DEF STAN 00-970 PART 1/3

SECTION 3
LEAFLET 34
FATIGUE
MATERIAL SELECTION

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1
This leaflet provides guidance on the selection of metallic materials for aircraft
structural components where fatigue life and residual strength are major considerations.
Guidance is given on fatigue performance, fracture toughness, resistance to impact and crack
growth behaviour. Special considerations relating to fibre-composite components are
discussed in Leaflet 40. This information was previously issued as Leaflet 201/1.
1.2
Sufficient material must have been tested to demonstrate that the properties used for
design reflect variability both within and between batches, see for example Def Stan 00-932.
Otherwise a programme of testing will be required to establish material behaviour or to
confirm assumed or estimated properties.
2 FATIGUE PERFORMANCE
2.1
Definition. Fatigue performance is a term defining the resistance of a structural
component to the development of cracking under fatigue loading. Under fatigue loading the
design allowable stress levels may be considerably lower than those acceptable for static
design.
2.2
General. The extent to which the intrinsic fatigue performance of a material can be
realised is strongly dependent upon the influence of stress-concentrating features such as
notches, cut-outs and fillet radii, and the extent to which crack initiation is accelerated by the
effects of fretting, such as may occur in joints. Fatigue performance is also affected in varying
degree by material quality, that is the presence in a material of inclusions, residual stresses
and discontinuities introduced by material processing and heat treatment, and the surface
quality, that is the introduction of imperfections into a surface during manufacturing processes
and subsequent surface processes and treatments. Material quality and surface quality are
unlikely to have a controlling effect on fatigue performance unless stress concentration factors
are low and there is no fretting.
2.3
Comparative testing. True comparison of materials for fatigue performance must be
done using coupons representative of component condition (including any significant batch
effects), loading and environment. Where changes are made to the material processing or
manufacturing route, comparative testing must be done under representative conditions to
ensure that fatigue performance has not been adversely affected.
2.4
Surface coatings and surface treatments. Surface layers of different structure or
properties to that of the bulk substrate may significantly affect fatigue performance. For
example, plating, cladding or thickened oxide layers may develop cracks which can then grow
into the substrate. Chemical surface treatments can produce surface pitting leading to reduced
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fatigue performance. Section 4 Leaflet 18 gives guidance on the effects of surface finishing
and protective treatments on fatigue properties.
2.5
Temper and tensile strength. At high applied stress levels, that is low-cycle fatigue,
the fatigue strength can be strongly influenced by material tensile strength. At low applied
stress levels under constant amplitude loading there is, in some materials, a clear fatigue limit,
which can be related directly to tensile strength and below which no significant fatigue
cracking develops. Under variable amplitude loading this fatigue limit is suppressed. Fatigue
limits determined under constant amplitude loading cannot be assumed to apply to the same
cycle applied during a variable amplitude sequence. Where the existence of a fatigue limit or
a shallow slope on the fatigue curve in the high cycle region are essential for aircraft life then
the design curve must be substantiated for each material by tests under realistic loading on
coupons representative of the structural details concerned. (see also para 2.3)
2.6
Operating stress levels. The selection of materials for high tensile strength to
minimise structural mass is seldom consistent with good fatigue performance. Lower strength
materials are often more suitable for structures in which tensile applied loading predominates,
for example lower wing skins, where it is often fatigue life rather than static strength
considerations that define allowable stress levels. In such cases the selection of a high tensile
strength material may offer little or no practical fatigue advantage; a lower yield strength
allows benefit to be obtained from residual compression stress fields produced by tensile
yielding at critical features, but can be detrimental in those cases where the predominant
loading is in compression; particular care must be taken in relation to fatigue-enhancing
systems (see Leaflet 35, para 7.9).
3 FRACTURE TOUGHNESS
3.1 Definition. The fracture toughness is a measure of the resistance of a material to failure by
rapid, unstable crack growth. Materials with a high fracture toughness can sustain a longer
crack for a given applied stress level than a material with a lower fracture toughness.
3.2 Section thickness. In thick sections the plane strain fracture toughness, KIc, is most
commonly used to describe resistance to fracture; this is a material property independent of
geometry. In thin sections the toughness is influenced by component dimensions and cracks
may extend in a stable manner under high loads (particularly in low strength, high toughness
materials). In these cases a single value of toughness cannot adequately describe the fracture
resistance and a crack growth resistance curve (R curve) is required to define failure. Material
selection for sheet materials should be made on the basis of single-pull tests on identical
panels or using R curves.
3.3 Temper and tensile strength. For a given material type the toughness decreases with
increase in tensile strength. Peak age tempers (such as the T6 and T651 tempers in aluminium
alloys) usually have the lowest fracture toughness for a material and should be avoided where
possible. Relatively small reductions in tensile properties, for example by over-ageing, can
produce a significant increase in fracture toughness (and usually an increase in resistance to
environmental attack).
3.4 Product form and grain orientation. Toughness varies with product form and grain
orientation (i.e. with loading and cracking direction with respect to texture imparted by
material processing). In general, the fracture toughness is lowest if cracks are running parallel
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to the short transverse grain, that is in S-T or S-L orientations, and highest if cracks have to
cross the grain, that is in L-T or L-S orientations.
3.5 Toughness to yield ratio. To maintain a required level of damage tolerance, for example a
minimum acceptable critical crack size as employed in some aircraft design philosophies, the
ratio of fracture toughness to tensile strength must be maintained at an acceptable level
whereas the material property trend is for toughness to decrease with strength in a given
material. A measure of the damage tolerance capability of metallic materials is the ratio of
fracture toughness to yield strength (0.2% proof strength). This parameter is termed the
Toughness to Yield Ratio, TYR [1,2]. In fracture-critical components it is beneficial to use a
material with a high toughness to yield ratio. Experience on a range of military aircraft has
been used to define a rating, A - D, based on the TYR, which can be used for any aerospace
structural alloy for material selection, see Table 1 and Figure 1. Materials with 'A' or 'B' rating
should be selected where possible. Materials rated 'C' or 'D' must not be used without the prior
agreement of the Project Authority. Materials with a 'D' rating shall be used only in
exceptional circumstances.
3.6 Operating environment. For many materials the fracture toughness is largely unaffected
by environmental conditions. However, some material/environment combinations exhibit
rapid crack growth under stored or residual stress conditions due to stress corrosion
mechanisms, see Clause 4.3 and Section 4 Leaflet 7. For some materials, particularly high
strength steels, there exists a transition temperature below which toughness can be
dramatically reduced. It is important that materials do not exhibit such a transition within the
working temperature range of the component for which they are used.
4 IMPACT RESISTANCE
4.1 Definition. Impact resistance is defined as the energy required to cause cracking in a given
section thickness. Impact resistance cannot be determined solely by monotonic toughness
testing and ballistic tests. Where impact threats have been identified, confirmatory tests of
material performance should be done at appropriate impact energies with suitably
representative impactors and impact angles on coupons with representative restraint.
4.2 Problems arising from impact. Cracking occurring during impact can significantly reduce
residual strength and may subsequently extend due to fatigue loads. Materials should not be
used in product forms or section thicknesses which suffer significant cracking or damage
under the impact threats anticipated in component manufacture or peacetime service. Where
forward facing surfaces, particularly those ahead of intakes, are made of metal, it is preferable
to use ductile, high toughness materials. This increases the likelihood of denting and ductile
tearing rather than fragmentation. Materials with low impact resistance are likely to
experience cracking during manufacture.
4.3 Material properties. Materials with a low ductility and low toughness are likely to suffer
extensive damage from low speed - low energy impact. Some materials may exhibit a
variation in material properties through the section thickness. In such cases it is possible that a
low ductility region may be exposed by chemical or mechanical removal of material - leading
to a serious reduction in impact resistance [1].

