Fatigue life validation of aircraft materials

Fatigue is one of the critical design aspects with immense significance where thefatigue life of a material can be stated as the number of cycles that a componentcan withstand under a particular type of loading without failure. The design processhas to include fatigue analysis in order to predict failure due to fatigue. This helpsin maintenance and servicing of a component reducing the chance of failure duringoperation of the component. Increased efficiency of predictive maintenance improvesthe life of the component.This thesis aims to study the relationship between the experimental, analytical andnumerical solutions of two high strength aluminium alloys and one steel alloy fortheir life in aircraft applications covering the effects of geometrical irregularities. Italso aims to answer convergence between the numerical and the analytical methodwhen compared with each other. The simulations are carried out for three materialsamong many used in aircraft and industrial applications (Al 7050-T7451, Al 7075-T6 and AISI 4340 Steel) for a pre-defined set of geometries. The stress field andthe stress concentration factor variations are also studied to identify their effects onfatigue life.The results from this work forms a strong background for the future research alongside SAAB or any other industries using these materials for their structures to findout the failure or predicting it accurately. Also, integral structures can be analysedin detail using this thesis as a base