bgibbons
Veteran
 
Posts: 142
Joined: 2003-03-19
Location: Dallas, TX
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Alan Patching in Australia has been performing long term fatique testing for fiberglass gliders since the early 70's. My recollection is that they had not discovered any finite lifetime limits to date.
Alan received the 2006 Lilienthal Gliding Medal for, among many other contributions, his long study of lifetime limits in FGRP structures.
If you have access to Technical Soaring you can find a number of Alan's articles.
Volume I, Number 2, October, 1971
C.A. Patching, Establishing the Structure Integrity of Aging Gliders [Construction], page 17
Volume VI, Number 3, March, 1981
JG.P. Esson and C.A. Patching, Fatigue Life Considerations for Gliders Operated in Australia, page 10
Volume 15, Number 4, October, 1991
C.A. Patching and L.A. Wood, Fatigue Testing of A GFRP Glider [Construction], page 100
Volume 22, Number 1, January, 1998
C.A. Patching and L.A. Wood, Further Fatigue Testing of a Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic Glider Wing [Aerodynamics\Testing], page 11
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