Introduction to Aerospace Materials

definitions.

1

Introduction to aerospace materials

1.1 The importance of aerospace materials

The importance of materials science and technology in aerospace engineering cannot be overstated. The materials used in airframe structures and in jet engine components are critical to the successful design, construction, certification, operation and maintenance of aircraft. Materials have an impact through the entire life cycle of aircraft, from the initial design phase through to manufacture and certification of the aircraft, to flight operations and maintenance and, finally, to disposal at the end-of-life.

Materials affect virtually every aspect of the aircraft, including the:

• purchase cost of new aircraft;

• cost of structural upgrades to existing aircraft;

• design options for the airframe, structural components and engines;

• fuel consumption of the aircraft (light-weighting);

• operational performance of the aircraft (speed, range and payload);

• power and fuel efficiency of the engines;

• in-service maintenance (inspection and repair) of the airframe and engines;

• safety, reliability and operational life of the airframe and engines; and

• disposal and recycling of the aircraft at the end-of-life.

Aerospace materials are defined in this book as structural materials that carry the loads exerted on the airframe during flight operations (including taxiing, take-off, cruising and landing). Structural materials are used in safety-critical airframe components such as the wings, fuselage, empennage and landing gear of aircraft; the fuselage, tail boom and rotor blades of helicopters; and the airframe, skins and thermal insulation tiles of spacecraft such as the space shuttle. Aerospace materials are also defined as jet engine structural materials that carry forces in order to generate thrust to propel the aircraft. The materials used in the main components of jet engines, such as the turbine blades, are important to the safety and performance of aircraft and therefore are considered as structural materials in this book.

An understanding of the science and technology of aerospace materials is critical to the success of aircraft, helicopters and spacecraft. This book provides the key information about aerospace materials used in airframe structures and jet engines needed by engineers working in aircraft design, aircraft manufacturing and aircraft operations.

1.2 Understanding aerospace materials

Advanced materials have an important role in improving the structural efficiency of aircraft and the propulsion efficiency of jet engines. The properties of materials that are important to aircraft include their physical properties (e.g. density), mechanical properties (e.g. stiffness, strength and toughness), chemical properties (e.g. corrosion and oxidation), thermal properties (e.g. heat capacity, thermal conductivity) and electrical properties (e.g. electrical conductivity). Understanding these properties and why they are important has been essential for the advancement of aircraft technology over the past century.

Understanding the properties of materials is reliant on understanding the relationship between the science and technology of materials, as shown in Fig. 1.1. Materials science and technology is an interdisciplinary field that involves chemistry, solid-state physics, metallurgy, polymer science, fibre technology, mechanical engineering, and other fields of science and engineering.

1.1 Relationship between materials science and materials technology.

Materials science involves understanding the composition and structure of materials, and how they control the properties. The term composition means the chemical make-up of the material, such as the types and concentrations of alloying elements in metals or the chemical composition of polymers. The structure of materials must be understood from the atomic to final component levels, which covers a length scale of many orders of magnitude (more than 10¹²). The important structural details at the different length scales from the atomic to macrostructure for metals and fibre-polymer composites, which are the two most important groups of structural materials used in aircraft, are shown in Fig. 1.2. At the smallest scale the atomic and molecular structure of materials, which includes the bonding between atoms, has a large influence on properties such as stiffness and strength. The crystal structure and nanoscopic-sized crystal defects in metals and the molecular structures of the fibres and polymer in composites also affect the properties. The microstructure of materials typically covers the length scale from around 1 to 1000 μm, and microstructural features in metals such as the grain size, grain structure, precipitates and defects (e.g. voids, brittle inclusions) affect the properties. Microstructural features such as the fibre arrangement and defects (e.g. voids, delaminations) affect the properties of composites. The macrostructural features of materials, such as its shape and dimensions, may also influence the properties. The aim of materials science is to understand how the physical, mechanical and other properties are controlled over the different length scales. From this knowledge it is then possible to manipulate the composition and structure of materials in order to improve their properties.

1.2 Structural factors at different sizes affect the properties of (a) metals and (b) fibre–polymer composites.

Materials technology (also called materials engineering) involves the application of the material properties to achieve the service performance of a component. Put another way, materials technology aims to transform materials into useful structures or components, such as converting soft aluminium into a high strength metal alloy for use in an aircraft wing or making a ceramic composite with high thermal insulation properties needed for the heat shields of a spacecraft. The properties needed by materials are dependent on the type of the component, such as its ability to carry stress without deforming excessively or breaking; to resist corrosion or oxidation; to operate at high temperature without softening; to provide high structural performance at low weight or low cost; and so on. Materials technology involves selecting materials with the properties that best meet the service requirements of a component as well as maintaining the performance of the materials over the operating life of the component by resisting corrosion, fatigue, temperature and other damaging events.

