Study of the Creation of Aircraft Structural Smart-Materials Based on Evaluation of Strength Properties

An obligatory condition for creating a competitive aircraft (AC) is to ensure low operating costs by reducing downtime and rational organization of maintenance and repair through continuous monitoring, diagnosis, and prediction of the AC condition. For monitoring, diagnosing, and predicting aircraft condition in recent decades the list of parameters recorded on board is continuously expanding. Great prospects in this direction are associated with the creation and implementation of so-called smart materials that can monitor their condition and even actively resist damage. This article presents results of research showing the fundamental possibility of constructing a strain curve for structural metal based on hardness measurement by ultrasonic contact impedance. During performance of experiments on aluminium alloy AMg6 samples a correlation relationship is established for strength properties obtained on the basis of a stress-strain curve with hardness values during tests that make it possible to evaluate material condition with a complex stress-strained state. Implementation of this approach demonstrates the expediency of predicting the current mechanical condition and residual life of metal structures based on analysis of dynamics of the change in structural material hardness parameters.