Stress-strain analysis and strength prediction of composite outlet guide vane for aircraft jet engine

Today the composite materials are widely used in aviation industry for load bearing elements of aircraft engines. The following problems need to be solved for an effective composite application: firstly, choosing the optimal reinforcing scheme for main working area of construction, and secondly, realizing the stress-strain analysis for the most loaded zones with complex geometry such as joints, layer crossings and area connections. The present work is devoted to detailed stress-strain analysis of composite outlet guide vane (OGV) for aircraft engine. The 3D problem formulation of mechanics of anisotropic laminated composite for strength prediction was given. The technological scheme of laying out anisotropic plies and fastening method were taken into account in the model. The scheme of reinforcing for OGV was determined in the previous researches. The maximum stress criterion was used for estimation of strength margin. The numerical simulation of this problem was carried out by finite element method (FEM) with ANSYS Workbench software. Due to the high dimensionality of FE model, the high-performance computing complex was used. The in-depth layered analysis of stress-strain state of the structure was made. The special focus was made on the areas with twisted layers near the flange of vane where the initiation of high interlaminar stresses is most likely to take place. An estimate of the influence of fastening conditions on the stress state for OGV was obtained. It was shown that interlaminar shear stresses are the most dangerous. It was found that the VKU-39 material and [0°/±45°] reinforcing scheme allow to provide the double strength margin under working loads for developed OGV.