Failure analysis of dovetail assemblies under fretting load

Fretting wear and subsequent fatigue are the damage processes caused by micro slip under high cycle fatigue (HCF) loading between contacting structural members. Fretting fatigue has become recognized as a major failure mode in aircraft, which can reduce the life of a structure by as much as 40–60% under certain conditions. There are two keys to evaluating the fretting fatigue life of dovetail assemblies: one is determining the high stress gradients at the edge of the contact zone under complex loading by means of numerical methods, especially the finite element method (FEM); the other is finding suitable parameters to correlate with fretting fatigue life to improve predictive accuracy.

► We review the calculation methods of fretting contact stress. ► We review the life prediction methods and testing technology of fretting fatigue. ► We summarize studies on dovetail assemblies carried by author’s research group.