Standard Methods for Aerospace Stress Analysis

1Stress Analysis

1.1 Introduction to Stress Analysis

Stress analysis is defined as a method to determine the stress and deflection levels of a part, component, or assembly with specific geometry and features under applied external and internal loadings while the part, component, or assembly is constrained. The part, component, or assembly has specific mechanical and physical properties, which define the material characteristics of the part. Also, stress levels determined are compared with the strength allowable of the material used, and margins of safety are determined for the part under analysis. There are many ways a structure can be analyzed, including hand calculations based on standard methods, finite element analysis (FEA), and finally testing. Also, here in Chapter 1, material definitions, which include the mechanical properties, physical properties, and strength allowable, are discussed and presented for both commonly used metallic and composite materials in aerospace industries.

1.2 The Material Definitions

Stress analysis theories are based on the experimental concepts derived from the material behavior shown during tests. Before studying the stress analysis theory, fundamental concepts of the material behavior that describe the relationships between these fundamental behaviors of any material need to be explored. The properties, such as the modulus of elasticity of the material, Poisson’s ratio effect, shear modulus, ultimate strength, shear strength, yield strength, ...