Residual Stresses Induced by Cold Expansion of Adjacent and Cut-Out Holes

Fatigue life of fastener holes can be enhanced via a cold-expansion process to introduce a compressive residual stress field around the hole edge and to reduce crack growth propagation. Considering that aerospace components contain multiple rows of holes, the present investigation focuses on the evaluation of the three-dimensional residual stress distribution in adjacent cold-expanded (CE) holes. The redistribution of residual stresses caused by a cut introduced between two adjacent holes was also investigated. Finite element (FE) analysis and experimental technique were used to assess the residual stress distribution in a 6082-T6 aluminum plate with two adjacent holes expanded sequentially at 4 % nominal interference. The influence of center-to-center distance between holes was explored to assess the optimal level of separation between adjacent holes. Results suggested that residual stresses near second CE hole are markedly lower than those of first CE hole and that a cutting process does not affect the beneficial compressive residual stress around CE holes. These effects may delay fatigue crack propagation from CE holes or cut-out holes.