Damage Tolerance - Safe-Life Structure

Safe-Life Structure

Not all structure need exhibit crack initiation to ensure safety of operation. Some structures operate under the safe-life design principle, where an extremely low level of risk is accepted through a combination of testing and analysis that the part will ever form a detectable crack due to fatigue during the service life of the part. This is achieved through a significant reduction of stresses below the typical fatigue capability of the part. Safe-life structures are employed when the cost or infeasibility of inspections outweighs the weight penalty and development costs associated with safe-life structures. An example of a safe-life component is the helicopter rotor blade. Due to the extremely large numbers of cycles endured by the rotating component, an undetectable crack may grow to a critical length in a single flight and before the aircraft lands, result in a catastrophic failure that regular maintenance could not have prevented.