sl.No. Title Page

INTRODUCTION 01

1.1 Overview 01

1.2 Types of Fuselage 02

1.2.1 Truss 02

1.2.2 Monocoque 04

1.2.3 Semi monocoque 05

1
1.2.4 Geodesic 06

2 LITERATURE SURVEY 08

2.1 Introduction 08

OBJECTIVES, METHODOLOGY, AND SCOPE OF 21

PRESENT WORK
3
3.1 OBJECTIVES 21

3.2 Scope Of Present work 21

3.2 Methodology 22

GEOMETRIC MODEL AND THEORITICAL 24

CALCULATION
4.1 CAD model of Stringers of Fuselage structure 24

4 4.2 CAD model of Frames of Fuselage structure 25

4.3 CAD model of Fuselage Skin with Stringers and 26

Frames
4.4 Assembled model of fuselage structure 27

4.5 Theoretical Calculation 30

 FE MODELING OF FUSELAGE STRUCTURE 31

5.1 Introduction to FEM 31

5.2 FEA geometry element types 31

5
5.3 Material properties 33

5.4 FE models 34

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 36

6.1 Stress analysis 36

6.1.1 Analysis of fuselage skin 36

6
6.1.2 Analysis of fuselage structure 38

6.1.3 Local model of fuselage structure 39

6.2 Margin of safety 41

6.3 Summary of Results and discussion 42

CONCLUSION AND SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK

7 7.1 Conclusion 43

7.2 Scope of future work 43

REFERENCES 44

PAPER PUBLICATION 48
 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview
Aircraft is a complex engineering structure. The safety of the structure and the weight of the
Structure are the two important aspects to be kept in mind while designing the aircraft structure. It
is an uphill task for an aircraft structural designer to bring out a safest structure with minimum
weight. Fuselage and wing are the major primary structural components of the airframe. Fuselage is
a Cylindrical structure, which houses passenger seats and cargo at the rear end. Normally fuselage
is a built-up structure with stiffening members along longitudinal and circumferential directions.
The skin used for the structure is a thin member with orthogonal stiffening.
Fuselage is a component which houses the passengers and cargo in the case of a civil transport
aircraft. Fuselage will experience mainly the inertia and pressurization loads. Depending on the
mass distribution of the fuselage structure the inertia forces will vary along the length of the
fuselage. The inertia force distribution makes the fuselage to bend downward about wing axis. This
bending of the fuselage will create tension and compression in the upper & lower fuselage stiffened
panels respectively. The compression in the lower stiffened panels leads to buckling of the lower
panels. The fuselage should carry the payload, and is the main body to which all parts are
connected. It must be able to resist bending moments torsion loads and cabin pressurization. The
fuselage is a long cylindrical shell, closed at its ends, which carries the internal payload. Figure 1.1
shows typical airplane fuselage.

Figure 1.1: Typical Airplane Fuselage

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

The dominant type of fuselage structure is semi monocoque construction. These structures provide
better strength-to-weight ratios for the central portion of the body of an airplane than monocoque
construction. A semi monocoque fuselage consists of a thin shell stiffened in the longitudinal
direction with stringers and longerons and supported in the radial direction using transverse frames
or rings. The strength of a semi monocoque fuselage depends mainly on the longitudinal stringers
(longerons), frames and pressure bulkhead. The skin carries the cabin pressure (tension) and shear
loads, the longitudinal stringers carry the longitudinal tension and compression loads, and
circumfrential frames maintain the fuselage shape and redistribute loads in to air frame

1.2 Types of Fuselage

The fuselage is an important part of an airplane. All airplanes have a fuselage. It’s essentially the body or
shell that holds passengers and cargo. In some airplanes, the fuselage holds the engines as well. While all
fuselages feature a shell-like design, they are available in several different types. Below is a breakdown of
the four most common types of airplane fuselages.
1.2.1 Truss
This consists of light gauge steel tubes which form a frame triangular shape to give the
most rigid of geometric forms. Each tube carries a specific load, the magnitude of which depends
on whether the aircraft is airborne or on the ground. Also known as truss structure, truss is a
common type of airplane fuselage. It’s typically used in small and lightweight airplanes. Truss
fuselages live up to their namesake by featuring steel trusses. The steel trusses are welded together
to form a frame. This frame is then covered in sheets of steel or other materials. Truss fuselages
have been around for over a century, and during that time, little has changed regarding their design.
Figure 1.2.1 shows Truss Fuselage.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 1.2.1 Truss Fuselage

Advantages of a Truss Type Fuselage

 Cost-effective

 Lightweight

 Easy to construct

 Strong structural frame

 Rigid geometric structure

 Simple design and basic structure

Disadvantages of a Truss Type Fuselage

 No stiffeners

 Lack of additional supports such as the streamline shape

 No effective enough to resist major stress loads

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

1.2.2. Monocoque

‘Monocoque’ is a French word meaning ‘single shell’. All the loads are taken by a stressed skin
with just light internal frames or formers to give the required shape. To be a ‘true’ Monocoque the
structure would have no apertures at all. Some airplanes have a monocoque fuselage. Monocoque
fuselages are characterized by the use of an exterior surface as the primary structure. In other words, they
don’t have the same frame-based design as truss fuselages. Monocoque fuselages may still have a
frame, but their primary structure consists of an exterior surface. Monocoque fuselages are found in
military airplanes as well as commercial and civilian airplanes. The Boeing 787, in fact, uses a
monocoque fuselage. Figure 1.2.2 shows Monocoque Fuselage

Figure 1.2.2 Monocoque Fuselage

Advantages of Monocoque Structure

 Rigid structure

 Strength

 Can carry concentrated loads

 Provides great fitting for the wings

 Has secondary load carriers

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Disadvantages of Monocoque Structure

 Low strength-to-weight ratio

 Heavier than the truss type

 Minor damage can bring a big impact and damage the skin

 Not strong enough for modern airliners needs

 Requires frequent maintenance

1.2.3. Semi-Monocoque
As aircraft became larger, the pure Monocoque was found not to be strong enough.
Designers came with a new concept to make fuselage stronger; the Longerons run lengthwise along
the fuselage joining the frames together (see picture below for more detail). The light alloy skin is
attached to the frames and longerons by riveting or adhesive bonding. Doublers are required when
cut-outs are made to provide access panels, doors or windows. Bulkheads isolate different sections
of the aircraft, for instance the engine compartment from the passenger compartment. Bulkheads
are of much stronger construction than frames or formers, as the loads upon them are so much
greater.
This concept is widely used both in military and also in the commercial industry. In military, this
concept is believed to enable planes to gain more speed. Figure 1.2.3. shows Semi Monocoque
Fuselage

Figure 1.2.3 Semi Monocoque Fuselage

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Advantages of Semi-monocoque Structure

 Rigid and strong streamlined construction

 Can withstand normal aircraft damage

 Has secondary structure to assist carrying the loads

 Better strength-to-weight ratio than monocoque structure

 Longerons help the skin to withstand the primary being loads

Disadvantages of Semi-monocoque Structure

 Difficult to construct

 More expensive

 Time-consuming maintenance

 Its skin can’t support all the major loads

1.2.4. Geodesic
Finally, geodesic airplane fuselages are those that feature a basket-like woven
construction. They consist of metal or synthetic materials that are angled together. The geodesic
fuselage was pioneered by Barnes Wallis in the 1930s. Some of the first airplanes to use this
fuselage appeared shortly thereafter. Geodesic is simply a type of airplane fuselage that features a
basket-like construction. It’s considered stronger and more durable than many other types of
fuselages. Figure shows Geodesic Fuselage.

