The use of tritium autoradiography to assess fatigue damage in metals
Scientific Publication
- Report Number:
- DSTO-TR-1273
- Authors:
- Tsoi, K.A.; Wong, A.K.
- Issue Date:
- 2002-04
- AR Number:
- AR-012-150
- Classification:
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Report Type:
- Technical Report
- Division:
- Airframes and Engines Division (AED)
- Release Authority:
- Chief, Airframes and Engines Division
- Task Sponsor:
- CDS
- Task Number:
- NAV 01/124
- File Number:
- M1/9/468
- Pages:
- 25
- URI:
- http://hdl.handle.net/1947/3987
Abstract
This introduces introduces a technique known as tritium autoradiography which may be useful in the detection of fatigue damage in metallic components. Tritium autoradiography involves the infusion of radioactive hydrogen (tritium) into a fatigue damaged structure. The damaged areas of the structure may act as preferred trapping sites for the tritium and as the tritium decays via the emission of beta particles it can be detected using nuclear emulsion film.
Executive Summary
During the 1950s a series of aircraft accidents involving the Comet aircraft made the aircraft industry much more aware of the problems associated with the fatigue damage of metals. Although a lot more is now known about fatigue, there still exists a great need to know where and when a structure will fail. Over the years a number of different techniques have been developed for the purpose of detecting fatigue-induced damage in order to determine where and when an aircraft will fail structurally. This report describes a technique known as tritium autoradiography which involves the infusion of radioactive hydrogen (tritium) into a structure that may contain fatigue damage. The damaged parts of the structure are likely to act as a preferred trapping site for the tritium and as the tritium decays via the emission of beta particles it can be detected using nuclear emulsion ¯lm. This report describes the technique in detail. Preliminary results indicate that this technique does show some degree of promise for the early detection of fatigue damage. Initial autoradiographs of fatigued aluminium 2024 specimens show that some sort of trapping of the tritium is occurring and a distinct di®erence is observed between the autoradiographs of the fatigued and unfatigued specimens. Further work is required to obtain more accurate autoradiographs, to determine, more precisely, what is causing the trapping and which areas, shown up as darker regions in the autoradiograph, are due to fatigue damage in the structure.