OTD in 1954 All Comet airliners were grounded. The day before, 35 people had died in a mysterious crash off the island of Elba. In 1953, another Comet had crashed inexplicably near Calcutta when 'it fell out of the sky for no apparent reason’. The cause was finally traced to a
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structural fault, with serious consequences for British aviation.
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Not quite correct, the shape concentrated stresses to one point where cracks initiated and quickly propagated.
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Yes, the corrective action was to go to go to oval windows, similar to what planes today have.
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If you're really lucky, I'll dig out a fatigue crack test piece and post a pic 😀
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Replying to @Glazertwalker @StCrad @keingless
Crack propagation (l) & creep (r) test in Inconel 718 (if I recall correctly). These are both for engine components.

Jan 12, 2022 · 12:23 PM UTC
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