Flight simulation fatigue crack growth testing of aluminium alloys: Specific issues and guidelines

Flight simulation fatigue crack growth tests are necessary for verification of aircraft damage tolerance analyses and crack growth prediction methods, and also for comparing candidate materials for aircraft structural applications. However, such tests involve complicating issues that have emerged from many investigations on aluminium alloys...

Engineering property comparisons of PM and IM aluminium alloy forgings

Engineering properties of the PM alloy 7091-T7E69 and the IM alloys 7075-T73, 7175-T736, 7010-T736 and 7050-T736 were compared. The properties considered were strength, fracture toughness, fatigue strength, fatigue crack propagation resistance under constant amplitude and spectrum loading, stress corrosion crack initiation and propagation...

The effect of sheet edge working on the fatigue life under flight-simulation loading

Fatigue tests under flight-simulation loading have been performed on unnotched Alclad 2024-T3, anodised 2.0 mm thick sheet specimens, manufactured according to several machine-shop processes applied in the air craft industry. From the results it appears that milling is preferable to stamping. Rounding off the edges is also advantageous. The...

Flight-simulation tests on notched elements

Tests were carried out on open-hole specimens, lugs and riveted strap joints of 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 materials. The effects of design stress level, truncating high-amplitude gust loads and omitting low-amplitude gust cycles were stuaied. Observations of the open-hole specimens include data on crack initiation, crack closure and damage increments....

Fatigue damage accumulation and incompatible crack front orientation