Fretting fatigue behavior in 7075-T6 aluminum alloy

Fretting fatigue conditions play an important role in a surface degradation and debris formation; sometimes, these conditions are neglected but are important in some applications, such as the aerospace industry and orthopedic implants. The objective of this study was to understand the fretting fatigue behavior in 7075-T6 aluminum alloy by characterization of fretting damage zones to gain insight into the nucleation of crack(s).Results showed that fretting degradation depends on the microstructure of the material. The differences in microstructure between two thicknesses of 7075-T6 aluminum alloy (1.6 and 4.06 mm) seem to hold the key to understanding fretting damage formation, pit to crack transition and crack propagation.