Most aerospace engineering work occurs in the field of materials technology, but it is essential to understand the science of materials. This book examines the interplay between materials science and materials technology in the application of materials for aircraft structures and jet engines.

1.3 Introducing the main types of aerospace materials

An extraordinarily large number and wide variety of materials are available to aerospace engineers to construct aircraft. It is estimated that there are more than 120 000 materials from which an aerospace engineer can choose the materials for the airframe and engine. This includes many types of metals (over 65 000), plastics (over 15 000), ceramics (over 10 000), composites, and natural substances such as wood. The number is growing at a fast pace as new materials are developed with unique or improved properties.

The great majority of materials, however, lack one or more of the essential properties required for aerospace structural or engine applications. Most materials are too expensive, heavy or soft or they lack sufficient corrosion resistance, fracture toughness or some other important property. Materials used in aerospace structures and engines must have a combination of essential properties that few materials possess. Aerospace materials must be light, stiff, strong, damage tolerant and durable; and most materials lack one or more of the essential properties needed to meet the demanding requirements of aircraft. Only a tiny percentage of materials, less than 0.05%, are suitable to use in the airframe and engine components of aircraft, helicopters and spacecraft.

It is estimated that less than about one hundred types of metal alloys, composites, polymers and ceramics have the combination of essential properties needed for aerospace applications. The demand on materials to be lightweight, structurally efficient, damage tolerant, and durable while being cost-effective and easy to manufacture rules out the great majority for aerospace applications. Other demands on aerospace materials are emerging as important future issues. These demands include the use of renewable materials produced with environmentally friendly processes and materials that can be fully recycled at the end of the aircraft life. Sustainable materials that have little or no impact on the environment when produced, and also reduce the environmental impact of the aircraft by lowering fuel burn (usually through reduced weight), will become more important in the future.

The main groups of materials used in aerospace structures are aluminium alloys, titanium alloys, steels and composites. In addition to these materials, nickel-based alloys are important structural materials for jet engines. These materials are the main focus of this book. Other materials have specific applications for certain types of aircraft, but are not mainstream materials used in large quantities. Examples include magnesium alloys, fibre–metal laminates, metal matrix composites, woods, ceramics for heat insulation tiles for rockets and spacecraft, and radar absorbing materials for stealth military aircraft.

Many other materials are also used in aircraft: copper for electrical wiring; semiconductors for electronic devices; synthetic fabrics for seating and other furnishing. However, none of these materials are required to carry structural loads. In this book, the focus is on the materials used in aircraft structures and jet engines, and not the nonstructural materials which, although important to aircraft operations, are not required to support loads.

Seldom is a single material able to provide all the properties needed by an aircraft structure and engine. Instead, combinations of materials are used to achieve the best balance between cost, performance and safety. Table 1.1 gives an approximate grading of the common aerospace materials for several key factors and properties for airframes and engines. There are large differences between the performance properties and cost of materials. For example, aluminium and steel are the least expensive; composites are the lightest; steels have the highest stiffness and strength; and nickel alloys have the best mechanical properties at high temperature. As a result, aircraft are constructed using a variety of materials which are best suited for the specific structure or engine component.

Table 1.1

Grading of aerospace materials on key design factors

Figure 1.3 shows the types and amounts of structural materials in various types of modern civil and military aircraft. A common feature of the different aircraft types is the use of the same materials: aluminium, titanium, steel and composites. Although the weight percentages of these materials differ between aircraft types, the same four materials are common to the different aircraft and their combined weight is usually more than 80–90% of the structural mass. The small percentage of ‘other materials’ that are used may include magnesium, plastics, ceramics or some other material.

1.3 Structural materials and their weight percentage used in the airframes of civilian and military aircraft. (a) Boeing 737, (b) Airbus 340–330, (c) Airbus A380, (d) Boeing 787, (e) F-18 Hornet (C/D), (f) F-22 Raptor. Photographs supplied courtesy of (a) K. Boydston, (b) S. Brimley, (c) F. Olivares, (d) C. Weyer, (e) J. Seppela and (f) J. Amann.

