What is this? Multiple small cracks in passenger window
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I have seen this many times in typically older aircraft passenger windows and on a recent flight from Sydney to Melbourne I took the following pictures. It appears as if there are small cracks in the window or one of the laminate layers used to construct the windows. Could anyone shed some light on what is the cause and if there is any risk?
commercial-aviation
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
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Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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up vote
10
down vote
favorite
I have seen this many times in typically older aircraft passenger windows and on a recent flight from Sydney to Melbourne I took the following pictures. It appears as if there are small cracks in the window or one of the laminate layers used to construct the windows. Could anyone shed some light on what is the cause and if there is any risk?
commercial-aviation
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
I have seen this many times in typically older aircraft passenger windows and on a recent flight from Sydney to Melbourne I took the following pictures. It appears as if there are small cracks in the window or one of the laminate layers used to construct the windows. Could anyone shed some light on what is the cause and if there is any risk?
commercial-aviation
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I have seen this many times in typically older aircraft passenger windows and on a recent flight from Sydney to Melbourne I took the following pictures. It appears as if there are small cracks in the window or one of the laminate layers used to construct the windows. Could anyone shed some light on what is the cause and if there is any risk?
commercial-aviation
commercial-aviation
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
asked Nov 22 at 11:11
Ian Aitken
513
513
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Ian Aitken is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
15
down vote
Airline pax windows are cast acrylic plastic (plexiglass) and when the panels age they can get little microcracks in the surface called crazing. This can be formed from long term tension stress on the crazed surface as well as from degradation from chemicals (ammonia is one of the worst - NEVER use Windex or equivalent on plexiglass) or UV (acrylic cast for aircraft has a UV block in it that makes it relatively resistant to UV).
On airline windows it's mostly due to long term surface stress because the pressurization system is trying to blow the window out all the time and the outer layer is in tension. Minor crazing is not a structural problem because it is in the outer couple thousandths of an inch of the plastic and doesn't reduce its strength significantly (1/4" thick acrylic sheet at 8ksi tensile strength, like you would typically find in a pressurized aircraft window, is roughly equivalent in tensile strength to .050" 2024 aluminum, so it's not that much different than the adjacent aluminum skin with minor abrasion surface scratches, structurally speaking).
Airlines restore windows with crazing and scratches by removing the outer crazed layer with abrasive products made for the purpose (like Micro Mesh https://micro-surface.com/). There is an allowable minimum thickness of the acrylic and they can go down to that, and if crazing is still apparent at that point the window is scrap.
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
There is usually a plexiglass cover on the inside of an aircraft window. There tends to be a little hole in the plexiglass cover to make sure there is not much pressure difference on the cover. The cracks are probably only on the cover, and not in the window itself. If it really is the window, it was probably replaced already. The cover has no structural role, it is just for thermal isolation, and to keep passengers away from the real window, so it is nothing to be worried about.
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
15
down vote
Airline pax windows are cast acrylic plastic (plexiglass) and when the panels age they can get little microcracks in the surface called crazing. This can be formed from long term tension stress on the crazed surface as well as from degradation from chemicals (ammonia is one of the worst - NEVER use Windex or equivalent on plexiglass) or UV (acrylic cast for aircraft has a UV block in it that makes it relatively resistant to UV).
On airline windows it's mostly due to long term surface stress because the pressurization system is trying to blow the window out all the time and the outer layer is in tension. Minor crazing is not a structural problem because it is in the outer couple thousandths of an inch of the plastic and doesn't reduce its strength significantly (1/4" thick acrylic sheet at 8ksi tensile strength, like you would typically find in a pressurized aircraft window, is roughly equivalent in tensile strength to .050" 2024 aluminum, so it's not that much different than the adjacent aluminum skin with minor abrasion surface scratches, structurally speaking).
Airlines restore windows with crazing and scratches by removing the outer crazed layer with abrasive products made for the purpose (like Micro Mesh https://micro-surface.com/). There is an allowable minimum thickness of the acrylic and they can go down to that, and if crazing is still apparent at that point the window is scrap.
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Airline pax windows are cast acrylic plastic (plexiglass) and when the panels age they can get little microcracks in the surface called crazing. This can be formed from long term tension stress on the crazed surface as well as from degradation from chemicals (ammonia is one of the worst - NEVER use Windex or equivalent on plexiglass) or UV (acrylic cast for aircraft has a UV block in it that makes it relatively resistant to UV).
On airline windows it's mostly due to long term surface stress because the pressurization system is trying to blow the window out all the time and the outer layer is in tension. Minor crazing is not a structural problem because it is in the outer couple thousandths of an inch of the plastic and doesn't reduce its strength significantly (1/4" thick acrylic sheet at 8ksi tensile strength, like you would typically find in a pressurized aircraft window, is roughly equivalent in tensile strength to .050" 2024 aluminum, so it's not that much different than the adjacent aluminum skin with minor abrasion surface scratches, structurally speaking).
Airlines restore windows with crazing and scratches by removing the outer crazed layer with abrasive products made for the purpose (like Micro Mesh https://micro-surface.com/). There is an allowable minimum thickness of the acrylic and they can go down to that, and if crazing is still apparent at that point the window is scrap.
