Tag: fracture
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Legacy Post: A Closer Look at Fracture Surfaces (May 2018)
We’ve previously talked about fracture surfaces created as a result of material fatigue. Through fatigue tests, we are able to create a typical loading cycle on a test specimen to see how the number and magnitude of cycles affects the growth of cracks. After the test, we can analyze the fracture surface to see how…
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Legacy Post: Lincoln Award (July 2017)
The Lincoln Award is named in honor of Dr. John W. (Jack) Lincoln, the U.S. Air Force’s first Technical Advisor for Aircraft Structural Integrity. An internationally recognized expert in structural integrity, fatigue analysis, and aviation safety, Dr. Lincoln is credited with developing the Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) that is now institutionalized throughout the Air…
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Legacy Post: Fracture surfaces evaluation
Aircraft undergo complex loading during their operation and lifecycle. For example, take off, landing, turbulence, and flight/ground maneuvers are all instances where significant loading occurs. The cyclic loading and unloading activates a failure mechanism called fatigue, which is most prevalent at the highest stressed regions. Many aircraft are assembled using riveted construction, whereby small holes…