1.3.1 Aluminium

Aluminium is the material of choice for most aircraft structures, and has been since it superseded wood as the common airframe material in the 1920s/1930s. High-strength aluminium alloy is the most used material for the fuselage, wing and supporting structures of many commercial airliners and military aircraft, particularly those built before the year 2000. Aluminium accounts for 70–80% of the structural weight of most airliners and over 50% of many military aircraft and helicopters, although in recent years the use of aluminium has fallen owing to the growing use of fibre–polymer composite materials. The competition between the use of aluminium and composite is intense, although aluminium will remain an important aerospace structural material.

Aluminium is used extensively for several reasons, including its moderately low cost; ease of fabrication which allows it to be shaped and machined into structural components with complex shapes; light weight; and good stiffness, strength and fracture toughness. Similarly to any other aerospace material, there are several problems with using aluminium alloys, and these include susceptibility to damage by corrosion and fatigue.

There are many types of aluminium used in aircraft whose properties are controlled by their alloy composition and heat treatment. The properties of aluminium are tailored for specific structural applications; for example, high-strength aluminium alloys are used in the upper wing skins to support high bending loads during flight whereas other types of aluminium are used on the lower wing skins to provide high fatigue resistance.

1.3.2 Titanium

Titanium alloys are used in both airframe structures and jet engine components because of their moderate weight, high structural properties (e.g. stiffness, strength, toughness, fatigue), excellent corrosion resistance, and the ability to retain their mechanical properties at high temperature. Various types of titanium alloys with different compositions are used, although the most common is Ti–6Al–4 V which is used in both aircraft structures and engines.

The structural properties of titanium are better than aluminium, although it is also more expensive and heavier. Titanium is generally used in the most heavily-loaded structures that must occupy minimum space, such as the landing gear and wing-fuselage connections. The structural weight of titanium in most commercial airliners is typically under 10%, with slightly higher amounts used in modern aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350. The use of titanium is greater in fighter aircraft owing to their need for higher strength materials than airliners. For instance, titanium accounts for 25% of the structural mass of the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon and about 35% of the F-35 Lightning II. Titanium alloys account for 25–30% of the weight of modern jet engines, and are used in components required to operate to 400–500 °C. Engine components made of titanium include fan blades, low-pressure compressor parts, and plug and nozzle assemblies in the exhaust section.

1.3.3 Magnesium

Magnesium is one of the lightest metals, and for this reason was a popular material for lightweight aircraft structures. Magnesium was used extensively in aircraft built during the 1940s and 1950s to reduce weight, but since then the usage has declined as it has been replaced by aluminium alloys and composites. The use of magnesium in modern aircraft and helicopters is typically less than 2% of the total structural weight. The demise of magnesium as an important structural material has been caused by several factors, most notably higher cost and lower stiffness and strength compared with aluminium alloys. Magnesium is highly susceptible to corrosion which leads to increased requirements for maintenance and repair. The use of magnesium alloys is now largely confined to non-gas turbine engine parts, and applications include gearboxes and gearbox housings of piston-engine aircraft and the main transmission housing of helicopters.

1.3.4 Steel

Steel is the most commonly used metal in structural engineering, however its use as a structural material in aircraft is small (under 5–10% by weight). The steels used in aircraft are alloyed and heat-treated for very high strength, and are about three times stronger than aluminium and twice as strong as titanium. Steels also have high elastic modulus (three times stiffer than aluminium) together with good fatigue resistance and fracture toughness. This combination of properties makes steel a material of choice for safety-critical structural components that require very high strength and where space is limited, such as the landing gear and wing box components. However, steel is not used in large quantities for several reasons, with the most important being its high density, nearly three times as dense as aluminium and over 50% denser than titanium. Other problems include the susceptibility of some grades of high-strength steel to corrosion and embrittlement which can cause cracking.

1.3.5 Superalloys

Superalloys are a group of nickel, iron–nickel and cobalt alloys used in jet engines. These metals have excellent heat resistant properties and retain their stiffness, strength, toughness and dimensional stability at temperatures much higher than the other aerospace structural materials. Superalloys also have good resistance against corrosion and oxidation when used at high temperatures in jet engines. The most important type of superalloy is the nickel-based material that contains a high concentration of chromium, iron, titanium, cobalt and other alloying elements. Nickel superalloys can operate for long periods of time at temperatures of 800–1000 °C, which makes them suitable for the hottest sections of gas turbine engines. Superalloys are used in engine components such as the high-pressure turbine blades, discs, combustion chamber, afterburners and thrust reversers.