Figure 1.2.4 Geodesic Fuselage

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
 They've been used for military radar systems, churches, auditoriums and also for all sorts of
special events in which temporary, inexpensive and strong shelters are needed.
 On the next page you'll see why the special construction of these domes makes them so
useful.
 Used for the British Vickers during World War II, geodesic fuselage structures seek to
enhance the aircraft’s shape to reduce drag and improve speed.
 Multiple strip stringers are intertwined around the formers in varying spiral directions,
similar to a wicker basket.
 Geodesic fuselage structures are lightweight, strong, and ultra-durable.
 They were typically made of either wood and/or aluminum, featuring a fabric covering the
shell for greater comfortable and aesthetic value.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Chapter 2

LITERATURE SURVEY

2.1 Introduction
The fuselage should carry the load, and is the main body of fuselage to which all parts are
connected. It must be able to resist, torsional loads, cabin pressurization, and bending moments.
The structural strength and stiffness of the fuselage must be high enough to withstand these loads.,
the structural weight must be kept to a minimum. In aircraft with pressurized fuselages, the
fuselage volume both above and below the floor is pressurized, so no pressurization loads exist on
the floor. If the fuselage is suddenly de-pressurized, the floor will be loaded because of the pressure
difference. The load will persist until the pressure in the plane has equalized, usually via floor-level
side wall vents. Sometimes different parts of the fuselage have different radius. This is termed a
double-bubble fuselage. Pressurization can lead to tension or compression of the floor-supports,
depending on the design.

Bharath Hemanth [1] Designing and analyzing grid stiffened panel to understand the effect of
stiffeners on stiffness of the panel is crucial in designing grid stiffened cylinder for fuselage
application. Traditionally only straight stiffeners were used due to limited manufacturing
capabilities and in recent years GSS with curved stiffeners have become a reality. The present work
is on flat grid stiffened panel and the focus is to realize the change in stiffness by converting
straight stiffeners in an isogrid panel to curved stiffeners. An isogrid stiffened panel is identified
from literature for which experimental results were available and was considered for replacing
straight stiffeners with curved stiffeners. Defining and designing the curve for curved stiffeners
which can be used to replace straight stiffeners in isogrid pattern is crucial. FE model of the grid
stiffened fuselage panel with iso grid pattern identified from the literature for which experimental
data was available was developed and evaluated for stiffness. For the same panel, curved grid
pattern to enhance stiffness of the panel was designed following existing design procedure. FE
model of the grid stiffened fuselage panel with designed curved stiffeners was developed and
evaluated for stiffness. It is established that the stiffness of panel can be increased by minimum of
2.82% to maximum of 11.93% by using curved stiffeners of particular curvature as a replacement
for straight stiffeners in isogrid pattern with a slight mass penalty.

Achyutha Krishna Rao K [2] This paper presents the response of aircraft fuselage panel to
the cabin pressure by idealizing the structure as a flat stiffened panel. The principal stresses

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
developed in the fuselage due to the pressure difference at the altitude during the actual flight
conditions were simulated by using the commercial FEA software MSC.PATRAN &
MSC.NASTRAN. The response of structure for the hoop stress and longitudinal stress developed in
the fuselage due to cabin pressurization is studied by using finite element analysis technique.
Emphasis was given to study the response of I, C and L types of the stringers for the load bearing
capacity of the aircraft structure and comparison for the structural responses of stiffened panel was
made between these types of stringers. From the analysis it was found that; I and C type of stringers
have least deflection than L type; which is an important parameter for the safe design of the aircraft
structure

Sowmya R [3] The fuselage is one of the main component in any aircraft and its function is to
hold all parts together and carries passengers. This fuselage part experience a different loads like
static, fatigue, dynamic, buckling during landing, flying and take-off conditions. Now a day’s
aircraft undergo different type of failure modes, due to improper design, pilot error, weather
conditions etc. In the present work, fuselage component with airframes can be optimized in design
in order to check which design of airframes in fuselage structure can withstand static loading
conditions with minimum deflection and minimum induced stress. The result shows that fuselage
component with airframes containing three vertical truss members under roof can able to withstand
static loading conditions with minimum deflection, fuselage component with airframes containing
two inclined and one vertical truss member located at centre under roof can able to withstand static
loading conditions with minimum induced stress and fuselage component with airframes don’t
containing any truss members under roof cannot able to withstand static loading conditions.

Cornelis Guijt [4] A significant workload for large transport aircraft is related to fuselage dent
repair. This research program addresses both the effect of dents and reformed dents on durability
(fatigue) and static stability. In fatigue, tension-tension loading is used, and both compression and
shear loading are considered for static stability. Different dent shapes and depths in unstiffened flat
sheets were subjected to fatigue loading. Reformed dents were fatigue tested as well. The current
status is that although dents do decrease fatigue life, and reforming dents does somewhat restore the
loss in fatigue life; none of the dents tested would shorten the fatigue life of the skin below the
required life for the airframe. For fatigue loaded structures with dents, this opens the possibility to
greatly reduce the workload and prevent unnecessary repairs. For static stability, representative flat
stiffened aircraft panels were loaded in compression and shear. Based on the effective width of the
skin in compression, which is small for the configuration tested, the dents have no effect on

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
structural stability and do not need to be repaired. The outcome of this program is that a significant
amount of time and money can be saved by avoiding unnecessary structural repairs for the typical
fuselage configuration tested. These results can be applicable to similar fuselage structures of other
large Transports.

