International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 10 Issue: 01 | Jan 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Design and Fatigue Analysis of a Typical Aircraft Wing fuselage Lug

attachment structure
Sonu Kumar1, Amit Kumar Jha2, G R Kesheorey3

1 M. tech Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vindhya Institute of Technology & Science Indore (MP)
2 Senior Manager, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bengaluru
3 Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vindhya Institute of Technology & Science Indore (MP)
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Abstract - The structure of a fighter jet is quite spoilers to the wings. For receiving large, focused loads,
complicated. The aeroplane is required to do challenging lug joints are frequently employed. Additionally, while in
manoeuvres while fighting off enemies. During that, high use, lug-type joints experience cyclic loading; all loads
magnitude stresses will be placed on the wings as a result are transmitted through the pin. During cyclic loading,
of the combination of high level acceleration and high-stress concentration and fretting at the pin-to-lug
challenging maneuvers. The fighter aircraft often has interface may lead to fracture initiation and crack
multiple wing-fuselage attachment points. An aircraft growth. As a result, the wing-fuselage lug connection of a
rarely has a static overload-related failure during its typical aircraft can be analyzed using finite element
service life. Fatigue and damage tolerance design, static analysis and fatigue life computation.
analysis, testing, and service experience correlation are
crucial for maintaining an aircraft's airworthiness during Previously, lugs connecting to wing-fuselage and vertical
its entire economic service life. The fatigue loading that tail-fuselage for an aircraft airframe structure defined
occurs during service on lug type joints completes load geometry was submitted to finite element analysis [2-3].
transmission through the pin. This is why the wing- As a result of the fast acceleration and complicated
fuselage lug joints are regarded as the aircraft structure's motions, the wing surface will be subjected to severe
most fracture-critical parts. loads [4]. The root of the wing will experience the
highest stress concentration due to the maximum
In the current project, an attempt is made to bending moment [5]. Brackets are used to attach the
predict the fatigue life of a wing-fuselage attachment wings to the fuselage framework. The bending moment
bracket of a fighter aircraft to meet the stress and fatigue and shear stresses of the wing were transferred to the
design considerations. Subsequently, linear static analysis fuselage by these attachments [6]. Furthermore, fatigue
is carried out. The stress results of finite element analysis is the continuous decrease of structural component
show that stress levels of lug structure meet the strength strength during operations, with failure occurring at
requirement. Furthermore, utilizing constant amplitude S- much lower levels of ultimate stress. This is due to the
N data for various stress ratios and local stress history at fact that repeated loads operate for a longer period of
stress concentration, fatigue life computation is carried time. Based on static structural analysis, fatigue life
for a typical service loading. The lug structure's computed calculations utilising the stress life technique and
damage factor for the given load spectrum comes out to be Goodman's criterion predict that the geometry is safe
less than one. This demonstrates that the wing lug [7]. As a result, the wing-fuselage lug attachment
structure is safe to use and that the crack has not initiated. structure is designed using a finite element analysis and
fatigue life calculation approach.
Keywords: Fatigue life, Damage, Aircraft, Wing, Lug
design, Static analysis. 2. METHODOLOGY

1. INTRODUCTION The present work is focused on the modeling and the

static analysis of aircraft wing fuselage attachment lugs.
An aircraft is a sophisticated human-made flying Additionally, fatigue life estimation is also carried out to
machine that serves that function. The fuselage, wings, study the behaviour of lugs because of repeated cyclic
empennage, landing gear, power supply, and control loading. The methodology and workflow carried out in
surfaces are depicted in Fig. 1 as the majority of the the present work are as shown in Fig 2.
aircraft's components [1].

Wings and the fuselage are joined by lugs, which are also
used to join engines to engine pylons, flaps, ailerons, and

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Volume: 10 Issue: 01 | Jan 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Fig- 1: aircraft with components [1]

Fig- 2: Static and Fatigue life methodology

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2.1 Geometry configuration Ductility: It is the property which permits a material to

be drawn out longitudinally to a reduced section, under
The geometric dimensions of the wing fuselage lug the action of tensile force.
attachment bracket is shown in Fig 3.
Yield stress: The yield stress is a measure of elastic
deformation resistance. In structural applications, yield
stress is usually more critical than tensile strength
because once it is exceeded, the structure has deformed
over and above acceptable limits. The material follows
the stress up to the hooks law, also known as the
proportionality limit, where stress equals strain and is
known as Yield stress.