1.3.6 Fibre–polymer composites

Composites are lightweight materials with high stiffness, strength and fatigue performance that are made of continuous fibres (usually carbon) in a polymer matrix (usually epoxy). Along with aluminium, carbon fibre composite is the most commonly used structural material for the airframe of aircraft and helicopters. Composites are lighter and stronger than aluminium alloys, but they are also more expensive and susceptible to impact damage.

Carbon fibre composites are used in the major structures of aircraft, including the wings, fuselage, empennage and control surfaces (e.g. rudder, elevators, ailerons). Composites are also used in the cooler sections of jet engines, such as the inlet fan blades, to reduce weight. In addition to carbon fibre composites, composites containing glass fibres are used in radomes and semistructural components such as fairings and composites containing aramid fibres are used in components requiring high impact resistance.

1.3.7 Fibre-metal laminates

Fibre–metal laminates (FML) are lightweight structural materials consisting of thin bonded sheets of metal and fibre–polymer composite. This combination creates a material which is lighter, higher in strength, and more fatigue resistant than the monolithic metal and has better impact strength and damage tolerance than the composite on its own. The most common FML is GLARE® (a name derived from glass reinforced aluminium) which consists of thin layers of aluminium alloy bonded to thin layers of fibreglass composite. FMLs are not widely used structural materials for aircraft; the only aircraft at present that use GLARE® are the Airbus 380 (in the fuselage) and C17 GlobeMaster III (in the cargo doors).

1.4 What makes for a good aerospace material?

Selecting the best material for an aircraft structure or engine component is an important task for the aerospace engineer. The success or failure of any new aircraft is partly dependent on using the most suitable materials. The cost, flight performance, safety, operating life and environmental impact from engine emissions of aircraft is dependent on the types of materials that aerospace engineers choose to use in the airframe and engines. It is essential that aerospace engineers understand the science and technology of materials in order to select the best materials. The selection of materials for aircraft is not guesswork, but is a systematic and quantitative approach that considers a multitude of diverse (and in some instances conflicting) requirements. The selection of materials is performed during the early design phase of aircraft, and has a lasting influence which remains until the aircraft is retired from service.

The key requirements and factors that aerospace engineers must consider in the selection of materials are listed below and in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2

Selection factors for aerospace structural materials

Cost. The whole-of-life cost of aerospace materials must be acceptable to the aircraft operator, and obviously should be kept as low as possible. Whole-of-life costs include the cost of the raw material; cost of processing and assembling the material into a structural or engine component; cost of in-service maintenance and repair; and cost of disposal and recycling at the end of the aircraft life.

Availability. There must be a plentiful, reliable and consistent source of materials to avoid delays in aircraft production and large fluctuations in purchase cost.

Manufacturing. It must be possible to process, shape, machine and join the materials into aircraft components using cost-effective and time-efficient manufacturing methods.

Weight. Materials must be lightweight for aircraft to have good manoeuvrability, range and speed together with low fuel consumption.

Mechanical properties. Aerospace materials must have high stiffness, strength and fracture toughness to ensure that structures can withstand the aircraft loads without deforming excessively (changing shape) or breaking.

Fatigue durability. Aerospace materials must resist cracking, damage and failure when subjected to fluctuating (fatigue) loads during flight.

Damage tolerance. Aerospace materials must support the ultimate design load without breaking after being damaged (cracks, delaminations, corrosion) from bird strike, lightning strike, hail impact, dropped tools, and the many other damaging events experienced during routine operations.

Thermal properties. Aerospace materials must have thermal, dimensional and mechanical stability for high temperature applications, such as jet engines and heat shields. Materials must also have low flammability in the event of aircraft fire.

Electrical properties. Aerospace materials must be electrically conductive to dissipate the charge in the event of lightning strike.

Electromagnetic properties. Aerospace materials must have low electromagnetic properties to avoid interfering with the electronic devices used to control and navigate the aircraft.

Radar absorption properties. Materials used in the skin of stealth military aircraft must have the ability to absorb radar waves to avoid detection.

Environmental durability. Aerospace materials must be durable and resistant to degradation in the aviation environment. This includes resistance against corrosion, oxidation, wear, moisture absorption and other types of damage caused by the environment which can degrade the performance, functionality and safety of the material.

1.5 Summary

The materials used in aircraft have a major influence on the design, manufacture, in-service performance and maintainability. Materials impact on virtually every aspect of the aircraft, including cost, design options, weight, flight performance, engine power and fuel efficiency, in-service maintenance and repair, and recycling and disposal at the end-of-life.