Janugaon vijay kumar [5] Stiffened panel is a component in aircraft that is used to fasten the
stiffener and the skin. These are the components that carry and allocate the loads throughout the
surface of the fuselage or the wing. These panels are present in both fuselage and wings. Stiffener
or longeron or stringer is a thin metal strip that is used as a supporting member in fuselage and
wing. When we consider the issue i.e. resistance of the aircraft’s skin towards the loads applied on
it, due to frailty the aircraft skin is easily deformed. In order to solve this problem we designed a
stiffened panel which can endure to deflection and stress levels. By changing the stiffened panel
sections and by changing the material of the skin, the aircraft skin can withstand the deformation.
Generally T-section stiffened panel is used but there is a disadvantage of using T-section, it can’t
resist to deformation. So we designed an I-section stiffened panel (because I-section is more
resistant to deformation) in CATIA and Meshing in Hyper mesh and Analysis is done in ANSYS.
We considered three types of analysis in ANSYS, Modal analysis, Static analysis, Harmonic
analysisrespectively and also we considered two materials, one is aluminum and the other is carbon
fiber. Aluminum is the common element used in the design of aircraft, but Carbon fiber is recently
being used in aircrafts.

Vivek Hingu [6] cross-sections were considered and for different cross- sections, the analysis was
carried out and finally obtained an optimum value of Buckling Factor. In the present work, stress analysis of
stiffened panel for aircraft fuselage is performed for aluminium alloy plates with is grid and ortho grid using
FEM. In the buckling analysis of panel, the linear analysis is carried out under the specified loading and
boundary condition and result are extended to the buckling analysis. A linear static analysis will be carried
out on a part of fuselage structure with scattered inertia load. The panels with extreme compression load are
recognized for buckling analysis. From static analysis, compression load acting on each panel can be
extracted and buckling factor is discovered. MSC PATRAN and MSC NASTRAN are used for this study.
From the value of Buckling Factor for both Global and Local analysis of fuselage with different cross-
sections, it is clear that the design of the fuselage stiffened panel with „L‟ and „Z‟ cross-section is safe one.
Aircraft is a flying machine. It is a complex engineering structure. The safety of the structure and
the weight of the structure are the two important aspects to be kept in mind while designing the
aircraft structure. It is a challenge in front of the aircraft structural designer to bring out a safest

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
structure with minimum weight. A Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to get estimated solution
to a problems ruled by elliptic partial differential equation (PDE) equations. The FEM transforms
the elliptic PDE into algebraic equations set, that are simple to solve. The initial value problems
which has hyperbolic or parabolic differential equation and initial conditions not completely
solved by the FEM. The hyperbolic or parabolic differential equations contain one independent
variables as time. The pre-processing task includes building geometric model from CATIA solid
model and extracting geometry, building the finite element model, giving properties, setting
boundary and loading conditions and finally, assembling elements into a connected structure. This
work deals with the buckling analysis of the fuselage stiffened panel structure, on the basis of
different cross-sectional view. The Buckling Analysis was done with the NASTRAN & PATRAN
software. From the initial cross-section of L shape‟, it was found out that some modification is
needed on the cross-section of the fuselage members, to make it as a safe design. For that,
gradually various

B. Manideep [7] The fuselage is an aircraft’s main body section that serves to position control
and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, required for aircraft stability
and maneuverability. It holds crew and passengers and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will also
contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon
attached to the fuselage. Along with different types of loads, pressure loads are to be considered as
very important which can be overcome by the skin and structural loads overcome by the help of
bulkhead and other structural members like stringers, formers etc. the main theme is to provide
safety with high reliability which is measured by the factor of safety. Now a day the structural
strength has been improving using different composite materials. The composite material mainly
reduces the weight of structure and increases ability to with stand at high load operating conditions.
An analysis involves with the finding of deformations and finding stresses at general load
conditions with different combination of aluminum alloys (AL 2024 T4, AL 6061 T6) and
composite materials (Rein forced carbon fiber with 900& 450 orientation) for skin and fuselage
structural members respectively, and involves with modification of design according to the analysis
of results to improve the factor safety and reduce the stresses.

Shivaraj [8] The most important aspects in the aircraft design are safety and weight of the
structure. Fuselage is one of the major components of the aircraft. Depending on the mass
distribution of the fuselage structure the inertia forces will vary along the length of the fuselage.
The inertia force distribution makes the fuselage to bend downward about wing axis. This bending

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
will create tension in the upper portion of the fuselage; simultaneously the bottom portion of the
fuselage will undergo compression. The current investigation addresses the issue of the
compression buckling of the panels in the bottom portion of the fuselage. The panels with
maximum compression load will be identified as critical panels for buckling analysis. Classical
approach will be followed to calculate the critical buckling load on each panel. These calculations
will be substantiated by panel buckling analysis through finite element method.

N. Mahesh [9] This paper elucidate the CFD analysis of truss type fuselage. The fuselage is
made up of welded tubular steel frame construction. In this paper fuselage geometry has been
designed using a CATIA design software and analyzed using ANSYS Mechanical ADPL. The
main dimensions were assumed using 2- D drawings, due to lack of original dimensions. The
dimensions were extracted experimentally from an original aircraft. Computational fluid dynamic
program for the horizontal tail were used for aerodynamic loads finite element method (FEM) has
been used for Static structural analysis by fastened connection property among the frames. The
results were found at the front part of the engine mount, next on the mid-section which offers
cantilever support for the wing and landing gear and the rear section supports the horizontal and
vertical stabilizers;. The displacements, Von Mises stresses, and principal stresses were found in
the three sections and found satisfactory except for a small area near the connection between
fuselage and wing.

Amirashoyal Tankasli [10] Fuselage is a part, which houses the travelers and load on account
of a common transport air ship. For the most part it is a barrel with orthogonally hardened
developed development.The flying machine will be in harmony at any moment of time amid flying.
Fuselage will encounter fundamentally the latency and pressurization loads. A panel of the semi
monocoque structure is modeled in this project to understand the effectof material change in the
aircraft. The panel modeled is imported into the CAE software and analysed to identify the regions
of high stress and strain and to select the optimum material for the given conditions. The materials
selected were two aluminium composites Al7075/TiC and Al7075/SiC-TiC.The loading conditions
were varied based on the altitude of flight selected and a multiplierwas used to simulate different
conditions during flight. These conditions determine whether the aircraft can withstand the high
forces acting on it. The results indicate that the panel was safe for the multipliers used and the
buckling results showed a relatively infinite life with a very high safety factor .

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Dr M. M. Nadakatti [11] catastrophic structural failures in many engineering fields like

aircraft, automobile and ships are primarily due to fatigue. Where any structure experiences
fluctuating loading during service its load carrying capacity decreases due to a process known as
fatigue. Fatigue damage accumulates during every cycle of loading the structure experiences during
its operation. When this accumulated damage reaches a critical value, a fatigue crack appears on
the structure under service loading. A structure will have a finite fatigue life during which fatigue
cracks initiate and propagate to critical sizes leading to catastrophic failure of the structure.
Therefore fatigue life consists of two parts: the first part is the life to the initiation of fatigue crack
and the second part is the fatigue crack propagation to final fracture. On the other hand fatigue
crack growth is the dominant phase for more ductile structures or material. Large structure like an
aircraft has a large number of components which are mechanically fastened together to form the
total airframe. Service experience indicates that designing airframes against fatigue failure is better
served if it is assumed that the airframe has crack-like flaws right from day-one when it enters the
service. Airframe will experience the variable loading during the service. If damage is present in
the structure in the form of a crack then one needs to calculate the fatigue crack growth life. This is
essential to properly schedule the inspection intervals to ensure the safety of the structure during its
service.

