Fatigue Properties of 300M in relation with Material Cleanliness

Despite the introduction of new materials such as high strength titanium alloys, 300M is still widely used in landing gear applications because of its interesting properties vs cost balance.

In landing gear design fatigue performance of materials is of high importance to optimized component weight. For 300M, fatigue performance is strongly influenced by material cleanliness. On the basis of several thousand fatigue tests, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty built a library of particles at the origin of failure initiation. The relation between melting process parameters, chemistry and size of particles has been established in collaboration with Messier-Bugatti-Dowty material suppliers. This enables the mills to accurately control the melting process in order to produce components exhibiting enhanced and reliable fatigue performance.  The methodology initially developed for 300M about relation between melting process and material performance is now used by Messier-Bugatti-Dowty at the early stages of new material developments to achieve optimized material design curves and to mitigate industrialization risks.