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Estimation of the Fatigue Life of a Transport Aircraft

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

P. B. Walker
P. B. Walker*
Affiliation:
Royal Aircraft Establishment
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Summary

A simple formula is presented for the safe life of an aircraft under reasonably good operating conditions from the standpoint of wing fatigue. Gusts are treated as the main factor in determination of fatigue life, though other factors are allowed for as being secondary. Before the formula can be used a simple fatigue test is required on critical components, and is repeated several times to establish variation of nominally identical specimens. The loading cycle for this test corresponds to a sequence of up and down gusts of 8 ft./sec. equivalent velocity. The life obtained is termed the “Standard Life” and corresponds to normal operating conditions on European air lines. Reservations in the use of the formula and correction for other operating conditions are discussed in general terms.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 57 , Issue 514 , October 1953 , pp. 613 - 617
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1953

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References

1. Walker, P. B. (1949). Fatigue of Aircraft Structures. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, August 1949.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Walker, P. B. (1952). The Fatigue Situation for Civil Aircraft. The Aeroplane, April 1952.Google Scholar
3. Walker, P. B. (1953). Design Criteria for Fatigue of Wings. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, January 1953.Google Scholar
4. Taylor, J. (1953). Measurement of Gust Loads in Aircraft. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, February 1953.Google Scholar