Ms.Srilaxmi [12] This project deals with the Design and static stress analysis of fuselage
structure for a military transport aircraft. The aim of this project work is to design and analyze the
stringers, longerons, frames and bulkheads of a transport aircraft for the stresses and displacements
due to the applied loads. For this project work deals with the comparative study on particular
transport aircraft. The optimum design parameters for a transport aircraft are suitably selected
based on the fuselage modal was design using the CATIA-V5 R19 software, which is developed by
Dassault systems and is very famous for its 3D modeling capabilities. The major fuselage design
parameters were explained in detail and the fuselage configuration has been described. Different
types of loads acting on the aircrafts fuselage are determined and the moments, displacements, etc.,
are also determined. The fuselage structure was also explained and functions of each component
and their arrangement are also studied. The methodology of finite element method and the detailed
description about various FEM tools have been studied and implemented in this work. The
procedure of finite element method was followed to analyze the model. The analyzing part of this
project is done using the NASTRANPATRAN package and the results were discussed.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
B. Karthick [13] The design of a fuselage structure for any aircraft is very essential. The
fuselage structure for business jet aircraft carries stringers, frames, floor beam and outer skin. The
fuselage structure for heavy passenger aircraft carries a wide numerous structural parts such as
bulkheads, longerons, frames, stringers, flat plate, outer skin etc. Nowadays, stiffened shell
structure was used in fuselage structure. The lattice structure is a complex design which carries a
individual structural components of actual fuselage structure seen. In this project, the lattice
structure was adapted to the aircraft instead of stiffened shell structure. The design of the lattice
structure is carried out in CATIA and the static structural analysis is carried out in ANSYS to find
the stress and deformation due to the load.

Karthik S S [14] Fuselage forms the main structure of the aircraft that accommodates the
passenger and cargo. The fuselage is continuously subjected to various loads during flight as well
as after landing. The integrity of the fuselage-structure is very important for the safety of the
aircraft. This project describes a conceptual design of fuselage structure for small 50 passenger
capacity aircraft by using CAD software as the design tool; Specific size, performance, the number
of competing designs and the commonality of features with existing small capacity aircraft to be
considered in the design process. This project aims to design and optimize the fuselage-structure
for static and dynamic loads for optimal stiffness. For this purpose, CAE simulations will be
performed on a fuselage model using static and dynamic conditions. According to the static and
dynamic analyses results, a significant comparison is conducted in order to supply the necessary
information for predicting the response of structures when working in an over limit situations that
is very difficult to simulate by experiments. Based on the response of the model, topology
optimization would be performed using CAE software. Based on the optimization runs, the best-fit
design of the fuselage will be identified.

Goudagari Raghavender [15] This project focuses on Static and Fatigue Analysis of
repaired fuselage skin at the pitot tube location. The fuselage is an aircraft’s main body section.
Skin is damaged around the pitot tube on fuselage. It is removed by trimming out cracked area and
installing the repair doubler to the skin. As part of the certification process, an aircraft manufacturer
performs tests or analysis to demonstrate compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations 25.571.
This analysis is generally based upon an implicit assumption of isolated cracking, i.e., the effect of
a single crack is considered with respect to the issues of detectable or initial size, fracture-critical
size, and rate of growth. The subject repairs need to be evaluated for Static strength and fatigue
evaluation. Fatigue analysis is performed for the subject repair and fatigue life is evaluated based

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
on High Cycle Fatigue (HCF), through S-N curves.

Sung Hwan Cho [16] A Columned Multi-Bubble Fuselage (CMBF) concept is proposed for a
Blended Wing Body Ultra Heavy Lift aircraft design. Inner-cabin wall sections of Multi Bubble
Fuselage were replaced with columns to provide a large and contiguous area. The configuration
allows the membrane stresses of the round wing panels to be balanced with the tensile stresses in
the columns. CMBF was analysed and compared with a conventional Multi Bubble Fuselage
(MBF) to verify its structural performance regarding weight reduction and stiffness. Initial analysis
shows that the CMBF has a significant weight advantage over conventional MBF. The paper
introduces the objectives of the project and presents preliminary structural design and analysis
results.

Manjunath M M[17] Aircraft designer needs to ensure the structural integrity of the airframe
without compromising on the safety of the structure. This requires several stress analysis of
different components, which represents the features of the airframe. Also these analysis predictions
have to be substantiated by structural testing during the developmental phase. In current study a
representative stiffened panel from a centre fuselage segment of an aircraft will be considered for
the evaluation. The stress analysis of the stiffened panel will be carried out by using FEM
approach. Aluminium alloy 2024-T351 material is used for the stiffened panel. Fuselage structure
experiences the hoop tension and longitudinal tension because of the internal pressurization. If
there is a crack in the unstiffened fuselage, under the flight condition it could lead to catastrophic
failure of the structure. The fatigue crack will initiate normally from the highest tensile stress
locations. Therefore rivet locations are the most probable locations for fatigue crack initiation.
Miner’s rule will be employed for the fatigue damage calculation and life estimation of the
structure. S-N curve of the aluminium alloy 2024-T351 will be used for obtaining the number of
cycles to failure at particular stress magnitudes.

Yuchen Wen [ 18 ] Composite parts have been increasingly used in aircraft industry because of
their high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness-to-weight ratio. Due to the diversity of suppliers
and fabrication process variation of composite parts, dimensional variability of composite fuselages
inevitably exists. In order to improve the dimensional quality and increase the productivity, a new
shape control system has been proposed to conduct dimensional shape adjustment before the
assembly process. By using finite element analysis, we conduct the feasibility analysis of this new
shape control system. Firstly, we develop a finite element model with detailed material property,

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
ply design, fixture structure, and actuators installation considered. The finite element model is then
validated and calibrated by physical experimental data. Feasibility analysis via FEA includes
single-plane dimensional control capability analysis, double-plane scheme analysis, stress/strain
analysis, and failure test. We conclude that the single-plane with ten actuators scheme is feasible
for the shape control, and the actuators do not damage the fuselage.