Understanding the materials used in aircraft relies on understanding both the science and technology of materials. Materials science involves studying the effects of structure and composition on the properties. Materials technology involves understanding how the material properties can be used to achieve the in-service performance requirements of a component.

Although there are over 120 000 materials, less than about 100 different materials are used in the airframe and engines of aircraft. The four major types of structural materials are aluminium alloys, fibre–polymer composites (particularly carbon fibre–epoxy), titanium alloys and high-strength steels; these materials account for more than 80% of the airframe mass in most commercial and military aircraft. An important high temperature material for jet engines is nickel-based superalloy. Other materials are used in the airframe or engines in small amounts, and include fibre–metal laminates, ceramic matrix composites, magnesium alloys and, in older and light aircraft, wood.

Selection of the best material to meet the property requirements of an aircraft component is critical in aerospace engineering. Many factors are considered in materials selection, including whole-of-life cost; ease of manufacturing; weight; structural efficiency; fatigue and damage tolerance; thermal, electrical, electromagnetic and radar absorption properties; and durability against corrosion, oxidation and other damaging processes.

1.6 Further reading and research

Askeland, D. R., Phulé, P. P. The science and engineering of materials. Thomson; 2006.

Ashby, M. F., Jones, D. R.H. Engineering materials 1: an introduction to their properties and applications. Butterworth-Heinemann; 1996.

Barrington, N., Black, M. Aerospace materials and manufacturing processes at the millennium. In: Cantor B., Assender H., Grant P., eds. Aerospace materials. Bristol: Institute of Physics Publishing; 2001:3–14.

Peel, C. J., Gregson, P. J. Design requirements for aerospace structural materials. In: Flower H.M., ed. High performance materials in aerospace. London: Chapman and Hall; 1995:1–48.

2

Aerospace materials: past, present and future

2.1 Introduction

The development of new materials and better utilisation of existing materials has been central to the advancement of aerospace engineering. Advances in the structural performance, safety, fuel economy, speed, range and operating life of aircraft has been reliant on improvements to the airframe and engine materials. Aircraft materials have changed greatly in terms of mechanical performance, durability, functionality and quality since the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903. Furthermore, the criteria which are used to select materials for aircraft have also changed over the past 100 years. Figure 2.1 presents a timeline for the approximate years when new criteria were introduced into the selection of aircraft materials.

2.1 Historical timeline indicating when key criteria for materials selection were introduced into aircraft design.

The main criteria for materials selection for the earliest aircraft (c. 1903–1920) was minimum weight and maximum strength. The earliest aircraft were designed to be light and strong; other design criteria such as cost, toughness and durability were given less importance in the quest for high strength-to-weight. Many of the criteria which are now critical in the choice of materials were not recognised as important by the first generation of aircraft designers, and their goal was simply to use materials that provided high strength for little weight. At the time the best material to achieve the strength-to-weight requirement was wood.

The situation changed during the 1920s/1930s when the criteria for materials selection widened to consider a greater number of factors affecting aircraft performance and capability. The design of aircraft changed considerably as commercial and commuter aviation became more popular and the military began to recognise the tactical advantages of fast fighters and heavy bombers. Improved performance from the 1930s led to aircraft capable of flying at fast speeds over long distances while carrying heavy payloads. The requirement for high strength-to-weight remained central to the choice of material, as it had with earlier aircraft, but other criteria such as high stiffness and durability also became important. Higher stiffness allowed sleeker and more compact designs, and hence improved performance. These new criteria not only required new materials but also the development of new production methods for transforming these materials into aircraft components. Aluminium alloys processed using new heat treatments and shaped using new metal-forming processes were developed to meet the expanding number of selection criteria. The importance of availability emerged as a critical issue in the selection of materials during the Second World War. For example, the supply of aluminium to Japan was cut off in the late 1930s/early 1940s, which forced their military to use magnesium in the construction of many fighter aircraft.

Major advances in aerospace technology, particularly jet aircraft, firstgeneration helicopters and rockets/missiles, occurred shortly after World War II. These advances placed greater demands on the performance requirements of the the airframe and engine materials. Another significant milestone was the introduction of pressurised cabin aircraft for high altitude flight during the 1940s. The increased pressure loads exerted on the fuselage led to the development of stressed skin panels made using high-strength material.

