Capacity of Fractographic Analysis for Load-Time History Reconstruction and Fatigue Crack Growth Rate Estimation for the 2024-T3 Aluminium Alloy

The subject of the paper is the considerations for the feasibility of load time history reconstruction on the basis of microfracture analysis for a failed component made of 2024-T3 aluminium alloy that operates under variable amplitude loading. For this goal three different variable amplitude load sequences with single and multiple overloads and underloads were applied to investigate crack growth rate and to examine the images of fatigue striations on the fracture surface of a component. These loads are employed when simulating the fatigue crack behaviour in aeronautical alloys. Microfracture analysis was also used either for learning the interaction of variable amplitude loading for crack growth rate in 2024-T3 alloy or for establishing the relation between surface crack and crack depth growth.