Seth S. Kessler [19] The Wide Area Surveillance Projectile (WASP), is a small autonomous
flyer that is launched contained in an artillery shell, and then deployed over a battlefield to capture
images. The focus of this paper is the structural design and testing of the aft section of this vehicle.
The aft section is not only subjected to high impulsive inertial loads, but its weight has a substantial
effect on the controllability of the vehicle; therefore it is manufactured in advanced composite
materials to save weight without incurring a strength penalty. Finite element models of this section
as well as hand lay-up test specimens were produced to optimize the design. These specimens were
tested statically as well as in a dynamic environment. Using the analytical procedure presented in
this paper, a high-g survival part could be designed with much less time and at a lower cost than
with previous techniques. The WASP project was commenced as a cooperative venture between
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Draper Laboratories in 1997. The goal was to
develop an unmanned aerial vehicle that would reduce the risk associated with obtaining time-
critical battlefield reconnaissance data.

Shivakumar Pujari [20] Fuselage is the main body of the airplane. It holds and carries
passengers, crew and also cargo when common transport aero plane is considered. Mostly, the
fuselage is shell like structure with orthogonally hardened stiffeners. The airplane will be in
balanced condition at any instant of time during flying. The main forces acting on fuselage are
inertia loads and loads due to pressurization. This project aims at linear static analysis of fuselage
panel made of aluminium composites. The airplane is considered to be flying at an elevation of
4500 meters from the ground and the analysis is carried out with different aluminium composite
materials. In the current study, static analysis is carried out on the panel of fuselage which is
subjected to air pressure

Varun Potty [21] Expressed in nature’s infinite subtleties, the Fuselage draws its inspiration
from the streamlined body of a bird or a fish, channelizing the flow of air around, enabling its ease
in flight. Spanning most of the aircrafts structure, it plays a crucial role in the ferrying of people
and cargo, simultaneously balancing the shears due to the empennage and wing structures all in

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
mid-air. Its structural integrity is often questioned by failures due to load or bad air during
maneuvers, causing instability which has led many to intensively explore and develop an ideal
fuselage. The 17ollabor of the fuselage is crucially determined by the structural integrity and
aerodynamic performance. This paper is an attempt at collating the recent technological advances
pertaining to the fuselage. We’ve streamlined and categorized the wide-ranging scholarly articles
by three fundamentally varying approaches – Theoretical, Experimental and Numerical. The
theoretical approach saw the authors test out their hypothesis by utilizing and constructing various
mathematical models using scientific principles with no verification by actual experimentation or
simulation work. The experimental approach pertains to those papers whose authors devised
experiments, whose data was used to draw distinct conclusions. The numerical approach mainly
dealt with heavy computational analysis using FEM and CFD analysis. Therefore, this paper serves
as a compendium for researchers and developers attempting to 17ollaborati themselves with the
current advancements and developments in domain of fuselage technology.

Vivek Mukhopadhyay [22] NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project

and the Boeing Company are 17ollaborating to advance the unitized damage arresting composite
airframe technology with application to the Hybrid-Wing-Body (HWB) aircraft. The testing of a
HWB fuselage section with Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure (PRSEUS)
construction is presently being conducted at NASA Langley. Based on lessons learned from
previous HWB structural design studies, improved finite-element models (FEM) of the HWB
multibay and bulkhead assembly are developed to evaluate the performance of the PRSEUS
construction. In order to assess the comparative weight reduction benefits of the PRSEUS
technology, conventional cylindrical skin-stringer-frame models of a cylindrical and a double-
bubble section fuselage concepts are developed. Stress analysis with design cabin-pressure load
and scenario based case studies are conducted for design improvement in each case. Alternate
analysis with stitched composite hat-stringers and C-frames are also presented, in addition to the
foam-core sandwich frame and pultruded rod-stringer construction. The FEM structural stress,
strain and weights are computed and compared for relative weight/strength benefit assessment. The
structural analysis and specific weight comparison of these stitched composite advanced aircraft
fuselage concepts demonstrated that the pressurized HWB fuselage section assembly can be
structurally as efficient as the conventional cylindrical fuselage section with composite stringer-
frame and PRSEUS construction, and significantly better than the conventional aluminum
construction and the double-bubble section concept.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

E S Elumala [23] The results from an experimental and analytical study of a composite
sandwich fuselage side panel for a transport aircraft are presented. The panel has two window
cutouts and three frames, and has been evaluated with internal pressure loads that generate biaxial
tension loading conditions. Design limit load and design ultimate load tests have been performed
on the composite panel (graphite-epoxy sandwich panel) with the middle frame removed to
demonstrate the suitability of this two-frame design for supporting the prescribed biaxial loading
conditions with twice the initial frame spacing of X inches (20 inches). The two-frame panel was
damaged by cutting a notch that originates at the edge of a cutout and extends in the panel hoop
direction through the window-belt area. This panel with a notch was tested in a combined-load
condition to demonstrate the structural damage tolerance at the design limit load condition. The
two panel configurations successfully satisfied all desired load requirements in the experimental
part of the study, and the three-frame and two-frame panel responses are fully explained by the
analysis results. The results of this study suggest that there is potential for using sandwich
structural concepts with greater than the usual X (20)-in.-wide frame spacing to further reduce
aircraft fuselage structural weight.

Neela Rajan.R.R [24] The utmost important characteristics in aircraft design were the
structure load and safety. One of the main part of an aircraft is Fuselage. Depending on mass
scattering of fuselage, the inertia forces will change along the length of the fuselage. Fuselage tends
to bend down about axis wing due to Inertia force scattering. This bend will generate tension in
upper part of fuselage simultaneously fuselage bottom part will experience compression. This
work reveals the issue of the compression buckling of stiffened panels in the bottom portion of the
fuselage. A linear static analysis will be carried out on a part of fuselage structure with scattered
inertia load. The panels with extreme compression load is recognized for buckling analysis. From
static analysis, compression load acting on each panel can be extracted and buckling factor is
discovered. MSC PATRAN and MSC NASTRAN are used for this study. From the value of
Buckling Factor for both Global and Local analysis of fuselage with different cross sections, it is
clear that the design of the fuselage stiffened panel with L and Z cross section is safe one.

Hemanth.Kumar.G [25] Damage tolerance design philosophy is followed in the airframe

design to achieve the minimum weight of the structure without compromising on the safety of the
structure. This philosophy includes fail-safe design of the structure. Fuselage structure of the
aircraft is made up of stressed skin, longitudinal longenors, and circumferential. The most common

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
cause of structural failures is fatigue under service loading. Fatigue c racks can initiate and
propagate to critic al dimensions leading to a catastrophic failure of the air frame. The current
airframe design concepts permit a fatigue crack to initiate from a manufacturing flaw early in
service life and propagate. But it should not lead to a catastrophic fail u re of the aircraft.The
current investigation includes the evaluation of a fusel age-stiffened panel for its damage tolerance
capability with one of its frames in the broken condition. The cracking location is idealized as a flat
stiffened panel with a skin crack subjected to uniaxial tensile loading analysis will be carried out
with a frame broken condition. A Finite element analysis approach will be followed in this
investigation. Geometrical dimensions representative of actual aircraft in service will be considered.
The material used for the stiffened panel will be taken as 2024-T3 aluminum alloy.A panelstrength
diagram will be derived from the stress analysis of this cracked stiffened panel with an frame
broken condition In this analysis only the frame is considered in the design of the fuselage and
analysis is done considering only this conditions with a broken frame.

