Knowledge and understanding of the uses, strengths, limitations, and other characteristics of structural metals is vital to properly construct and maintain any equipment, especially airframes. In aircraft maintenance and repair, even a slight deviation from design specification, or the substitution of inferior materials, may result in the loss of both lives and equipment. The use of unsuitable materials can readily erase the finest craftsmanship. The selection of the correct material for a specific repair job demands familiarity with the most common physical properties of various metals.

Properties of Metals

Of primary concern in aircraft maintenance are such general properties of metals and their alloys as hardness malleability, ductility, elasticity, toughness, density, brittleness, fusibility, conductivity contraction and expansion, and so forth. These terms are explained to establish a basis for further discussion of structural metals.

Explanation of Terms

Hardness refers to the ability of a metal to resist abrasion, penetration, cutting action, or permanent distortion. Hardness may be increased by cold working the metal and, in the case of steel and certain aluminum alloys, by heat treatment. Structural parts are often formed from metals in their soft state and are then heat treated to harden them so that the finished shape will be retained. Hardness and strength are closely associated properties of metals.

Brittleness is the property of a metal which allows little bending or deformation without shattering. A brittle metal is apt to break or crack without change of shape. Because structural metals are often subjected to shock loads, brittleness is not a very desirable property. Cast iron, cast aluminum, and very hard steel are examples of brittle metals.

A metal which can be hammered, rolled, or pressed into various shapes without cracking, breaking, or leaving some other detrimental effect, is said to be malleable. This property is necessary in sheet metal that is worked into curved shapes such as cowlings, fairings, or wingtips. Copper is an example of a malleable metal.

Ductility is the property of a metal which permits it to be permanently drawn, bent, or twisted into various shapes without breaking. This property is essential for metals used in making wire and tubing. Ductile metals are greatly preferred for aircraft use because of their ease of forming and resistance to failure under shock loads. For this reason, aluminum alloys are used for cowl rings, fuselage and wing skin, and formed or extruded parts, such as ribs, spars, and bulkheads. Chrome molybdenum steel is also easily formed into desired shapes. Ductility is similar to malleability.

Elasticity is that property which enables a metal to return to its original shape when the force which causes the change of shape is removed. This property is extremely valuable because it would be highly undesirable to have a part permanently distorted after an applied load was removed. Each metal has a point known as the elastic limit beyond which it cannot be loaded without causing permanent distortion. In aircraft construction, members and parts are so designed that the maximum loads to which they are subjected will not stress them beyond their elastic limits. This desirable property is present in spring steel.

A material which possesses toughness will withstand tearing or shearing and may be stretched or otherwise deformed without breaking. Toughness is a desirable property in aircraft metals.

Density is the weight of a unit volume of a material. In aircraft work, the specified weight of a material per cubic inch is preferred since this figure can be used in determining the weight of a part before actual manufacture. Density is an important consideration when choosing a material to be used in the design of a part in order to maintain the proper weight and balance of the aircraft.

Fusibility is the ability of a metal to become liquid by the application of heat. Metals are fused in welding. Steels fuse around 2,600° F and aluminum alloys at approximately 1,100° F.

Conductivity is the property which enables a metal to carry heat or electricity. The heat conductivity of a metal is especially important in welding because it governs the amount of heat that will be required for proper fusion. Conductivity of the metal, to a certain extent, determines the type of jig to be used to control expansion and contraction. In aircraft, electrical conductivity must also be considered in conjunction with bonding, to eliminate radio interference.

Contraction and expansion are reactions produced in metals as the result of heating or cooling. Heat applied to a metal will cause it to expand or become larger. Cooling and heating affect the design of welding jigs, castings, and tolerances necessary for hot rolled material.

Selection Factors

Strength, weight, and reliability are three factors which determine the requirements to be met by any material used in airframe construction and repair. Airframes must be strong and yet as light in weight as possible. There are very definite limits to which increases in strength can be accompanied by increases in weight. An airframe so heavy that it could not support a few hundred pounds of additional weight would be of little use.

All metals, in addition to having a good strength/weight ratio, must be thoroughly reliable, thus minimizing the possibility of dangerous and unexpected failures. In addition to these general properties, the material selected for a definite application must possess specific qualities suitable for the purpose.

The material must possess the strength required by the dimensions, weight, and use. There are five basic stresses which metals may be required to withstand. These are tension, compression, shear, bending, and torsion.

The tensile strength of a material is its resistance to a force which tends to pull it apart. Tensile strength is measured in psi (pounds per square inch) and is calculated by dividing the load, in pounds, required to pull the material apart by its cross-sectional area, in square inches.

The compression strength of a material is its resistance to a crushing force which is the opposite of tensile strength. Compression strength is also measured in psi. When a piece of metal is cut, the material is subjected, as it comes in contact with the cutting edge, to a force known as shear. Shear is the tendency on the part of parallel members to slide in opposite directions. It is like placing a cord or thread between the blades of a pair of scissors. The shear strength is the shear force in psi at which a material fails. It is the load divided by the shear area.

Bending can be described as the deflection or curving of a member due to forces acting upon it. The bending strength of material is the resistance it offers to deflecting forces. Torsion is a twisting force. Such action would occur in a member fixed at one end and twisted at the other. The torsional strength of material is its resistance to twisting.

The relationship between the strength of a material and its weight per cubic inch, expressed as a ratio, is known as the strength/weight ratio. This ratio forms the basis for comparing the desirability of various materials for use in airframe construction and repair. Neither strength nor weight alone can be used as a means of true comparison. In some applications, such as the skin of monocoque structures, thickness is more important than strength, and, in this instance, the material with the lightest weight for a given thickness or gauge is best. Thickness or bulk is necessary to prevent bucking or damage caused by careless handling.

Corrosion is the eating away or pitting of the surface or the internal structure of metals. Because of the thin sections and the safety factors used in aircraft design and construction, it would be dangerous to select a material possessing poor corrosion resistant characteristics.

Another significant factor to consider in maintenance and repair is the ability of a material to be formed, bent, or machined to required shapes. The hardening of metals by cold working or forming is termed work hardening. If a piece of metal is formed (shaped or bent) while cold, it is said to be cold worked. Practically all the work an aviation mechanic does on metal is cold work. While this is convenient, it causes the metal to become harder and more brittle.

If the metal is cold worked too much, that is, if it is bent back and forth or hammered at the same place too often, it will crack or break. Usually, the more malleable and ductile a metal is, the more cold working it can stand. Any process which involves controlled heating and cooling of metals to develop certain desirable characteristics (such as hardness, softness, ductility, tensile strength, or refined grain structure) is called heat treatment or heat treating. With steels the term "heat treating" has a broad meaning and includes such processes as annealing, normalizing, hardening, and tempering.

In the heat treatment of aluminum alloys, only two processes are included: (1) The hardening and toughening process, and (2) the softening process. The hardening and toughening process is called heat treating, and the softening process is called annealing. Aircraft metals are subjected to both shock and fatigue (vibrational) stresses. Fatigue occurs in materials which are exposed to frequent reversals of loading or repeatedly applied loads, if the fatigue limit is reached or exceeded. Repeated vibration or bending will ultimately cause a minute crack to occur at the weakest point. As vibration or bending continues, the crack lengthens until the part completely fails. This is termed shock and fatigue failure. Resistance to this condition is known as shock and fatigue resistance. It is essential that materials used for critical parts be resistant to these stresses.