This article provides the framework for the investigation of bridge failures. It explains the types of bridge loading and presents the regulatory provisions for bridges. Some bridge failures in the U.S. that resulted in significant changes in bridge manufacturing, design, regulation, and/or maintenance are also discussed. In addition, the article provides information on traffic damage and fatigue cracking that result in bridge failures. The need for steels with better fracture toughness in bridge design is also discussed.

This datasheet provides information on composition limits, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and application performance of thick plate and forging alloy 7085. It presents the specified minimum strength and fracture properties for plate, die, and hand forgings. The datasheet provides a comparison of the strength, fracture toughness, and fatigue crack growth resistance of alloy 7085 plate with those of the legacy plate alloy 7050. It shows tensile yield and ultimate strength at elevated temperature for various temperatures and exposure times for 7085-T7452 die forgings.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and processing effects on mechanical and corrosion performance properties of aluminum alloy 7449. A comparison of toughness and stress-corrosion cracking resistance of alloy 7449 with other alloys is also provided.

The extrusion alloy 7005 is used as extruded structural members, where welded or brazed assemblies require moderately high strength and high fracture toughness. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of this 7xxx series alloy.

Alloy 7097 is a quench insensitive Al-Mg-Zn-Cu-Zr alloy engineered for the most advantageous combination of strength, corrosion resistance, and fracture toughness in thick structural applications. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy of alloy 7097 and processing effects on mechanical properties of alloy 7097-T7651 plate.

Alloy 7475 is a controlled-toughness alloy for sheet and plate product forms. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and fabrication characteristics of this 7xxx series alloy.

This datasheet provides information on composition limits, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of aluminum alloy 7039.

This datasheet provides information on composition limits for aluminum alloy 7255, with emphasis on the minimum static properties of aluminum alloy 7255 plate and fracture toughness of aluminum alloy 7255-T7751. Fatigue crack growth resistance of alloy 7255 plate is compared with those of legacy alloy 7055 plate.

This article summarizes the characteristics, material properties, and typical applications of aluminum alloy wrought products. It describes the most widely used worldwide alloy designation system and discusses five major categories, namely flat-rolled products; rod, bar, and wire; tubular products; shapes; and forgings. The article also discusses three widely used indexes to define the fracture resistance of aluminum alloys: notch toughness, tear resistance, and plane-strain fracture toughness. It also describes three types of corrosion attack of these alloys: general or atmospheric surface corrosion, stress-corrosion cracking, and exfoliation attack.

Understanding the mechanical properties of aluminum alloys is useful for the designer for choosing the best alloy and establishing appropriate allowable stress values, and for the aluminum producer to control the fabrication processes. This article discusses the nature and significance of mechanical property data and of stress-strain curves detailing the effects of mechanical properties on the design and selection of aluminum alloys. The properties include tensile, compressive, shear, bearing, creep and creep-rupture, fatigue, and fracture resistance properties.

This article aims to comprehensively review and summarize the material properties and engineering data for aluminum alloy castings and their many applications. The discussion focuses on conventional sand, permanent mold, and die castings as well as the premium engineered versions of some alloys. The article provides a summary of aluminum casting alloy designations of The Aluminum Association, the Unified Numbering System, and specific alloys considered premium strength by definition and by ASTM International and Aerospace Material Specifications. A distillation of data from published industry sources is given for a wide range of the properties and performance characteristics for topics such as: physical and thermophysical properties, typical and minimum mechanical properties, fatigue resistance, fracture resistance, and subcritical crack growth.

Understanding the mechanical properties of aluminum alloys is useful for the designer for choosing the best alloy and establishing appropriate allowable stress values, and for the aluminum producer to control the fabrication processes. This article discusses the nature and significance of mechanical property data and of stress-strain curves detailing the effects of mechanical properties on the design and selection of aluminum alloys. The properties include tensile, compressive, shear, bearing, creep and creep-rupture, fatigue, and fracture resistance properties.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, mill product specifications, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of high-strength aerospace alloys 2024 and Alclad 2024. It contains tables that list values of tensile property limits for 2024 sheet, plate, and round product forms. Figures illustrate the effect of stretching and aging on toughness of the 2024 sheet and the effect of temperature on tensile properties of 1.0 mm thick Alclad 2024-T3 sheet.

The high-strength plate alloy 2324 is a modification of 2024 alloy composition and process conditions to increase strength in both plate and extrusions without a loss in fracture toughness and other characteristics. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, as well as the effects of processing on mechanical properties of this 2xxx series alloy. A comparison of fracture toughness of 2324-T39 to 2024-T351 is presented.

Alloy 295.0 is an Al-Cu-Si alloy suitable for sand casting requiring high strength with ductility and toughness. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy, fabrication characteristics, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of this series alloy. Room-temperature aging characteristics for aluminum alloy 295.0-F, -T4, -T6, and -T7 are also illustrated.

Alloy 7055 is widely used in the aerospace industry in applications as plate and extrusions. This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and processing effects on fracture, mechanical, tensile, and compressive properties of this 7xxx series alloy.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and applications of Alclad 2029. It contains tables that present statistically determined mechanical property minimums for Alclad 2029-T8 sheet and plate. The plane stress fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth resistance of alloys 2029 and 2024 are illustrated.

This datasheet provides information on key alloy metallurgy and processing effects on tensile properties and fracture toughness of alloy 7065. Strength-toughness minima for aluminum plate alloy 7065 are presented.

Alloy 2624 was developed by Alcoa as a plate product to replace alloy 2024 and 2324 in applications requiring moderate or high strength and the highest levels of damage tolerance. This datasheet provides information on composition limits, processing effects on physical and mechanical properties, and applications of this alloy. Figures provide comparisons of plane stress R-curves of 2624 with 2024-T351 and 2324-T39 and fatigue crack growth resistance of 2624 with 2024-T351 and 2324-T39.

This article discusses the concepts underlying linear elastic fracture mechanics and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics as well as their importance in characterizing the fracture behavior of the high-strength aluminum alloys. It describes the three methods used for analyzing elastic-plastic fracture, namely R-curve concept, J-integral concept, and crack tip opening displacement method. The article considers the primary measures used to assess the toughness of aluminum alloy castings and wrought alloys: notch toughness, tear resistance, and plane-strain fracture toughness.