Airbus Operations Gmbh

Eads Deutschland Gmbh

Airbus Defence and Space Gmbh

Coventry University

Domenico Furfari

Juergen Steinwandel

Jürgen Steinwandel

Marco Pacchione

Nikolaus Ohrloff

Claudio Dalle Donne

Elke Hombergsmeier

Valentin Richter-trummer

Michael Fitzpatrick

A method for joining two aircraft structural parts by a bolted or riveted joint and for preventing cracks at said joint includes providing a first metallic aircraft structural part and a second aircraft structural part, wherein the first aircraft structural part includes a first joint region and a second aircraft structural part includes a second joint region. Furthermore, the method includes inducing compressive residual stresses in a first area of the first joint region for preventing cracks by applying parallel crack retarding regions formed as stripes in the first area, drilling fastener holes in the first and second areas of the first. Finally, the method includes a step of fastening together the first and second aircraft structural parts at the first and second joint regions by a bolted or riveted joint.

Preventing cracks at bolted or riveted joints of aircraft structural parts

A vehicle structure component reinforced by means of an area, a vehicle including such a vehicle structure component, and a corresponding method to reinforce a vehicle structure component are proposed. The area includes a compressive residual stress in a first direction and a compressive or tensile residual stress in a second direction being vertically aligned to the first direction, wherein the ratio of the compressive stress in the first direction and the compressive or tensile residual stress lies between &#x2212;0.2 and +1.0. Hence, the propagation direction of cracks in such areas is diverted, faster pressure equalization takes place, and further crack propagation is inhibited.

Reinforced vehicle structural part and vehicle

A method for the friction stir welding of two components, in particular of two shell components of a fuselage structure of an aircraft and spacecraft, said method comprising the following method steps: positioning the two components relative to one another in such a way that a connection region is formed between the two components; friction stir welding the two components by a friction stir welding tool which penetrates the connection region in order to produce a weld which permeates the connection region with the formation of an unpenetrated weld edge portion of the connection region; and introducing internal compressive stresses, at least in the weld edge portion of the connection region. Further a device for the friction stir welding of two components, in particular of two shell components of a fuselage structure of an aircraft and spacecraft is provided.

Method and device for the friction stir welding of two components

A method for the friction stir welding of two components, in particular of two shell components of a fuselage structure of an aircraft and spacecraft, said method comprising the following method steps: positioning the two components relative to one another in such a way that a connection region is formed between the two components; friction stir welding the two components by means of a friction stir welding tool which penetrates the connection region in order to produce a weld which permeates the connection region with the formation of an unpenetrated weld edge portion of the connection region; and introducing internal compressive stresses, at least in the weld edge portion of the connection region. Further a device for the friction stir welding of two components, in particular of two shell components of a fuselage structure of an aircraft and spacecraft is provided.

The present invention provides a method for preventing the forming of cracks and slowing the crack propagation in metallic airplane structural parts by laser shock peening with the following steps: Providing an airplane structural part having a crack; irradiating a first surface area of the airplane structural part close to the crack with a first pulsed laser beam having a first wavelength and a first pulsation frequency, wherein energy of the first laser beam is absorbed by the airplane structural part and a shock wave runs through the airplane structural part, which creates compressive prestressings in the airplane structural part.

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Hamburg, Germany

Domenico Furfari