Challenges of residual stress and part distortion in the civil airframe industry

TLDR: In this article, the authors highlight challenges of residual stress and part distortion in civil airframe manufacture as this is a recurring expensive problem as significant costs have been spent to correct part distortion at various stages of the manufacturing life cycle.

Abstract: This paper aims to highlight challenges of residual stress and part distortion in civil airframe manufacture as this is a recurring expensive problem as significant costs have been spent to correct part distortion at various stages of the manufacturing life cycle. It is our long term commitment and aspirations to understand and if possible, eliminate part distortion in order to remain competitive. The paper briefly outlines current trends in civil aerospace industry and discussed the fundamental of residual stress and part distortion in high strength aluminium alloys. An insight into industrial state-of-the-art in managing residual stress and part distortion, learning obtained and long-term industrial aspirations are also discussed. Our recent participation in a European-funded collaborative project – COMPACT is also detailed here.