Ultimate stress: When the lower yield point is crossed

out, there is a gradual increase in stress with respect to
the strain; this increase follows the parabolic curvature
until failure, but failure occurs at a point where it is
going down the uppermost part of the gradually
increasing curve, which is the point of ultimate Stress.

Fig-3: Front view of a wing fuselage lug attachment

(mm)

A three dimensional view of the lug attachment bracket

is shown in Fig 4.

Fig- 5: Stress Vs strain [9]

Table- 1: Material Properties of an aircraft wing lug [8,

11]

Material Parameters Values

Fig- 4: Three dimensional model of LUG Bracket Young’s Modulus 70000

(N/mm2 )
2.2 Materials Poison's Ratio 0.30

The combination of strength and lightweight is most Density (Rho) 2800

important in material selection in aeronautical ( kg/mm3)
applications [8]. In many cases, trials and errors can be Aluminu Ultimate Tensile 485
costly, thus a proper project and design are vital. As a m Alloy – Strength (σtult)
result, the following material properties should be 2024- T3 (N/mm2 )
considered for structural applications [9-10]:
Yield Stress(σy) 345
(N/mm2 )
Elasticity: It is the property by virtue of which a material
deformed under the load is enabled to return to its Ultimate Shear 291
original dimension when the load is removed. Some Strength (σsult
examples are Mild Steel etc. and may be considered to be )(N/mm2 )
perfectly elastic within a certain limit.

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solely rely upon costly physical prototypes. It is ideal for

Ultimate Bearing 582
highly-engineered products such as automobiles,
Strength (σbult)
(N/mm2 ) airplanes, heavy equipment, electronics and other
complex products [12].
Young’s Modulus 210000
NCM (N/mm2 ) Mesh
Steel
Ultimate Tensile 1230
Mesh creation is the processing of creating finite
Strength (σtult)
((N/mm2 )
elements from curves, surfaces, or solids. MSC PATRAN
provides the following automated meshes: isoparametric
mesh, Paver, and Tetrahedral (Tet) mesh [12-14]. The
2.3 Finite Element Model lug bracket is meshed using Tet mesh as shown in Fig 5
and tabulated in Table 1.
MSC Patran

MSC Patran is a general-purpose analysis software

package with open architecture and interactive graphics
that provides a complete computer aided engineering
environment for linking engineering design, analysis,
and result assessment activities. It is a simulation
software environment that aids engineers in the
conceptualization, development, and testing of product
designs [12]. MSC Patran integrates design, analysis, and
outcome evaluation into a single environment. There are
pre- and post-processing tools, and sophisticated
simulations may be done on virtual components,
assemblies, and structures. MSC Patran allows
engineers to directly import CAD (computer aided
design) geometry from a defining CAD programme of
their choice, create meshes, define loads, boundary
conditions, visualise the results, and ultimately better
understand the relationship between various design
decisions and product performance characteristics such
as stress, strain, vibration, heat transfer, and many more
[12]. MSC Patran users may easily and effectively iterate
and analyse various design options, as well as reuse
previous designs and findings, without the need for non-
value-added manual data cleaning and recreation. MSC
Patran can help organizations to reduce the cost and
confusion of maintaining various pre- and post-
processing techniques used throughout the company to
improve goods and accelerate time to market. Fig- 6: LUG Bracket mesh

MSC Nastran Table- 2: Elements and Nodes Count

MSC. Nastran is a powerful, general purpose finite Total number of nodes 60314
element analysis tool with an integrated user interface
and model editor which is used to analyse linear and Total number of
296801
nonlinear stress, dynamics, and heat transfer elements
characteristics of structures and mechanical components Element type Tetrahedral
[12]. It offers combined sizing, shape, and topology to
improve overall design efficiency and lifecycle
2.4 Loads and boundary conditions
performance predictability. MSC Nastran captures the
complex interactions between multiple disciplines to There are different types of loads acting on an aircraft,
ensure accurate stimulation of physical phenomena, such as surface forces, body forces [8]. It can be shown
enabling engineers to correctly stimulate how a design as a schematic chart as below in Fig 6.
behaves under real-world conditions without having to

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Volume: 10 Issue: 01 | Jan 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

2.5 Static analysis

A linear static analysis is one in which a linear relation
exists between the applied forces and displacements
[12-15]. In practise, this applies to structural problems
where stresses remain within the linear elastic range of
the material being employed. A static analysis (SOL 101)
run can be configured to validate finite element model
findings such as displacements, deformation, and stress.

