Application of modern aluminum alloys to aircraft

Volume 02 Issue 02, 2021

Researchers have turned to search for new materials that will meet all the aerospace industry requirements. When it is almost impossible to achieve this with a single material, composite materials have been studied, and there have been great developments in this field. Many elements are used in aircraft construction, but aluminum is the most preferred due to its low density, good castability, high strength, corrosion resistance, and good fatigue strength. However, its strength and stiffness limit its usability. To solve this problem, aluminum is combined with various elements. Aluminum metal matrix composites are an example of this. Aluminum metal matrix composites are preferred in aircraft applications due to their high specific modulus and good mechanical and thermal properties. This review provides information on the use of aluminum metal matrix composite materials in the aerospace industry.

IRJET, 2022

The choice of materials used to construct an aircraft is of paramount importance due to several factors, such as safety, structural integrity and weight optimization. In this article, the evolution of materials that are particularly used in the aerospace industry since the beginning of last century is reported. This report will review the different materials that have been used in the aerospace industry since its inception. They include, but are not limited to, metals, plastics, composites, ceramics and glasses. With the development of new materials technology, aerospace engineering has quickly become one of the fastest growing industries and it is only set to continue to grow exponentially with innovations like 3D printing and nanotechnology. Alongside other industries like automobile engineering and locomotive manufacturing, aerospace engineering has benefited from such developments which have also helped increase space travel. Research is being conducted on materials that are designed to have excellent properties, including high strength/weight ratio, easy manufacturability, and corrosion and heat resistance. These materials would be suitable for aircrafts and offer a variety of benefits.

Of primary concern in aircraft maintenance are such general properties of metals and their alloys as hardness, malleability, ductility, elasticity, toughness, density, brittleness, fusibility, conductivity contraction and expansion, and so forth. These terms are explained to establish a basis for further discussion of structural metals.

The use of different materials as metals, wood and other modern materials like composites, require a previous evaluation of its performance under corrosion, creep, tension, compression, bending and fatigue. In general, these requirements lead to a few number of materials to choose during the project of one component, but in some cases, there's a lot of options that can be selected. In this work, a mechanical approach is considered for some classes of materials. Of course, a complete analysis involves a management science, also called, operational research, with an application of linear programming or, in some cases, heuristics models like ants' colony, but this isn't our target at this moment. It's possible to see, with the mechanical approach, the advantage of different material's application.

Polymers

Recent advances in aircraft materials and their manufacturing technologies have enabled progressive growth in innovative materials such as composites. Al-based, Mg-based, Ti-based alloys, ceramic-based, and polymer-based composites have been developed for the aerospace industry with outstanding properties. However, these materials still have some limitations such as insufficient mechanical properties, stress corrosion cracking, fretting wear, and corrosion. Subsequently, extensive studies have been conducted to develop aerospace materials that possess superior mechanical performance and are corrosion-resistant. Such materials can improve the performance as well as the life cycle cost. This review introduces the recent advancements in the development of composites for aircraft applications. Then it focuses on the studies conducted on composite materials developed for aircraft structures, followed by various fabrication techniques and then their applications in the aircraft industry. ...

Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences (PEN), 2013

New developments in material science and its technologies find their best implementation areas in aircraft and space vehicles. Since the beginning of the powered flight, weight of airframes and systems are needed to be reduced. They are developed and built by light, durable and affordable materials through highly disciplined design, development, test and certification as well as manufacturing processes. Besides airframes, engineers are challenged to develop more efficient engines; both by reducing their weights and improving their aero-thermodynamic properties, sustaining higher operational and safety reliabilities along with complying stringent emission and noise restrictions. These conditions are increasing the demand for the development and the utilization of advanced lighter, stronger and durable materials and alloys, ceramic coatings and relevant manufacturing processes. In this study, current trends and future expectations from material technologies in general; for accomplishing higher expectations for future lighter airframes, aircraft systems and engines, are reviewed.

This paper examines the progress in aircraft and aircraft engines from the standpoint of the role that better materials and processing has played. Such progress includes the relatively recent transformation of the aircraft industry from purely performance driven products to products that are driven by customer value. It is demonstrated that advances in materials and processing technology and understanding has enabled much of the progress that has been made since the inception of manned, heavier than air flight. The recent constraints of cost, as determined by customer value, have changed the way new materials are introduced and these trends appear to be the new paradigm for the aircraft and aircraft engine industry.