Fatigue of marine grand aluminium

摘要

The design of faster and larger vessels within the aluminium high-speed ferry industry in Australia has seen greater demands put upon the mechanical properties of marine grade aluminium alloys. Alloys AA5456 and AA5083 have been used extensively in the fabrication of passenger, freight and naval vessels. Although readily weldable, they do experience a softening effect in the heat affected zone. This means that the fatigue performance of the material has become a limiting factor for design, especially with regard to severe service conditions. There is a need to understand the load spectra acting upon the structures and the effects of physical and metallurgical properties of the materials. This would allow the designers to cope with these increased requirements and maximise the performance of the vessels.