February AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 9 2 1 of a Boeing 737 is about 80,000 kg, including the weight of the plane (41,000 kg) and fuel (18,000 kg), leaving about 21,000 kg of Al alloy. Eliminating 20-30% of the Al alloy and replacing it with Al-SiC composite materials trims about 4000 kg, a significant weight sav- ings. With both predicted and observed Al-SiC composite fatigue life of approx- imately 100 times better than the baseline for Al alloys, the use of Al-SiC composites offers not only weight sav- ings, but also component performance enhancement, i.e., better life cycle performance. Further, with increasing hardness as a function of SiC additions, the Al- SiC composite recipe can be tailored for specific applications including blast and ballistic resistant structures, he- licopter structural bodies resistant to projectiles, brakes for racing cars, and drone materials. ~AM&P Acknowledgment This work was conducted through funding support from Lightweight In- novations for Tomorrow (LIFT) under contract number 00006A-6. The authors thank Materion for supplying compos- ite powder materials and Boeing for its participation and stimulating discus- sion during this research. For more information: Jogender Singh, chief scientist, Applied Research Laboratory, Penn State University, Uni- versity Park, PA, 16801, 814.863.9898, jxs46@arl.psu.edu, www.psu.edu. References 1. D.B. Miracle, Metal Matrix Compos- ites – From Science to Technological Significance, Composites Sci. and Technol., 65, p 2526-2540, 2005. 2. M.K. Surappa, Aluminium Matrix Composites: Challenges and Oppor- tunities, Sadhana, Vol 28, Parts 1 & 2, p 319-334, Feb/April 2003. Fig. 11 — Comparison of specific strengths of Al-SiC composites and other conventional engineering materials.