Analysis of the Cold-Working Process on Holes Containing Preexisting Cracks

Cold working of fastener holes on aircraft has been proven to be an effective method to extend the fatigue service life. This process is being applied to aging aircraft that may have existing cracks at the time of cold working. The effectiveness of the cold working in the presence of several sizes of corner cracks is analytically assessed. A three-dimensional finite element analysis is performed to calculate the stresses at the crack tips with and without remotely applied load. It is found that cold working is effective to a varying degree for cracks as deep as 0.6 of the thickness.