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Some industries are very demanding in terms of material performance. The aerospace industry is one of the industries with high-performance demands from the materials used. Aircraft components endure extreme temperatures, surface impact, and corrosion during their lifecycle. The longevity of the parts is crucial for the longevity of the aircraft.
Therefore, designers and engineers choose materials with high performance and endurance statistics. In this article, we’ve curated some of the most common materials used in the aerospace industry and their physio-chemical properties.
Titanium Based Alloys
As mentioned earlier, the aerospace industry demands high-performance statistics from materials. In addition, the weight-to-strength ratio is exceedingly prominent since every pound of extra weight means more fuel consumption, less maneuverability, and decreased top speed.
Pure Titanium has low density, high strength, and high corrosion resistance. Even in its pure form, Titaniums’s physio-chemical properties relate heavily to the aerospace industry. Already excellent properties of Titanium are immensely increased when alloyed with other metals.
One of the most commonly used Titanium-based alloys in the aerospace industry is Ti-6Al-4V. This alloy consists of Titanium as the primary element, Vanadium, a ductile and thermally insulating metal, and Aluminum, one of the best-performing elements in terms of weight-to-strength ratio. Ti-6Al-4V alloy displays good strength, ductility, fracture toughness, thermal resilience, creep characteristics, weldability, workability, and thermal processability. These properties make this alloy an excellent choice for building the cockpit frame, wing box, and fastener construction.
Another frequent Titanium-based alloy is Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo, which consists of Aluminum, Tin, Zirconium, and Molybdenum. Scientists developed this alloy with the goal of extreme heat resistance. Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo can withstand temperatures up to 500˚C, making it an essential structural material of compressor discs of aircraft.
Ti-5Al-2Sn-2Zr-4Cr-4Mo alloy (occasionally referred to as Ti17 alloy) is another Titanium-based alloy with high strength and excellent fracture toughness.
Finally, the Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al alloy has excellent hardenability, high strength, and high fatigue strength. It is an essential building block of landing gears.
Aluminum Based Alloys
As mentioned earlier, Aluminum is one of the best metals in weight-to-strength ratio and use in explosive environments. In addition, Aluminum is resistant to heat and corrosion. These properties make Aluminum and its alloys a fundamental metal for various industries, such as the aerospace industry.
Frequent alloying elements of Aluminum are copper, Magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel, and Zinc. Aerospace designers and engineers use 7xxx series Aluminum alloys the most often for their excellent yield strength. Al-Zn-Mg-Cu and Al-Li-Cu-Mg are the two most common 7xxx series of Aluminum alloys, and they can display yield strength up to 500 MPa. Aluminum alloys which consist of Zinc as the primary alloying element, are the toughest of all Aluminum-based alloys.
Magnesium Based Alloys
Magnesium is the lightest structural metal. It has a lower specific density than Aluminum. However, Magnesium is highly brittle, making it almost impossible to use in aircraft design in its raw form.
Various alloying elements can increase the brittle nature of Magnesium to make it a primary choice for the aerospace industry.
Ferrous Alloys
Ferrous alloys are another category commonly used in various industries, including the aerospace and military industry. In essence, ferrous alloys are alloys that are generally consisted of Iron. Some of the most commonly used ferrous-based alloys are Stainless Steel, Cast Iron, and High-Carbon Steel. Ferrous alloys usually display a good balance of performance, including heat and corrosion resistance, durability, strength, and thermal resilience. Even though they do not pose extreme performance like titanium-based superalloys or other superalloys, their ease of synthesis and price/performance ratio makes them invaluable.
The aerospace industry requires high-performance materials. Aerocrafts endure high temperatures, surface impact, and corrosion during their lifetime. The safety and longevity of the aircraft are highly dependent on the structural materials. Designers and engineers are always in search of better elements to utilize. Advances in material science and production technologies provide experts with better-performing materials.
Scientists achieved rapid development in material science and metallurgy during the 60s and 70s. Those advances have paved the road for the availability of the materials that we use today to build aircraft that can take us further and higher. In this article, we’ve curated some of the most commonly used elements in aircraft design. However, our desire to unravel the mysteries of deep space promises to bring much better-performing materials with it.