Around the same time, the need for materials with fatigue and fracture properties emerged as a critical safety issue, and represents the introduction of the damage tolerance criterion. Damage tolerance is the capability of an aircraft structure to contain cracks and other damage below a critical size without catastrophic failure. The unexpected failure of aircraft structures was common before and, in some instances, during World War II. Aviation was considered a high risk industry and aircraft crashes caused by catastrophic structural failures were common. Designers attempted to minimise the risk by building bulky structures which made the aircraft heavy, but structural failures continued leading to many crashes. The fatigue of metals became more widely recognised as an important issue in the mid-1950s when two Comet airliners, the first of a new generation of civil jet airliners, crashed owing to fatigue-induced cracks in the fuselage. The Comet accidents occurred in the post-war era when civil aviation was starting to boom, and the crashes threatened public confidence in aviation safety. Fracture toughness and fatigue resistance joined other important properties such as weight, stiffness and strength as essential properties in the choice of aircraft materials.

The development of supersonic aircraft together with advances in rocket technology during the 1960s prompted the need for high-temperature materials. The aerospace industry invested heavily in the development of new materials for supersonic airliners such as Concorde, high-speed fighters and surveillance aircraft for the Cold War, and spacecraft and satellites for the Space Race. The investments led to the development of heat-resistant airframe materials such as titanium alloys and special aluminium alloys that were capable of withstanding frictional heating effects during supersonic flight without softening. The need for more powerful engines for aircraft and rockets also drove the development of high-temperature materials capable of operating above 800 °C. New types of nickel-based alloys and other heat-resistant materials were developed to survive within the hottest sections of jet engines.

The need for damage-tolerant materials became more intense in the late 1970s when unexpected failures occurred in ultra-high-strength steel components in United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft. It became clear that the failures involved manufacturing defects and fatigue cracks so small that they could not be found reliably. The USAF introduced a damage tolerant design philosophy which accepted the presence of cracks in aircraft and managed this by achieving an acceptable life by a combination of design and inspection. Achieiving this required the use of materials that were resistant to fatigue cracking and failure.

The certification of new commercial aircraft required manufacturers to demonstrate that fatigue cracks could be detected before reaching the critical length associated with catastrophic failure. Aviation safety authorities such as the FAA introduced stringent regulations on the damage tolerance of safety-critical structures. New commercial aircraft would not be certified and permitted to fly unless new criteria on damage tolerance were met. This change in the certification requirements further increased the need for damage-tolerant materials with excellent fracture toughness and fatigue properties for both airframe and engine applications.

Although always important, weight reduction of civil aircraft became critical during the 1970s owing to rising fuel costs and the revenue opportunities associated with increased range and heavier payload. The OPEC fuel crisis of the 1970s, when the price of Avgas jumped by more than 500%, threatened the financial viability of the global aviation industry and sent many airline companies broke. The aerospace industry implemented new measures to minimise weight and maximise structural performance, and this included the greater use of higher-strength aluminium alloys and the introduction of carbon-epoxy fibre composite materials into secondary structures such as engine cowlings and undercarriage doors.

The realisation of the financial benefits of extending the life of ageing aircraft during the 1980s and 1990s provided greater focus on improved damage tolerance and corrosion resistance. With the rising cost of new aircraft and greater competition among airline companies, including the introduction of low-cost carriers into the aviation market, the need to prolong the operating life of aircraft became critical. New aluminium alloys with improved corrosion resistance and composites materials which are completely resistant to corrosion were used in greater quantities. The 1990s was an era when factors such as the costs of manufacturing and maintenance became increasingly important in the choice of materials. The 1990s was also an era when novel structural materials with radar absorbing properties and low thermal emissions were used in large quantities on stealth military aircraft. Although aircraft with limited stealth capability had been in operation since the 1970s, the need for extremely low radar visibility became a critical requirement that drove the development of radar-absorbing materials.

All of the factors for materials selection outlined above apply today in the choice of materials for modern aircraft: weight, stiffness, strength, damage tolerance, fracture toughness, fatigue, corrosion resistance, heat resistance and so on. The first decade of the 21st century is characterised by an emphasis on materials that reduce the manufacturing cost (by cheaper processing and assembly using fewer parts) and lower through-life operating cost (through longer life with fewer inspections and less maintenance). Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by reducing aircraft weight and improving engine fuel efficiency are also contemporary issues in materials selection. There is also growing interest in producing materials with environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and using sustainable materials that are easily recycled.

The evolution of aircraft technology and the associated drivers in materials selection has meant that the airframe and engine materials are constantly changing. The approximate year of introduction of the main aerospace materials is shown in Fig. 2.2. Many materials have been introduced, with most being developed specifically for aerospace but later finding applications in other sectors such as rail, automotive or engineering infrastructure. It is important to recognise that continuous improvements have occurred with each type of material since their introduction into aircraft. For example, on-going developments in aluminium alloys have occurred since the 1920s to improve properties such as strength, toughness and corrosion resistance. Similarly, advances with composite materials since the 1970s have reduced costs while increasing mechanical properties and impact toughness. Aircraft designers now have the choice of dozens of aluminium alloys with properties tailored to specific applications and operating conditions.

