Benefits of the Complementary use of Archaeometry Investigations and Historical Research in the Study of Ancient Airplan
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Benefits of the Complementary use of Archaeometry Investigations and Historical Research in the Study of Ancient Airplanes: the Breguet Sahara’s Rivets. Audrey Cochard1, Joël Douin1, Bénédicte Warot-Fonrose1, Julitte Huez2, Luc Robbiola3, Jean-Marc Olivier4, Philippe Sciau1 1
CEMES, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, 29 rue J. Marvig, 31055 Toulouse, France . CIRIMAT-ENSIACET-INPT, 4 allée Emile Monso, BP 44362 Toulouse Cedex 4, France. 3 TRACES-UTM, 5 allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France. 4 FRAMESPA-UTM, 5 allées Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France. 2
ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to show that historical technical archives and complementary physico-chemical studies can be combined to obtain relevant information on the materials and processes used in the manufacturing of a Breguet 765 Sahara airplane. This will be useful both in history of sciences and technology and in the renovation of this more than fifty years old airplane. The Breguet 765 Sahara plane is the last version of a family of French double-deck transport aircraft produced by Breguet between 1948 and 1960. The gathering of multi-disciplinary information from the literature of the period of production with laboratory investigations has revealed that a “new” aluminum-copper-magnesium alloy was used in the rivets of the Breguet 765. The A-U3G alloy was developed to meet properties requirements of the aeronautical industry for joining sheets of aluminum and was used in the Breguet 765 Sahara to strengthen the joints. Analytical techniques included TEM, EPMA microprobe and metallography. INTRODUCTION In the field of cultural heritage, chemical and structural information concerning aluminum alloys used in aeronautic industry is required. Indeed it is important to realize that the developments of aeronautical and aluminum alloys are connected. Interest in lightweight and high strength material stimulated research to develop new aluminum alloys as progress in materials development allowed lightening of the plane structure. However, although duralumin, the first strengthened aluminum alloy, was processed less than a century ago in an industrial context, it is not easy to find pertinent chemical and physical data concerning parts used in airplanes. Actually, the main aluminum alloys used for aeronautic industry are mentioned in various technical reviews but without direct links with airplanes made at the same period [1]. This missing information is required for a better understanding of the development of aeronautic material and for the renovation of the airplanes. In order to recover these data, we propose a double approach based on the study of indirect archival information and laboratory analyses on original aeronautic pieces. This type of study could also give interesting information in material sciences concerning the long-term aging of the Al-alloys. To illustrate the interest in this double approach, we present the results obtained for some aluminum alloys used in the manufacturing of the Breguet Sahara airplane. We have cho
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