Problems Associated with Attaching Strain Gages to Titanium Alloy Ti-61-4V

Weldable strain gages have shown excellent high temperature characteristics for supersonic cruise aircraft application. The spotwelding attachment method, however, has resulted in serious reductions in the fatigue life of titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) fatigue specimens. The reduction is so severe that the use of weldable strain gages on operational aircraft must be prohibited. The cause of the fatigue problem is thought to be a combination of the microstructure changes in the material caused by spotwelding and the presence of the flange of the stain gage. Brazing, plating, and plasma spraying were investigated as substitutes for spotwelding. The attachment of a flangeless gage by plasma spraying provided the most improvement in the fatigue life of the titanium.