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RETARDATION AND REPAIR OF FATIGUE CRACKS BY ADHESIVE INFILTRATION
Author(s) -
Sharp P. K.,
Clayton J. Q.,
Clark G.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
fatigue and fracture of engineering materials and structures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1460-2695
pISSN - 8756-758X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-2695.1997.tb00292.x
Subject(s) - adhesive , materials science , infiltration (hvac) , composite material , structural engineering , forensic engineering , engineering , layer (electronics)
— This paper presents results which demonstrate that polymeric filler materials, such as low‐viscosity epoxies, can be vacuum‐infiltrated into fatigue cracks in 7050 aluminium alloy to produce significant levels of fatigue crack retardation. It was found that the main test variable affecting the degree of retardation was the stress level at which the adhesive was introduced and cured. Two infiltrated adhesives were tested. Infiltration at 0% (of the original) peak fatigue stress level produced negligible retardation, while infiltration at the 80% stress level produced about 300% increase in fatigue life for one adhesive and 3000% for the other adhesive. For the highest infiltration stress level both crack‐face wedging and adhesion contributed initially to the retardation, but the adhesive component ceased after a crack grew through the adhesive to the original crack tip position. The results are discussed in terms of the applicability of the technique to highly‐stressed aircraft components.