Structural analysis of a thermoplastic composite Door Surrounding Structure

The aeronautic industry is constantly looking for new ways to improve aircraft performance. Today, a major challenge is the environmental impact, prompting efforts to reduce aircraft emissions through technology advancements, fuel management, and aerodynamic designs. Composite materials have emerged as a vital aspect of aircraft lightweighting. Compared to traditional metallic materials like aluminum, composites offer higher specific properties, enabling weight savings and improvedaircraft efficiency. This research aims to explore the potential of thermoplastic composites as alternatives to thermoset and metals, leveraging their unique properties, like recyclability and weldability, to reduce production costs and environmental impact. This report focuses on a structural analysis of a section of the Door Surrounding Structure (DSS) of a typical single aisle aircaft, mainly manufactured using thermoplastic composite. The DSS ensures load distribution during flight and surrounds the passenger entry door cut-out in the fuselage. The model employs composite components, including the skin and frame, joined through a welding process. Cohesive elements are used to simulate welded areas in numerical simulations in order to identify and analyse potential delamination in these zones.