Kaliprasad K [26] Designers have to ensure the safety of the structure throughout the service
life for which the structure is being designed. To ensure the safety of the structure, the designer
should first understand how a structure would fail. There are two types of failures one is material
failure and another one is a structural failure. Buckling falls into the category of structural failure
mode. In current study a representative stiffened panel from a transport airframe will be considered
for the evaluation. The stress analysis of the stiffened panel with and without crack will be carried
out by using FEM approach. Aluminum alloy 2024-T351 material is used for the stiffened panel.
Stress intensity factor (SIF) at different crack lengths will be calculated using Modified Virtual
Crack Closure Integral (MVCCI) method. The panel will be analyzed with central bulkhead broken
condition. The SIF calculated at every crack length will be compared with the fracture toughness of
the material. Panel strength diagram will be plotted which will represent the two-bay crack arrest
capability of the stiffened panel. The work also includes a linear static and linear buckling analysis
of the front fuselage structure. The study includes, the issue of compression buckling of the panels
in the bottom portion of the fuselage. A linear static analysis will be carried out on a segment of the
front fuselage structure with a distributed air load acting on it. The panels with maximum
compression load will be identified as critical panels for buckling analysis. Axial compression load
acting on each panel will be extracted from the static analysis.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Summary of literature survey

 .If the fuselage is suddenly de-pressurized, the floor will be loaded because of the pressure
difference.
 The load will persist until the pressure in the plane has equalized, usually via floor-level side
wall vents. Sometimes different parts of the fuselage have different radius.
 Pressurization can lead to tension or compression of the floor-supports, depending on the
design.
 The airplane is considered to be flying at an elevation of 4500 meters from the ground and
the analysis is carried out with different aluminium composite materials.
 In the current study, static analysis is carried out on the panel of fuselage which is subjected
to air pressure
 The panels with extreme compression load are recognized for analysis.
 From static analysis, compression load acting on each panel can be extracted. MSC PATRAN and
MSC NASTRAN are used for this study.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Chapter 3
OBJECTIVES, METHODOLOGY, AND SCOPE OF PRESENT WORK

3.1. Objective
 The main aim of this project is Stress analysis of the fuselage.
 A skin panel with fuselage frame and stringers representing the fuselage features will be
considered for the local analysis to capture global response under pressurization.

3.2 Scope of Present Work

 To study and calculate different kinds of Loads that acts on stiffened Panel
 Selecting appropriate finite element modeling techniques for representing necessary
structural details
 To stimulate structural response for various stiffeners using NASTRAN/PATRAN.
 Determining stress values at rivet location by using free body diagram.
 An emergency exit door cutout will be introduced in the stiffened panel and analyzed for
stress distribution around the cutout.
 Stress concentration factor and variation of stress from cutout edge towards the free edge
of the panel will be obtained from the stress analysis
 Stress analysis of the fuselage segment will be carried out to capture the global response
of the fuselage under pressurization results.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
3.3 Methodology
Below block diagram shows details of methodology used,
Creating geometry in Catia

Importing geometry to Patran

Extracting necessary Structural

details for creating the FE
model

Discretizing the geometry

Applying loads and BCs

assigning material properties

Solving using Nastran

Analyzing the result

Figure 3.1 Block diagram

1. Creating the geometry model

Creating the fuselage structure consists of skin Stringers and frame and also creating
local model of fuselage structure using Catia software.
2. Importing geometry to Patran

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
After creating the geometric model it imported to FEA software called Patran.
3. Extracting necessary Structural details for creating the FE model
After importing the model in patran the model Extracted 3D model to 2D model
And created FE model.
4. Discretizing the geometry
The discretization of the domain is the first and perhaps the most important step in any
finite element analysis because the manner in which the domain is discretized will affect
the computer storage requirements, the computation time, and the accuracy of the
numerical results. Taking extracted model and dividing the into small pieces is called
elements.
5. Applying loads and BCs assigning material properties
Applying required loads and boundary conditions to the model and selecting the suitable
material and material properties
6. Solving using Nastran
Patran is the preprocessor and Nastran is the post processor used to analyze linear and
nonlinear stress, dynamics, and heat transfer characteristics of structures and mechanical
components.
7. Analyzing the result
Conducting the analysis to produce the best results for the decisions to be made is an
important part of the process, as is appropriately presenting the results.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Chapter 4
GEOMETRIC MODELING AND THEORITICAL CALCULATION
The CAD model of fuselage structure was designed by using Catia V5 as shown in below figure
4.1 CAD model of Stringers of Fuselage structure

Figure 4.1 the Stringers of Fuselage structure

 Figure 4.1 Shows the Stringers of Fuselage structure Stringers, sometimes confused with,
or referred to interchangeably as longerons, run lengthwise (longitudinally) along an
airplane’s fuselage or span wise of a wing.
 Their purpose is to serve as structural components that transfer loads and stresses from
the aircraft’s skin to the formers. Individual strings are not strong enough to handle large
stresses and forces encountered by an airframe.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
 For this reason, they are directly attached to formers and bulkheads and spaced much
more closely than their counterpart, the longeron. The reason stringers are often confused
with longerons is because their purpose is generally the same.
 Both attach to a fuselage’s formers (also called frames) and transfer the aircraft’s skin
stresses into the overall airframe. Stringers in commercial aircraft are used more
commonly even though they are more time consuming to install during the manufacturing
stage.
4.2 CAD model of Frame of Fuselage structure

Figure 4.2 the Frame of Fuselage structure

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
 Figure 4.2 Shows the Frame of Fuselage structure The frames generally take the form of
open rings, so that the interior of the fuselage is not obstructed.
 They are connected continuously around their peripheries to the fuselage shell and are
not necessarily circular in form but usually are symmetrical about a vertical axis.
 Frames are located inside the fuselage. Used to redistribute the concentrated loads
around structure such as wing, landing gear attachments and pressure boundary.

4.3 CAD model of Fuselage Skin with Stringers and Frames

Figure 4.3 the Fuselage Skin with Stringers and Frames

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
 Figure 4.3 shows fuselage structure its in cylindrical shape.
 The main reason for the cylinder shape is to reduce the stress that comes from
pressurizing an airplane.
 When you add air pressure to a lightweight, hollow structure, it will try to assume a round
shape.