2.2 Historical timeline indicating the approximate year when the main types of materials were first used in aircraft.

In this chapter, we study the historical development of the major types of aerospace materials: wood, aluminium, magnesium, titanium, nickel superalloys and composites. The introduction of these materials into aircraft structures or engines, and how their usage and properties have changed over time is discussed. Also, the current status and future growth in aircraft production and how this may impact on the use of materials is examined. The on-going advances in materials technology for next-generation aircraft, helicopters and space-craft are also reviewed.

2.2 Brief history of aerospace materials

2.2.1 Wood

The era of aerospace materials arguably started with the first powered flight of Kitty Hawk by Orville and Wilbur Wright. The principal criterion used in the selection of materials for the first generation of aircraft (1903–1930) was maximum strength for minimum weight. Every other consideration in materials selection, including stiffness, toughness and durability, were secondary compared with the main consideration of high strength-to-weight. Weight had to be kept to an absolute minimum because of the low power (below 150 hp) of early aircraft engines. The airframes in the earliest aircraft were constructed almost entirely of wood because there were no other suitable materials that combined strength and lightness. The high-strength materials of the early 1900s, such as steel and cast iron, were about 10 times denser than wood and, therefore, too heavy for the airframe.

Wood was the material of choice in early aircraft because of its light weight, stiffness and strength (Fig. 2.3). Wood was also used because it was plentiful, inexpensive, and its properties were well understood through use in other structural applications such as buildings and bridges. Another important reason for using wood was the craftsmen who handbuilt the earliest aircraft were able to easily shape and carve timber into lightweight frames, beams and other structural components. However, wood is not the ideal material and has many inherent problems. The mechanical properties are variable and anisotropic which meant aircraft had to be over-designed to avoid structural damage. Many early aircraft experienced structural failures owing to inconsistent strength properties as the result of ‘soft’ or ‘weak’ spots in the wood. Furthermore, wood absorbs moisture, warps and decays over time, which meant that aircraft required continuous maintenance and on-going repairs.

2.3 Wooden aircraft. (a) Sopwith Camel. Photograph supplied courtesy of the National Museum of the US Air Force. (b) de Havilland Mosquito. Photograph supplied courtesy of M. J. Freer.

The first generation of aircraft builders evaluated many types of timber, and found that fir, spruce and several other softwoods were best suited for making structural components with a high ratio of strength-to-weight. The aircraft industry later discovered that laminated plywood construction provided greater strength and toughness than single-piece wood. Laminated plywood consists of thin bonded sheets of timber orientated with the wood grain at different angles. The use of plywood reduced the weight penalty experienced with one-piece timber construction that had to be over-designed. As a result plywood rapidly gained popularity as a structural material in the period between the two world wars. Even during the World War II some fighters and light bombers were constructed from wood and plywood. Probably the most famous wooden aircraft during the war was the de Havilland Mosquito, which, for its time, was a highly advanced fighter/bomber capable of flying at 650 km h− 1.

The large-scale production of fighters, bombers and heavy load transport aircraft during World War II led to the demise of wood as an important structural material. Abundant supplies of high quality timber were not available to many countries during the war, which forced the greater use of alternative materials such as aluminium. Also, wood lacks the stiffness and strength required for many military aircraft, particularly bombers, cargo transporters and other heavy lift aircraft that have high loading on their wings and airframe. The use of wood continued to decline in the post-war era with the development of pressurised cabins for high-altitude flying. Today, few aircraft are constructed using wood, except for some gliders, ultra-lights and piston-driven aircraft, because cheaper, lighter and more structurally efficient materials are available.

2.2.2 Aluminium

The development of aircraft with greater engine power during the 1920s placed increased demands on wood construction that it struggled to meet. The loads on the wings and airframe increased as aircraft became larger and heavier. The wing loading on aircraft built during the 1910s was 30–40 kg m− 2, which could be supported using wooden frames. However, the construction of larger, heavier aircraft in the following decades increased pressure loading on the wings to 500–1000 kg m− 2. Figure 2.4 shows the general trend towards higher wing loads for military aircraft and passenger airliners over the past century. Loads on other parts of the aircraft, particularly the fuselage and tailplane, have also increased. Wood lacks the stiffness, strength and toughness to withstand high loads, and aircraft builders sought other lightweight materials with better structural properties.

