Effect of plastic media blasting method on mechanical properties of Al 2024-T6 alloy

We investigated the effect of Plastic media blasting (PMB) method on mechanical properties of Al 2024-T6 alloy for aircraft body coatings. Painting-stripping process with three cycles was performed using PMB for three different thicknesses. The relationship between surface morphology-deformation and defects was characterized. PMB affects the fatigue life and surface morphology of specimens. The fatigue life decreases when the specimen thickness decreases. In contrast, this method does not significantly affect the fatigue life of thick specimens. The surface roughness was between 0.30-0.65 Ra for processed specimens. The study will determine proper sheet metal thickness which is not affected seriously because of the method for Al 2024-T6 alloy.