Stress-corrosion cracking characterisation of the advanced aerospace Al-Li 2099-T86 alloy

New alloy developments driven by aircraft industry have identified aluminium lithium (Al-Li) alloys as potential candidates for substitution of incumbent high strength aluminium alloys used for manufacturing spacecraft and launchers. Whereas properties like specific stiffness, strength and toughness are proven as superior when compared to those of currently adopted Al alloys, the Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) characteristics are still an open aspect if advanced Al-Li alloys are considered for space structural applications. The present paper provides a comprehensive characterisation of the Al-Li 2099-T86 SCC performances.