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Failure Analysis of a Fractured Cross Tube of a Helicopter Landing Gear

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Abstract

Cross tube of the landing gear fractured, while the helicopter was being towed to hanger for night parking. Fracture occurred at the change of profile near to the swivel arm attachment point. Fractography study confirmed that the failure in the cross tube occurred by fatigue mechanism. Examination revealed that fatigue crack initiation in the component was promoted due to stress concentration effect arising from surface/subsurface defects in the form of solidification cavities. Microstructural study at the fatigue crack origin region showed that a repair work was carried out on the cross tube during maintenance, wherein material was deposited on the surface by a welding process. During this repair process, many solidification cavities were developed in the material. The vulnerability to fatigue failure of the cross tube was further aggravated due to deterioration of the mechanical properties of the tube material at the repaired region. The repair work carried out on the cross tube was ad hoc in nature, and it was not permissible. This investigation established that the primary cause for failure in this case was improper maintenance.

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Acknowledgments

The work presented in this paper was financially supported by the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, vide Project No. M-1-298.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science Division, National Aerospace Laboratories, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Bangalore, 560017, India

    V. Venkatesh, K. Raghavendra, M. Madan, M. Sujata & S. K. Bhaumik

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  1. V. Venkatesh
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  2. K. Raghavendra
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  3. M. Madan
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  4. M. Sujata
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  5. S. K. Bhaumik
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Correspondence to M. Sujata.

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Venkatesh, V., Raghavendra, K., Madan, M. et al. Failure Analysis of a Fractured Cross Tube of a Helicopter Landing Gear. J Fail. Anal. and Preven. 23, 2623–2632 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-023-01803-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11668-023-01803-8

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