Fatigue Life Estimation of the Tail Boom and Vertical Stabilizer of MI-24 Helicopter

The aim of this work was to estimate fatigue life of the Mi-24 helicopter tail boom and vertical stabilizer sheathing. The analysis was based on a numerical model of the helicopter airframe crucial to obtain stress fields under defined loads and to estimate fatigue life.

In order to do so, the load spectrum, specific for Polish army helicopters, was obtained by means of strain gauge measurements during a series of experimental flights. Data collected during flights was post-processed to create a characteristic ten hour spectrum that would statistically represent the flight profile for Polish Army Mi-24 helicopters.

The third crucial element of the analysis was the safe S-N curve that was created on the basis of 2024-T3 aluminum S-N curve. Two factors were introduced in order to change the curve in a way that would guarantee a higher level of certainty that the outcome is not overrated.

As a result of this analysis the total fatigue life was estimated including the list of critical locations in which fatigue damage is prone to occur. These regions are going to be carefully examined during scheduled inspections.