the detached servo fastener. The origin of the third cracked selflocking nut could not be established. Liquidmetal embrittlement Liquidmetal embrittlement is a sudden, brittle failure that occurs when a normally ductile metal is coated with a thin film of liquid metal while sufficiently stressed. An examination of the fracture surface of one of the self-locking nuts from VHHFH identified a pattern that was characteristic of liquid metal embrittlement. In a crosssection of another of the nuts, cadmium was detected remote from the originally-plated surface, indicating that it had flowed in the liquid form. The source of the liquid metal was the cadmium plating that normally plated the nuts, but had melted during the postimpact fire.
the detached servo fastener. The origin of the third cracked selflocking nut could not be established. Liquidmetal embrittlement Liquidmetal embrittlement is a sudden, brittle failure that occurs when a normally ductile metal is coated with a thin film of liquid metal while sufficiently stressed. An examination of the fracture surface of one of the self-locking nuts from VHHFH identified a pattern that was characteristic of liquid metal embrittlement. In a crosssection of another of the nuts, cadmium was detected remote from the originally-plated surface, indicating that it had flowed in the liquid form. The source of the liquid metal was the cadmium plating that normally plated the nuts, but had melted during the postimpact fire.
ao2011016_final.docx