2.6 Failure checks

Lug and connected bolt analysis involves several failure
Fig- 7: Loads acting on an aircraft modes, associated with different areas of the
lug[8,14,16]:
In Fig 7, it depicts the load and boundary conditions
applied to the wing fuselage lug attachment bracket [8, 2.6.1 Bolt shear (σs)
12-14]. The resultant force operating at the bracket's
root is computed using a "6g" load factor with factor of
safety (FOS) 1.5. σs = MPa,

Force in Y direction = Fy = 97060 N

where, Area of bolt = A = ,
Force in Z direction Fz = 10613 N
and, d= Diameter of bolt (mm)
Resultant force = Fr = 97638.51 N 2.6.2 Tension tear out (σt)-Lug
The load is distributed to the lug structure by RIGID
BODY ELEMENT (RBE3)[12-14]. As maximum lift is σt = MPa,
( )
created in the wings during take-off, it is injected at one
end of the spar beam in an upward direction. At the where, Width of lug = W (mm)
bracket's root, where the wing and fuselage will be and, Diameter of lug = D (mm)
joined, this load will effectively provide the necessary
bending moment. All six degrees of freedom are Reserve Factor (RF) =
restricted to the semi-circular circumferential area
between the top and bottom lug holes of the wing
2.6.3 Shear tear out (σs) -Lug
fuselage lug attachment bracket. The centre of bolt holes
is connected to the lug structure by RIGID BODY
ELEMENT (RBE2)[12-14]. σs = MPa,

where, a =Shear out distance (mm),

and, t= Thickness of lug

RF = .

2.6.4 Bearing out (σb)-Lug

σb = MPa,

RF = .
2.7 Fatigue life

Fatigue is the phenomenon of progressive rupture, an

Fig- 8: Loads and Boundary Condition element under the influence of fluctuating cyclic loads. In

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materials science, fatigue is a process whereby a 2.7.2 Fatigue damage

material is weakened by cyclic loading [16-18]. The
resulting stress may be less than the ultimate tensile The failure happens primarily in three stages: fracture
stress, or even the yield stress of the material, but may initiation, crack propagation, and catastrophic overload
still cause catastrophic failure[16-18]. There are various failure[17-20]. For fatigue estimates, a damage tolerant
techniques for plotting the results of the fatigue failure design criteria and stress-life techniques were used.
test of a member subjected to fluctuating stress. One of Constant amplitude loading is preferable for fatigue
them is called the modified Goodman diagram and is calculations. Variable amplitude loads will operate in the
shown in Fig 9 [11]. For this diagram the minimum issue, but they will be converted to groups of constant
stress is plotted on the abscissa and the maximum stress amplitude loading at their respective frequencies. If the
components on the ordinate. loading has a constant amplitude, the number of cycles
before the part fails due to fatigue is represented.
2.7.1 Fatigue occurrence and objective
Palmgren Miner's Rule is used to calculate
Fatigue occurs when a material experiences lengthy fatigue life for crack initiation as expressed by equation
periods of cyclic or repeated loads [17-20] 1[17-18]

 Fluctuating Loads Miner's rules:

 Multi-axial Loading
 Vibrations / Excitations D=∑ =C … (1)
where,
Fatigue objective is to calculate life of structure when it
is subjected to repetitive load / random load. D = damage and C = constant equal to 1,
ni = number of cycles at a particular stress and,
Ni = the fatigue life at that stress.

