Colloquium: Ayush Prasad (ASM)

The established theory of diagonal tension (i.e., post-buckling of skin-stiffened structures under shear load) for curved skin is based on experiments conducted on stiffened cylindrical shells at NACA. However, the experiments were unable to capture all aspects of the phenomenon, leaving knowledge gaps that were filled using the theory for flat skins. To address this gap, a virtual testing framework was developed to recreate these tests. The results showed satisfactory compliance with experimental data, considering that certain important details were not reported in the experiments. After developing the model, a custom post-processing approach was created to calculate the forces and moments in the stiffeners, which helped develop a better understanding of the load transfer mechanism under diagonal tension. Moreover, the distribution of primary compressive and secondary bending forces found using virtual testing differed significantly from the expected behavior based on established theory and is presented in this thesis.

Supervisor: Dr.-Ing. S.G.P. (Saullo) Castro