4.7 Article

Failure analysis of a landing gear nose wheel fork produced in Ti6Al4V(ELI) through selective laser melting

Journal

ENGINEERING FAILURE ANALYSIS
Volume 153, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.engfailanal.2023.107548

Keywords

Aerospace engineering; Nose wheel fork; Ti6Al4V; Additive manufacturing; Mechanical testing; Fatigue; Manufacturing defects

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This paper presents the failure analysis of a topologically optimised landing gear nose wheel fork of a light aircraft that was produced in Ti6Al4V (ELI) through selective laser melting (SLM). The study aims to devise preventative actions to avoid failure of the fork and discusses the limitations and quality of the actual nose wheel fork of the aircraft. It also outlines an effective failure analysis and data collection method necessary to qualify SLM of Ti6Al4V(ELI) to produce other airworthy mission-critical structural aircraft components.
This paper presents the failure analysis of a topologically optimised landing gear nose wheel fork of a light aircraft that was produced in Ti6Al4V (ELI) through selective laser melting (SLM). The study was motivated by the intention of the South African producer of the Advanced HighPerformance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC) to consider replacing conventional manufacturing of some structural components with additive manufacturing (AM). However, the defects typically associated with AM, such as inherent surface roughness and porosity, still complicate the certification of AM parts due to their detrimental effects on fatigue performance. An experimentally validated numerical simulation, fractographic analysis and microscopic investigation were carried out on a scaled-down Ti6Al4V(ELI) component to devise preventative actions to avoid failure of the full-scale fork. The mass saving, strength and fatigue limitations of the actual nose wheel fork of the AHRLAC are discussed. This study also outlines an effective failure analysis and data collection method necessary to qualify SLM of Ti6Al4V(ELI) to produce other airworthy mission-critical structural aircraft components.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available