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5 FATIGUE CRACK GROWTH RESISTANCE
5.1 Definition. Crack growth rate for a given material, stress ratio (R ratio) and environment
is closely linked to applied stress and crack length through the range of stress intensity factor,
DK. It is usual for crack growth life calculations to be based on constant amplitude data which
are generally available in terms of growth rate, da/dN, against the applied stress intensity
factor range, DK.
5.2 Temper, tensile properties and modulus. Growth rate is strongly dependent on modulus the higher the modulus the lower is the growth rate. Materials with similar modulus, for
example aluminium alloys, exhibit very similar growth rates except in the near-failure region;
see para 5.4.
5.3 Low crack growth rates and the crack growth threshold. Unless the use of a crack growth
threshold can be substantiated under realistic service conditions (loading, crack size and
configuration, environment, etc.) then the crack growth curve should be estimated by
extending the steady state growth region on a straight line basis to very low growth rates, see
also para 2.5.
5.4 Product form and grain orientation. Crack growth rates in aerospace structural alloys are
usually independent of product form and grain orientation except in the near-failure crack
growth region. The fracture toughness, on the other hand, is highly dependent on grain
orientation, product form and temper.
5.5 Operating environment. In some materials the growth rate shows a marked sensitivity to
the operating environment. The effect of operating environment on growth rate must be
considered in damage growth analysis; guidance is given in [1]. Where an adverse operating
environment is known, then confirmatory crack growth tests should be done in that
environment. The peak-aged tempers in high strength 7000 series (aluminium - zinc) alloys
are particularly prone to increases in growth rate with humidity.
REFERENCES
1

Dolphin, A.S.

Damage tolerance (fatigue and impact) evaluation of materials,

BAe Report BAe-WSS-RP-GEN-SOR-000315, January 1997

Sharp, R.

Selection of metallic materials for damage-tolerance capability

using a rating system, BAe Report BAe-WSS-RP-GEN-SOR000222, Issue 1, December 1992

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TABLE 1

RATINGS FOR TOUGHNESS TO YIELD RATIO (PLANE STRAIN)

Rating

A
B
C
D

L-T and L-S

Grain Orientation
T-L and T-S

S-L and S-T

> 0.088
0.07-0.088
0.056-0.07
< 0.056

> 0.075
0.06-0.075
0.048-0.06
< 0.048

> 0.067
0.053-0.067
0.042-0.053
< 0.042

Values in the table are TYR values (m). L-T values illustrated in Figure 1. Values of TYR are
determined from consideration of scatter in strength and toughness [2].

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