The use of standardized fatigue load sequences in coupon and component tests

Due to the development of servo hydraulic fatigue testing machines, fatigue tests under realistic loading conditions have become possible. In these tests, standardized load sequences can be applied. The paper describes the main properties of such sequences, including TWIST and FALSTAFF. Various examples of application of these sequences are...

Manoeuvre spectrum fatigue crack propagation in aluminium alloy sheet materials

2024-T3, 2048-T851, 7075-T6 and 7475-T761 aluminium alloy sheets were compared for fatigue crack propagation resistance under manoeuvre spectrum and constant amplitude loading. For manoeuvre spectrum loading 7475-T761 was superior overall, and this superiority is most probably due to superior toughness of this alloy. In more detail, 2024-T3 was...

Environmental effects on crack grwoth in flight-simulation tests on 2024-T3 and 7075-T6 material Supplement: Compilation of test data from an investigation on the effect of environment on crack growth under flight-simulation loading

Flight-simulation tests based on a standardized gust load spectrum were carried out in normal air, very dry air and salt water. Specimen thicknesses were t = 2 mm and t = 10 mm, mean stress in flight was 70 or 55 MN/m². In all cases a significant effect of the environment was found. Fatigue lives for t = 10 ram were much shorter than for t = 2...

Heat treatment studies of aluminium alloy forgings of the AZ 74.61 type. Interim report no. 3: Fatigue crack propagation performance under manoeuvre spectrum loading

The fatigue crack propagation performance of the alloy AZ 74.61 under manoeuvre spectrum loading was studied. The crack propagation behaviour was also compared with that of the American forging alloy AA 7050, not only for simulated manoeuvre loading but also for simulated gust loading and programme loading. It was found that, at comparable...

Fracture toughness and fatigue properties of the new aluminium alloy 7475-T76

Residual strength tests have been performed on 610 mm wide centre cracked panels. During the tests, stable crack growth was filmed and crack opening displacements were measured. Fracture toughness was determined using the method of Feddersen. Flight simulation fatigue tests were carried out to investigate the crack propagation properties. A...