Problem
In the development and design of aircraft structures, multiple disciplines such as vibration behavior, stiffness, static and fatigue strength are investigated. Each of them must fulfill certain requirements. The results are validated by means of tests, in which, above all, fatigue evaluation is the most difficult one due to the large amount of data.
Goal
Those tests and simulations that strongly influence the fatigue behavior of the whole structure should be evaluated comprehensively. Through them, the significance shall be increased in order to save time and costs, in particular by eliminating complex structural tests. Thus, the test pyramid is to be narrowed towards the top. It is even conceivable to abandon the overall structure test.
Approach
Fatigue values can be extrapolated to real applied structures by taking into account, for example, environmental effects such as corrosion or temperature. Furthermore in extrapolation multiaxial loading and scatter of material parameters must be considered. If at every single stage of the test pyramid the virtual simulation mirrors the physical test, careful scaling can eliminate the overall structure test. In addition, by means of convenient data handling, the entire presented process should become more efficient.