Aircraft rear fastening plate VHS-497 - Al Alloy - Modern Times

Aircraft rear fastening plate VHS-497 - Al Alloy - Modern Times

Aircraft rear fastening plate VHS-497

Marianne. Senn (EMPA, Dübendorf, Zurich, Switzerland) & Christian. Degrigny (HE-Arc CR, Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland)

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Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 1: Photograph of the aeroplane showing the location of the fixation plate (red dot) (www.hepta.aero),

Fixation plate for the wooden construction at the back of the aeroplane (Fig. 1).

Aeroplane part

Dufaux IV aeroplane

Biplane built by Henri and Armand Dufaux in 1909/10

Modern Times

Outdoor to indoor atmosphere

Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Lucerne

Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Lucerne

VHS-497

Not known

Complementary information

Nothing to report.

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 2: Location of sampling area,

Stratigraphic representation: none.

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 3: Micrograph of the cross-section showing the location of Figs. 5 to 11,

Sample cut from the corner of the fixation plate (Fig. 2). Dimensions: L = 4mm ; W = 1.2mm.

Al Alloy

Hot rolled and annealed

DUF-12

Empa (Marianne Senn)

Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern, Lucerne

September 2007, metallography and alloy composition

Complementary information

Nothing to report.

Analyses performed:
Metallography (nital etched), Vickers hardness testing, SEM/EDS.

The metal is a relatively pure aluminium alloy with numerous inclusions (Table 1). From the chemical composition of the inclusions they can be interpreted as alpha-AlFeSi intermetallic compounds. In bright field we observe elongated inclusions indicating that the metal was rolled (Fig. 5). The alloy composition is similar to an unalloyed primary aluminium (Al content between 99 and 99.8 mass%). The O content reflects the immediate oxidation of the metal and is not part of the alloy. After etching the organisation of inclusions in rows is more easily seen (Fig. 6). The SEM image shows large grains formed after annealing (Fig. 7). The average hardness of the metal is HV1 40.

 

Elements

 Al Si Fe O Total
Metal (average) 95 0.8 < 0.7 97
Inclusion (average) 60 8.6 31 1.5 100

Table 1: Chemical composition (mass %) of the metal and inclusions (from Fig. 5). Method of analysis: SEM/EDS, Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Empa.

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 5: Micrograph of the metal sample from Fig. 3 (detail), unetched, bright field. The metal matrix is in white, the elongated inclusions in grey,

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 6: Micrograph of the metal sample from Fig. 3 (detail), etched, bright field. The metal matrix is in white, the elongated inclusions in dark-grey and black,

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 7: SEM image of the metal sample from Fig. 3 (detail), SE-mode, etched. We observe the presence of large grains and numerous elongated inclusions,

Recrystallized structure with large grains

Al

Si

Complementary information

Nothing to report.

The metal is covered by a very thin corrosion layer (CP1). In addition to this, locally thicker “corrosion products” or adherent material can be observed (D1, appearing as dark-grey area in Fig. 8). Under polarized light, they appear blue-brown (Fig. 9). Analysis by SEM-EDS indicates that the metal is, as expected, covered by a very thin Al and O-rich layer whereas the particles in the adherent material contain C, O, Si, Ca, Fe, Zn, S and even Ti (Figs. 10 and 11). The location of the adherent material and the presence of both Zn and Ti suggest that it is a residue of a paint coating.

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 8: Micrograph showing the metal - “corrosion products” interface from Fig. 3 (reversed picture, detail), unetched, bright field. We observe in white the metal matrix and dark-grey the adhering material,

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 9: Micrograph (same as Fig. 8) and corresponding to the stratigraphy of Fig. 4, unetched, polarised light. We observe in grey the metal matrix and blue-brown the adherent material,

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 10: SEM image (same as Fig. 8, inverted picture, detail), BSE-mode, unetched,

Credit HE-Arc CR.

Fig. 11: Elemental chemical distribution of the selected area from Fig. 10. Method of examination: SEM/EDS, Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Empa,

Passive

None

Complementary information

Nothing to report.

Fig. 4: Stratigraphic representation of the object in cross-section using the MiCorr application. The characteristics of the strata are only accessible by clicking on the drawing that redirects you to the search tool by stratigraphy representation. This representation can be compared to Fig. 9, Credit HE-Arc CR.

Corrected stratigraphic representation: none.

This aluminium alloy has a composition similar to a primary aluminium with an Al content between 99 and 99.8 mass%. The main impurities are Si and Fe. Because of their insolubility in the aluminium they form intermetallic (alpha-AlFeSi) inclusions. The metal was hot rolled and annealed. It is covered by a very thin corrosion layer (probably aluminium oxide) and in some areas adherent materials are present, most likely the remains of a Zn- and Ti-rich paint system mixed with environmental pollutants.

References object

1. Rumo, L. (2008) Analyse et caractérisation des alliages constitutifs de l'avion Dufaux IV. Mémoire Filière conservation-restauration, Haute Ecole art appliqués, La Chaux-de-Fonds, 101-105.

References sample

2. Rumo, L. (2008) Analyse et caractérisation des alliages constitutifs de l'avion Dufaux IV. Mémoire Filière conservation-restauration, Haute école art appliqués, La Chaux-de-Fonds, 101-105.

References on analytic methods and interpretation