Structural Integrity of New and Aging Metallic Aircraft

MECH&AE 810.200

This course presents both fundamental concepts and practical instruction in methods for fatigue, durability, and damage tolerance analysis/testing of metallic aircraft structures.

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What you can learn.

Understand the concepts for managing structural integrity and sustainment of aircraft; including the fundamentals of fatigue, damage tolerance, corrosion, and fracture mechanics
Identify the importance and criticality of testing, inspection, failure analysis, and material selection in sustainment and structural integrity
Determine how the choices made during the design process influence the structural integrity of aircraft structures; including how to manage maintenance and sustainment choices and their impact on sustainment processes

About this course:

This course presents both fundamental concepts and practical instruction in methods for fatigue, durability, and damage tolerance analysis/testing of metallic aircraft structures. The lectures emphasize the use of modern fatigue and fracture mechanics technology in the design of durable, damage-tolerant aircraft structures and the extended safe use of aging aircraft. The course opens with a discussion of basic fatigue and fracture behavior of structural metallic materials. With this background, the ensuing lectures detail the structural methods used in the aircraft industry to develop fatigue loading spectra, as well as fatigue life, crack growth, and residual strength analyses. The course also explores the application of this technology to verify the structural integrity and longevity of new aircraft, along with life monitoring, maintenance, and life extension of aging aircraft.