NUMERICAL INVESTIGATION OF FATIGUE BEHAVIOURS OF NON-PATCHED AND PATCHED ALUMINIUM PIPES

Abstract

In this study, the fatigue behaviors of non-patched and patched aluminum pipes were investigated numerically. The Finite Element Method was used for fatigue analysis in the study. Finite Element Method was implemented with Ansys Workbench (15.0) program. Al 6063 type aluminum pipe, DP-460 type adhesive and [0/90]2 reinforced angled glass-epoxy composite patch material were used in the analyzes. As a result of the numerical study, it was observed that patch size is an effective parameter in fatigue strength and that quarter-circle and semi-circular composite patches increase the fatigue life. It was also observed in the analyzes that the quarter-circle patched aluminum pipes achieved higher fatigue strength.