21st Congress of International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Melbourne, Australia, 13-18 September, 1998
Paper ICAS-98-5.2.1

THE INFLUENCE OF CORROSION ON AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

Sharp P. K., Cole G., Clark G.
Aeronautical and Maritime Research lab., Australia

Keywords: corrosion, aircraft structural integrity

This paper outlines a research program initiated at AMRL to assess the influence of corrosion on aircraft structural integrity, and some of the early results achieved. The research program objectives are to: 1) Develop analytical techniques for incorporating corrosion damage into structural integrity assessments. 2) Determine the influence of prior corrosion on the structural behaviour of typical military aircraft joints. 3) Determine the influence of remedial corrosion preventive methods on the fatigue performance of typical military aircraft joints. 4) Determine the consequences of the relationship between aircraft operational environment and fatigue loading, in terms of impact on fatigue crack growth. The research aims to provide a basis for introducing corrosion into the approaches used to manage aircraft structural integrity in the ADF, and hence to minimise both the cost and risk of owning and operating aircraft in which corrosion might become a threat to safety or fleet viability.

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