Application of fracture mechanics and half-cycle theory to the prediction of fatigue life of aerospace structural componentsThe service life of aircraft structural components undergoing random stress cycling was analyzed by the application of fracture mechanics. The initial crack sizes at the critical stress points for the fatigue crack growth analysis were established through proof load tests. The fatigue crack growth rates for random stress cycles were calculated using the half-cycle method. A new equation was developed for calculating the number of remaining flights for the structural components. The number of remaining flights predicted by the new equation is much lower than that predicted by the conventional equation. This report describes the application of fracture mechanics and the half-cycle method to calculate the number of remaining flights for aircraft structural components.
Document ID
19890063892
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Ko, William L. (NASA Flight Research Center Edwards, CA, United States)