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
up vote
15
down vote
Airline pax windows are cast acrylic plastic (plexiglass) and when the panels age they can get little microcracks in the surface called crazing. This can be formed from long term tension stress on the crazed surface as well as from degradation from chemicals (ammonia is one of the worst - NEVER use Windex or equivalent on plexiglass) or UV (acrylic cast for aircraft has a UV block in it that makes it relatively resistant to UV).
On airline windows it's mostly due to long term surface stress because the pressurization system is trying to blow the window out all the time and the outer layer is in tension. Minor crazing is not a structural problem because it is in the outer couple thousandths of an inch of the plastic and doesn't reduce its strength significantly (1/4" thick acrylic sheet at 8ksi tensile strength, like you would typically find in a pressurized aircraft window, is roughly equivalent in tensile strength to .050" 2024 aluminum, so it's not that much different than the adjacent aluminum skin with minor abrasion surface scratches, structurally speaking).
Airlines restore windows with crazing and scratches by removing the outer crazed layer with abrasive products made for the purpose (like Micro Mesh https://micro-surface.com/). There is an allowable minimum thickness of the acrylic and they can go down to that, and if crazing is still apparent at that point the window is scrap.
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
Airline pax windows are cast acrylic plastic (plexiglass) and when the panels age they can get little microcracks in the surface called crazing. This can be formed from long term tension stress on the crazed surface as well as from degradation from chemicals (ammonia is one of the worst - NEVER use Windex or equivalent on plexiglass) or UV (acrylic cast for aircraft has a UV block in it that makes it relatively resistant to UV).
On airline windows it's mostly due to long term surface stress because the pressurization system is trying to blow the window out all the time and the outer layer is in tension. Minor crazing is not a structural problem because it is in the outer couple thousandths of an inch of the plastic and doesn't reduce its strength significantly (1/4" thick acrylic sheet at 8ksi tensile strength, like you would typically find in a pressurized aircraft window, is roughly equivalent in tensile strength to .050" 2024 aluminum, so it's not that much different than the adjacent aluminum skin with minor abrasion surface scratches, structurally speaking).
Airlines restore windows with crazing and scratches by removing the outer crazed layer with abrasive products made for the purpose (like Micro Mesh https://micro-surface.com/). There is an allowable minimum thickness of the acrylic and they can go down to that, and if crazing is still apparent at that point the window is scrap.
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
edited Nov 22 at 20:06
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
answered Nov 22 at 14:56
John K
11.7k11138
11.7k11138
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
add a comment |
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
Thanks John, That makes sense and I appreciate the time and effort providing such a detailed answer. Cheers Ian
– Ian Aitken
Nov 22 at 21:15
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
I was in China on business once and rode on a Shandong Airlines 737 with cabin windows that appeared to have been restored using Micro Mesh (a very special type of rubberized sandpaper) and they didn't do a particularly even job of it. My window was wavy like a window pane from a 19th century farmhouse lol.
– John K
Nov 23 at 2:20
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
There is usually a plexiglass cover on the inside of an aircraft window. There tends to be a little hole in the plexiglass cover to make sure there is not much pressure difference on the cover. The cracks are probably only on the cover, and not in the window itself. If it really is the window, it was probably replaced already. The cover has no structural role, it is just for thermal isolation, and to keep passengers away from the real window, so it is nothing to be worried about.
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
There is usually a plexiglass cover on the inside of an aircraft window. There tends to be a little hole in the plexiglass cover to make sure there is not much pressure difference on the cover. The cracks are probably only on the cover, and not in the window itself. If it really is the window, it was probably replaced already. The cover has no structural role, it is just for thermal isolation, and to keep passengers away from the real window, so it is nothing to be worried about.
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
There is usually a plexiglass cover on the inside of an aircraft window. There tends to be a little hole in the plexiglass cover to make sure there is not much pressure difference on the cover. The cracks are probably only on the cover, and not in the window itself. If it really is the window, it was probably replaced already. The cover has no structural role, it is just for thermal isolation, and to keep passengers away from the real window, so it is nothing to be worried about.
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
There is usually a plexiglass cover on the inside of an aircraft window. There tends to be a little hole in the plexiglass cover to make sure there is not much pressure difference on the cover. The cracks are probably only on the cover, and not in the window itself. If it really is the window, it was probably replaced already. The cover has no structural role, it is just for thermal isolation, and to keep passengers away from the real window, so it is nothing to be worried about.
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
answered Nov 22 at 16:47
Orbit
23317
23317
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
add a comment |
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
This seems unlikely as there is no stress on the inner window due to the vent hole you mentioned. John K's answer seems much more likely.
– Transistor
Nov 22 at 19:12
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
These cracks are much deeper than a few thousands of an inch, you need a magnifying glass or a microscope to see cracks that small. Constant stress is not needed to cause cracks, the inner panes are loaded during (de-)pressurisation.
– Orbit
Nov 23 at 9:59
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
There is a bit of an optical illusion effect that makes crazing look much deeper than it really is.
– John K
Nov 24 at 17:58
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
I sure hope so, because it looks like they are about 2 mm deep. Bending resistance decreases with the thickness to the power 3, and on top of that you get a stress concentration factor due to the crack. So cracks can be a pretty big threat to a window.
– Orbit
Nov 24 at 21:13
add a comment |
Ian Aitken is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ian Aitken is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ian Aitken is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ian Aitken is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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