4.4 Assembled model of fuselage structure

Figure 4.4 Assembled model of Frame of fuselage structure

Figure 4 Shows Assembled model of Frame of fuselage structure was design using catia software
it is located inside the fuselage structure

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 4.5 Assembled model of fuselage structure

 Figure 4.5 Shows Assembled model of fuselage structure was design using catia
software.
 A fuselage is main “body” on an aircraft , the large outer shell that encompasses the
aircraft's main body.
 The fuselage is a core aspect of the aircraft and serves many purposes:
 Provides different shape and necessary aerodynamics for flight

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 4.6 Side view Assembled model of fuselage structure

 Figure 4.6 Shows Side view Assembled model of fuselage structure The main reason for
the cylinder shape is to reduce the stress that comes from pressurizing an airplane.
 When you add air pressure to a lightweight, hollow structure, it will try to assume a round
shape. This could mean failure if the structure isn't strong enough.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

4.5 Theoretical Calculation

The fuselage is a built-up structure with stiffening members along longitudinal and
circumferential directions.
From pressurized thin cylinder
𝑃𝑖×𝑟
Hoop stress = 𝑡
𝑃𝑖×𝑟
Longitudinal stress = 2×𝑡

Where Pi = Internal pressure

r = Radius of the cylinder
t = Thickness of cylinder
Let us consider Flight flying at 40,000 ft. altitude
Sea level pressure = 14.7 PSI
At 40,000 ft. altitude pressure = 2.7 PSI
When the aircraft is flying above 40000 ft. altitude pressure is applied to fuselage inside
cabin to create sea level atmospheric pressure.
Internal pressure = 14.7-2.7 = 12 PSI = 0.0084 kg/𝑚𝑚2
Radius fuselage skin r = 973 mm
Thickness of fuselage t = 2.2 mm
𝑃𝑖×𝑟 0.0084×973
Hoop stress = == = 3.715 kg/𝑚𝑚2
𝑡 2.2
𝑃𝑖×𝑟 0.0084×973
Longitudinal stress = = = 1.857 kg/𝑚𝑚2
2×𝑡 2.2×2

This calculation only for Fuselage skin not for entire model

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Chapter 5
FE MODELING OF FUSELAGE
5.1 Introduction to Finite Element Method
Finite element method is a numerical method used to analyze engineering problems which are
complex in geometry, boundary conditions and application of load. This method of equation is
used in both linear and Non-linear and simulation is elastic and plastic respectively. Also Hand
calculation is validated when boundary condition is simple, geometry is simple and loading is
linear. Hence many engineers are working on generating equations for Non-linear zone. The
advantage of FEM method is by simplifying geometry and boundary condition then result can be
more accurate.
5.2 FEA Geometry Element Types
 Elements divided into four major categories: 2D line elements, 2D planar elements, and
3D solid elements Which is used to define geometry; and elements used to apply
boundary conditions.
 For example special elements might include gap elements to specify a gap between two
pieces of geometry. Spring elements are used to apply a specific spring constant at a
specified node or set of nodes.
 Rigid elements are used to define a rigid connection to or within a model.
 The figures below show nodes in red and the element in translucent blue except for the
beam element which is bright blue.
 The most common geometry elements are show below. Most FEA tools support
additional element types as well as somewhat different implementations of even these
common elements.
Truss Element (2D Line)

 Truss elements are long and slender, have 2 nodes, and can be oriented anywhere in 3D
space. Truss elements transmit force axially only and are 3 DOF elements which allow
translation only and not rotation.
 Trusses are normally used to model towers, bridges, and buildings. A constant cross
section area is assumed and they are used for linear elastic structural analysis.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Beam Element (2D Line)

 Beam elements are long and slender, have three nodes, and can be oriented anywhere in
3D space. Beam elements are 6 DOF elements allowing both translation and rotation at
each end node.
 That is the primary difference between beam and truss elements.
 The I J nodes define element geometry, the K node defines the cross sectional orientation.
This is how you differentiate between the strong and weak axis of bending for a beam.
 A constant cross section area is assumed. In the image, the beam shape is shown only for
visualization the element is the dark blue rod.
 The I J axis runs from the near to far node. K is shown vertically above the I node or
could be horizontally to the right of I.

2D Element (2D Planar)

 2D Elements are 3 or 4 node elements with only 2 DOF, Y and Z translation, and are
normally created in the YZ plane.
 They are used for Plane Stress or Plane Strain analyses. Common applications include
axisymmetric bodies of revolution such as missile radomes, radial seals, etc. and long
sections with constant cross sectional area such as a dam.
 Plane Stress implies no stress normal to the cross section defined - strain is allowed -
suitable to model the 2D cross section of a body of revolution.
 Plane Strain implies no strain normal to the cross section defined - stress is allowed -
suitable to model the 2D cross section of a long dam.

Plate / Shell Element (2D Planar)

 Plate / Shell elements are 3 or 4 node 2D planar elements that can be oriented anywhere
in 3D space.
 They are typically used to model structures comprised of shells such as pressure vessels,
automobile bodies, ship hulls, and aircraft fuselages. Generally a thicker wall than for a
membrane element but about 1/10 the length or width.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
 All translational DOF are supported as well as rotational DOF that are not out of plane.
That is rotation about the normal to the element surface is not allowed.
 Plate thickness is defined as a fixed parameter which can be varied.
 The geometry is drawn at the mid plane with zero thickness shown.
 Different FEA tools call these either Plates or Shells. This is the preferred element type
for most thin walled structures

3D Tetrahedra Element, 4 Nodes (3D Solid)

 See definition below for the 8 node brick, you can usually specify either all tetrahedra, all
bricks, or a mixture of both with some automatic mesh generators.
 A mix of tets and bricks usually produces a higher fidelity model.

5.3 Material properties.

The material used for analysis is Aluminium 2024 material. It is most commonly used in aircraft
industries.
Table 1. shows aluminium 2024 alloy material properties
Material properties Al 2024

Ultimate Tensile 469MPa

strength
Yield strength 360MPa
Shear strength 283MPa
Fatigue strength 138MPa
Young’s Modulus 70 GPa
Poisson’s ratio 0.3
o
Melting point 502-638 C
-6
Electrical resistance 5.82x10 ohm-cm
Hardness 150GPa
Shear modulus 28GPa

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
5.4 FE Models of Fuselage Structure

Figure 5.1 Fuselage skin

Figure 5.1 shows Fuselage skin Length is 4000 mm and the radius is 973 mm

Figure 5.2 fuselage Global model

Figure 5.2 Shows fuselage Global model it consists Skin with stringers and longerons.
Longerons placed along the skin and Stringers

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 5.3 Local model of Fuselage Structure

