On Monday, the two airlines reported that microscopic cracks had been discovered on the wings of several planes.
Click HERE to view graphic European air safety authorities ordered that checks, announced last month on microscopic cracks inside the wings of the A380, should be extended to all 68 aircraft.
Carbon fiber structures, on the other hand, sustain microscopic cracks; a foot of composite might sustain 10,000 microcracks, each essentially representing a unit of energy absorption.
Studies on the aetiology of russeting identify the formation of microscopic cracks in the primary fruit skin as the first visible sign of russeting (for reviews see Faust and Shear 1972 a, b ).
As the weakened metal loses its ability to withstand the stresses, the microscopic cracks coalesce to form macroscopic cracks.
Constant flexing of the structure concentrates stress, which leads to microscopic cracks.
The natural crystals have microscopic irregularly-shaped gas and liquid inclusions, whereas the synthetic gems usually show microscopic cracks along and normal to the intersection of facets.
These showed microscopic cracks building up in the bones of patients treated with bisphosphonates.
It could be that the commercial designers are hung up on the bad rap castings had ten or more years ago: Then castings contained microscopic cracks and holes that reduced their strength and made them vulnerable to shock and fatigue.
They found evidence the drugs were linked to microscopic cracks, making bones more fragile and prone to break.
