Standardization News

A proposed ASTM International standard will establish a new practice for determining safe-life, inspection threshold, and reoccurring inspection intervals for airplanes. ASTM International’s general aviation aircraft committee (F44) is developing the proposed standard.

According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the safe-life of a structure is the number of events, such as flights, landings, or flight hours, during which there is a low probability the strength will degrade below its design ultimate value due to fatigue cracking. 

“The proposed standard practice provides guidance material for defining factors used to determine inspections or replacement intervals for airplane components, specifically based on cyclic test, fatigue analysis, and damage tolerance analysis,” said A.K.M. Haque, senior specialist engineer at Textron Aviation. 

According to Haque, an ASTM International member, the proposed standard (WK78199) will be most useful to manufacturers of normal category airplanes and relevant regulatory agencies.

The committee invites participation in the development of its standards, specifically those with a background to engage in detailed technical discussions on airplane structural design and certification. JOIN ASTM.