2.4 Plot of wing pressure load against year of introduction for several fighters, bombers and airliners.

With steel being too heavy, the aircraft industry in the 1920s turned to aluminium alloys as a replacement for wood. Aluminium is one of the lightest metals; being about 2.5 times lighter than steel. It is stiffer, stronger, tougher and more durable than timber. Also, aluminium can be easily fabricated into thin skin panels and readily machined into spars, stiffeners and beams for the fuselage and wings.

Aluminium had been available in commercial quantities to aircraft manufacturers since the early 1900s, but it was too soft. Aluminium was first used in the airframe of Zeppelin airships during World War I, but it lacked the strength to be used in fixed-wing aircraft that are more heavily loaded. Metallurgists during the early decades of the twentieth century improved the strength properties of aluminium by the addition of alloying elements and development of heat-treatment processes. Various types and amounts of alloying elements were added to aluminium using a trial and error approach to assess the effect on strength. The metals industry experimented with many alloying elements to increase strength and hardness. The industry also tested different heat treatments and metal-forming processes to improve the mechanical properties. A major breakthrough occurred when the addition of a few percent of copper and other alloying elements was found to increase the strength by several hundred percent. The development of the aluminium alloy ‘Duralumin’ in 1906 was largely responsible for the uptake of aluminium by the aircraft industry from the 1920s. Duralumin is an aluminium alloy containing copper (4.4%), magnesium (1.5%) and manganese (0.6%) which is strengthened by heat treatment. Duralumin sparked an explosion in the use of aluminium in highly-stressed aircraft structures, such as the skins, ribs and stiffeners in the wings and fuselage. The use of aluminium also provided the capability to increase the speed, range and size (payload) of aircraft over that possible with wood.

Following the initial success of Duralumin, the mechanical properties of aluminium alloys improved dramatically in the era between the two world wars owing to on-going research and development. From the 1950s, there was a much better understanding of the effects of alloy composition, impurity control, processing conditions and heat treatment on the properties of aluminium. Figure 2.5 shows the sustained improvement in the strength of aluminium alloys since the 1920s. Similar improvements have been achieved with other important properties, including longer fatigue life, greater fracture toughness and damage tolerance, and better corrosion resistance. These developments have been driven largely by the demands of the aerospace industry for more structurally efficient materials. Other major advances in aluminium technology occurred in the 1960s/70s when Al–Li alloys, which have higher stiffness and lower weight than conventional alloys, were developed. New heat-treatment processes developed in the 1970s/80s resulted in better toughness, damage tolerance and corrosion resistance.

2.5 Yield strength of aluminium alloys and the year of introduction into service.

Aluminium is the material of choice for most aircraft structures, and typically accounts for 70–80% of the structural weight of most commercial airliners and over 50% of military aircraft and helicopters. In recent years, however, the percentage of airframe weight consisting of aluminium has declined owing to greater use of carbon fibre-polymer composites. Figure 2.6 shows the recent decline in the use of aluminium in airliners owing to greater usage of composite materials in the fuselage, wings and other major structures. Despite this drop, aluminium will remain an important structural material for both aircraft and helicopters.

2.6 Decline in use of aluminium in passenger aircraft.

2.2.3 Magnesium

Like aluminium, magnesium has been used for many years as an airframe material because of its low weight. Magnesium is lighter (by nearly 40%) than aluminium, although it has never been a serious challenger to aluminium because of its higher cost and inferior structural properties. Magnesium alloys have lower stiffness, strength, fatigue resistance and toughness than the types of aluminium used in aircraft. The greatest problem with magnesium is poor corrosion resistance. Magnesium is highly susceptible to various forms of corrosion, and when used in aircraft requires corrosion protective coatings and regular inspections for corrosion damage.

Magnesium was first used in German military aircraft during World War I and used extensively in German and Japanese aircraft during World War II owing to limited supplies of aluminium. The use of magnesium reached its peak in the 1950s and 60s, and, since the early 1970s, usage has declined and now it is used sparingly (under 1–2% by weight) in modern aerostructures owing to corrosion problems and low mechanical properties. For example, Fig. 2.7 shows the fall in the use of magnesium in Russian-built Tupolev aircraft over the past fifty years, and this reflects the general reduction in magnesium usage in many aircraft types. Magnesium remains a useful material in aircraft and helicopters even though its usage is low, and it is unlikely to be completely eliminated from