Probabilistic evaluation of fuselage-type composite structures

A methodology is developed to simulate computationally the uncertain behavior of composite structures. The uncertain behavior includes buckling loads, natural frequencies, displacements, stress/strain, etc., which are the consequences of the random variation (scatter) of the primitive (independent random) variables in the constituent, ply, laminate and structural levels. This methodology is implemented in a computer code IPACS (integrated probabilistic assessment of composite structures). A fuselage-type composite structure is analyzed to demonstrate the codeʹs capability. The probability distribution functions of the buckling loads, natural frequency, displacement, strain and stress are computed. The sensitivity of each primitive (independent random) variable to a given structural response is also identified from the analyses.