Fig- 9: 2024-T3 modified Goodman diagram (Source Alcoa 1957)[[11]

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2.8 Results and discussion

2.8.1 Static analysis

Results of static analysis of the lug are explained in this
section. Additionally, convergence criteria for maximum
principal stress vs element length is also studied as
shown in Fig 10 and Table 3, respectively. Stress values
at the lug attachment bracket connecting the bolt hole
and the displacement contours are shown in Fig 11 and
12, respectively. The maximum stress near the hole in
the connecting bolt of the lug attachment bracket is
463.166 N/mm2 and 1.459 mm is the total deformation.
Fig- 11: Maximum Stress in Lug Bracket (MPa)
Table- 3: Convergence criteria of the Lug Joint bracket
[5]

Element length (mm) σmax (N/mm2)

0.8 367.644
1 367.602
1.5 370.663
2 301.229
3 240.509
4 236.348
6 275.937
8 258.687 Fig -12: Maximum displacement in Lug Bracket (mm)

2.8.2 Failure analysis

Forces used in lug design are given below:
Force in Y direction = Fy = 97060 N
Force in Z direction Fz = 10613 N
Resultant force = Fr = √
= 97638.51 N

Tensile stress =σt = ,

d=√ = √

= 16 mm

Failure Check for Bolt Shear (NCM Steel)

Fig- 10: Max. Principal stress (N/mm2) V/s element
length (mm) [5] σt = , where, A = ,

Substituting, σt = =

= 242.93

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Reserve Factor (RF) = = = 3.03 > 1 where, a = 16.2 mm,

Failure due to tension tear out σs = = 188.35 N

Reserve Factor = = 1.55 > 1

Failure due to bearing

σb = = =381.4

Reserve Factor (RF) = = 1.53 > 1

Fig- 13: Lug tension and Shear-tear-out [8]
2.8.3 Fatigue calculation
Tension tear out is calculated as expressed in Fig 13:
Lug component is subjected to cyclic loading, a fatigue
σt = = σt = crack will initiate at the point of maximum tensile stress.
( ) ( )
According to the results of the stress study of the wing
fuselage lug bracket, maximum stress point is at one of
where, W = 45 mm & D = 16 mm
the lug connecting bolt location. The fatigue load
spectrum is tabulated in Table 4 and Table 5,
σt = 210.43
respectively.
Reserve Factor (RF): Table- 4: Fatigue Load

RF = = = 2.30 > 1
Finite element analysis of lug attachment bracket
results- at 6g
Failure due to shear tear out
Maximum (ultimate) 370.66 Mpa
Shear tear out is calculated as expressed in Fig 13:
Stress (Limit) 247.10 Mpa

σs = , Stress (Limit) 35.84 ksi

Table- 3: Fatigue damage results from load spectrum and corresponding stress

g max g min Occurrences (Ni) Smax Smin Stress Ratio Seq Fatigue life cycle (Nf) Damage (ni)
6 -2 150 35.84 -11.95 -0.33 20.81 >10^6 1.500E-04
5.5 -1.8 250 32.85 -10.75 -0.33 19.03 >10^6 2.500E-04
5 -1.75 350 29.86 -10.45 -0.35 17.45 >10^6 3.500E-04
4.5 -1.4 450 26.88 -8.36 -0.31 15.47 >10^6 4.500E-04
4 -1.26 5000 23.89 -7.53 -0.32 13.77 >10^6 5.000E-03
3.5 -0.7 20000 20.91 -4.18 -0.20 11.49 >10^6 2.000E-02
3 -0.15 15000 17.92 -0.90 -0.05 9.19 >10^6 1.500E-02
2.5 0.3 12000 14.93 1.79 0.12 6.99 >10^6 1.200E-02
2 0.6 10000 11.95 3.58 0.30 4.96 >10^6 1.000E-02
1.5 0.74 25000 8.96 4.42 0.49 3.15 >10^6 2.500E-02

TOTAL DAMAGE 8.820E-02

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As from Table 5, the overall damage calculated to the [5] R. Rigby, M. H. Aliabadi, Stress intensity factors for
structure is found to be 8.820E-02 < 1. According to cracks at attachment lugs., British Aerospace, Filton,
Miner’s rule if damaged is less than 1 then material is Bristol BS99 7AR, U.K., Wessex Institute of Technology,
safe. So for all the given fatigue load spectrum the wing Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst, Southampton S040 7AA, U.K.
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estimation of an aircraft wing lug structure to meet the Analysis and Fatigue Calculation of Wing Fuselage Lug
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[8][1] Michael C Y Niu, Airframe stress analysis and
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 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 10 Issue: 01 | Jan 2023 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

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