Purpose To support civil aircraft airworthiness validation, this paper aims to establish a standardized, efficient and precise technical framework for structural strength analysis and test verification, addressing the complexity of aircraft structural mechanics. Design/methodology/approach A three-level finite element analysis (FEA) methodology (Natural Grid, Refined and Detail finite element model (FEM)) is developed, integrated with parametric modeling, automated strength analysis and full-scale static test verification following the building block approach. Findings The three-level FEA system accurately simulates global load paths, regional stress distributions and local structural behaviors; its predictions (e.g. 103% of target failure load) are closely matched with experimental results, which ensures structural compliance with airworthiness requirements. Originality/value This study proposes a standardized three-level FEA framework for civil aircraft, advancing digital transformation in structural development, enhancing simulation precision and providing robust technical support for optimizing aircraft structural design and aviation safety.
Zhu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.