Fatigue Life Prediction for 2060 Aluminium–Lithium Alloy with Impact Damage

Abstract

The paper investigates the issue of post-impact fatigue damage of the 2060 aluminium–lithium alloy, a representative material of third-generation aluminium–lithium alloys extensively employed in the fuselage of C919 aircraft due to its notable attributes of high specific stiffness and strength. Initial impact damage is identified utilizing a residual stress–strain field obtained from a quasi-static simulation. Then, the continuum damage mechanics approach is applied to predict the fatigue life of the impacted 2060 aluminium–lithium alloy plates accounting for the combined effects of residual stress, plastic damage, and fatigue loading. A comparative analysis between calculated and experimental results is conducted to validate the efficacy of the proposed methodology.