Fatigue testing of large scale details of a large size aluminium surface effect ship

The paper presents the results of two large scale fatigue tests on a detail of an aluminium surface effect ship. The overall dimensions of the specimens were: length 4.8 m, height 3.2 m and width 1.5 m (equal to the main frame spacing). The specimens consist of an aluminium structure of welded plates (thicknesses up to 20 mm).