Research on Residual Strength and Evaluation Methods of Aircraft Panel Structures with Perforations

This study, via a combination of experiments and numerical simulations, investigates the structural tensile failure mechanisms of battle-damaged aluminum alloy flat panels and stiffened panels, the variation in their residual strength with hole characteristics, and modifies the calculation formula of the net-section failure criterion for evaluating damaged panels’ residual strength. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate that hole size and position exert a significant influence on panels’ residual strength: larger hole size and greater eccentricity both diminish load-bearing capacity, stiffened panels with web damage exhibit lower load-bearing capacity than those with flange damage. Different hole positions induce edge effects that alter stress distribution at the hole cross-section. Introducing a stress averaging coefficient modifies the residual strength evaluation of flat panels, which is further extended to stiffened panels with high result accuracy. This study presents a rapid method for evaluating damaged panels’ residual strength and serves as a reference for aircraft battle damage repair (ABDR) design.