Vitalijs Pavelko

Vitaly Pavelko (, tr. ; , is a Latvian scientist. Graduated with honors from Mechanical faculty of the Riga Aviation University (previously known as ) in 1963.
Biography
Pavelko was born in Dykanka, Poltava Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR. After the school he entered the Poltava Civil Engineering Institute. At 1960 he moved to the ). It was newly established high school organized on the basis of the Riga Military Aviation Engineering School. After graduation, he studied at the postgraduate course (1965-1968) at the Department of Aircraft Construction and Strength. Additionally he studied at the Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Latvia, which he successfully graduated in 1970. He defended his Ph.D. thesis in 1969. After graduating from graduate school and until 1980, he worked at the Department of Aircraft Design and Strength in teaching positions. From 1980 to 1999 - Head of the Department of "Technical Mechanics" of RCAEI-Riga Aviation University. In 1982 he defended his doctoral dissertation in the specialized Council of the Kyiv Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers, and in 1984 he was awarded the academic title of professor, in 1986 he was awarded the honorary title of Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. Since 1999 Vitaly Pavelko is a professor at the , head of the strength and fatigue life group of aircraft.
Scientific contributions
The main scientific interests of Professor Pavelko was determined even during his postgraduate studies: the strength and dynamics of aircraft structures. In his Ph.D. thesis on the problem of operational survivability of aircraft structures, an original mathematical model of the growth of fatigue cracks was proposed, based on the use of the fundamental laws of the development of low-cycle fatigue and linear fracture mechanics. In the subsequent period, the main efforts were directed at improving the methods for predicting the fatigue life of riveted and bolted joints in aircraft structures, which in 1982 were summarized in a doctoral dissertation on this problem. The main result of these studies was the development of an applied theory of fatigue fracture of riveted joints. The key element of the theory is a mathematical model of an isolated fastening point of the connection, which describes the stress-strain state depending on the nominal loads in the zone of this element and the radial interference in the connection. The introduced concept of the local fatigue curve of an isolated fastening point, confirmed by his own experiments and generalization of test data from other researchers, made it possible to develop a methodology for a reliable assessment of the fatigue life of a class of riveted joints of the same type. The direct practical result of these studies was the creation in 1980 of an automated system for assessing the fatigue life of critical elements of aircraft structures by order of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation (GosNII GA). In subsequent years, intensive research continued and developed in this area in close cooperation with research and development organizations. It is necessary to highlight the development of a method for prompt elimination of leaks of aircraft fuel tanks by bolts and rivets by local shot blasting. The method and device for its implementation were developed jointly with employees of the Minsk Aircraft Repair Plant of Civil Aviation and implemented at this plant and in a number of operational enterprises of the Civil Aviation. In the laboratory of the Department of Technical Mechanics under the guidance of Professor Pavelko, a stand was created for full-size static and fatigue testing of aircraft structural components. In particular, an extensive testing program was implemented to study the fatigue life and survivability of the tail boom of the Mil Mi-8 helicopter (jointly about the Mil design bureau and the Riga branch of the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation). Of particular interest is the development of a method for indicating the growth of fatigue cracks in aircraft structures during operation. All researches of Professor Vitaly Pavelko were carried out with the wide involvement of talented youth. Under his leadership, about 30 candidate and doctoral dissertations were defended, which allows to speak about his Scientific School.
Publications
* More 270 scientific papers,
* 22 textbooks and methodological books,
* 14 certificates of inventions.
Famous international research projects
* European research project Inco-Copernicus Proposal Program N PL964217 (1996 - 1999),
* NAS-AURORA (2000-2003), 6FP Project AISHA (2004-2006) etc.

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