Figure 5.4 local model with Cutout of fuselage structure

Figure 5.3 Shows Local model of Fuselage Structure Figure and 5.4 Shows local model with
Cutout of fuselage structure taking segment of fuselage and representing it to local model such
the curved stiffened fuselage panel is now represented as flat stiffened panel in single plane now
for this load and boundary conditions are given such that it experience some stress as in global
model.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Chapter 6
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
6.1 Stress analysis
The analysis was performed using Nastran Patran
6.1.1 Analysis of Fuselage skin
Table 5.1 Shows the model was meshed carefully and elements and nodes are presented and
quad elements are used for meshing.
Table 6.1 Elements and nodes details
SL No. Element type Count
1 No. of Quad Element 7400
2 No. of Nodes 7525
3 Total No of elements 7400

Table 6.1 shows Elements and nodes details for this work using only Quad elements and having
7400 of elements and 7525 nodes
Boundary Conditions
Table 6.2 boundary conditions
Condition Value
End condition Both end fixed
Internal pressure 0.0084 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2
material Aluminium 2024

Above Table 6.2 Shows boundary conditions were both end fixed and internal pressure applied
by taking aluminium 2024 material

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 6.1 analysis of Fuselage skin(Hoop Stress)

Figure 6.1 Shows analysis of Fuselage skin(Hoop Stress) and consider in Y Component elements
we got maximum stress value 3.15 kg/mm2

Figure 6.2 analysis of Fuselage skin (Longitudinal Stress)

Figure 6.2 Shows analysis of Fuselage skin(Longitudinal Stress) and consider in Z Component
elements we got maximum stress value 1.59 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2
Results
Below table shows the results of skin Hoop and Longitudinal stress
Table 6.3 Results of stress
Theoretical calculation FEA Calculation
Hoop Stress in 𝒌𝒈/𝒎𝒎𝟐 3.715 3.15
Longitudinal stress in 1.857 1.59
𝒌𝒈/𝒎𝒎𝟐
Table 6.3 shows results of Hoop stress and longitudinal stress were FEA value is near to the
Theoretical value hence the structure is safe.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
6.1.2 Analysis of Fuselage structure (Global model)
Fuselage structure with Frames and Stringers
Table 5.1 Shows the model was meshed carefully and elements and nodes are presented and
quad and 1 D elements are used for meshing.
Table 6.4 Elements and nodes details
SL No. Element type Count
1 No. of Quad Element 27506
2 No. of Nodes 24324
3 Total No of elements 27506
Table 6.4 shows Elements and nodes details for this work using only Quad elements and
having 27506 of elements and 24324 nodes

1
Figure 6.3 global model of fuselage (Hoop Stress)
Figure 6.1 Shows analysis of Fuselage (Hoop Stress) and consider in Y Component elements we
got maximum stress value 4.75 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 6.4 global model of fuselage (Longitudinal Stress)

Figure 6.1 Shows analysis of Fuselage (Longitudinal Stress) and consider in Z Component
elements we got maximum stress value 3.30 kg/mm2 .
6.1.3 Local model of fuselage structure
We are taking segment of fuselage and representing it to local model such the curved stiffened
fuselage panel is now represented as flat stiffened panel in single plane now for this load and
boundary conditions are given such that it experience some stress as in global model.
Creating local model to capture global model response
Calculation of local model
Taking average stress 𝜎 = 3.69 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2
𝐹
𝜎=𝐴

Area = width × thickness

Area = 2.2 ×1600 = 3520 𝑚𝑚2
F = 𝜎 × A = 3.69×2.2×1600 = 12988.8 kg
Total load = 12988.8 kg applied to local model
Boundary Conditions
Table 6.5 boundary conditions
Condition Value
End condition one end fixed
Total load 12988.8 kg
material Aluminium 2024
Above Table 6.5 Shows boundary conditions were one end fixed and Total applied 1298.8 kg by
taking aluminium 2024 material

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Table 6.6 Elements and nodes details

SL No. Element type Count
1 No. of Quad Element 3414
2 No. of Nodes 1610
3 Total No of elements 3414
table 6.6 Shows the model was meshed carefully and elements and nodes are presented and quad
and 1 D elements are used for meshing no. of elements is 3414 and node is 1610

Figure 6.5 local model of fuselage structure

Figure 5.5 shows local model of fuselage structure Next Introducing the emegency door cutout in
local model and creating a rivet hole over emergency door cutout for this we are checking
maximum stress location

Figure 6.6 local model of fuselage structure with emergency door cut out

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

Figure 6.7 closest view of rivet hole over emergency door cutout
 Figure 5.6 shows local model of fuselage structure with emergency door cut out without
rivet hole and maximum stress we are getting 13.9 kg/mm2
 Figure 5.7 shows closest view of rivet hole over emergency door cutout The maximum
stress occurs at rivet hole local is 13.9 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2

6.2 Margin of safety

𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
–1
𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠
36
-1 = 1.589
13.9

This shows our structure is safety

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout

6.3 SUMMARY OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

 Fuselage is a cylindrical structure, which houses passenger seats and cargo at the rear
end.
 Normally fuselage is a built-up structure with stiffening members along longitudinal and
circumferential directions. The skin used for the structure is a thin member with
orthogonal stiffening.
 From Pressurized thin cylinder equation arrived hoop and longitudinal stress and then
Verifying using FEA Nastran Patran
 The effect of hoop and longitudinal stress introducing longerons and stingers
 Representing global fuselage model in FEA has been carried out
 Interpreting hoop stress and longitudinal stress and extracting the loads from global
model of fuselage
 Creating local model from global model of fuselage
 With and without cutout of local model comparing to global model
 Introducing emergency door cutout in local model of fuselage
 Studying stress concentration factor to arrive at element size
 Checking maximum stress in presence of cutout
 .The maximum stress at rivet hole are 13.9 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Chapter 7
CONCULSION AND SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK
7.1 CONCLUSIONS
 The Aircraft fuselage was designed and analyzed by using Catia and Nastran Patran.
 The stress analysis of stiffened fuselage structure in presence of emergency door cutout
the maximum stress are observed at rivet hole location.
 The maximum stress at rivet hole are 13.9 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2 and yield strength of aluminium 2024
material is 36 𝑘𝑔/𝑚𝑚2 and
 For this condition margin of safety observed is 1.589 which concludes that our structure
is safe.

7.2 SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK

 From Present work it can be scaled to any other Aircraft fuselage structure

 It can also applicable to cutout in fuselage like window cutout and wire harnessing etc.

 In other cases where under pressurized load acting on other vehicle like Submarine were

stress are developed and interpreting the results and Same procedure can apply.

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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
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 Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without a door cutout
Based on present work
“Stress analysis of fuselage stiffened panel with and without door cutout” in “International
Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management (IJSREM)” Volume: 07 Issue: 01
January – 2023 Impact Factor: 7.18 ISSN: 2582-3930

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