Here’s a quick checklist that can help you to determine whether your project is planned properly and whether you are ready to proceed to execute your project: The Absolute Minimum At this point, you should have a solid understanding of the following: The map in Figure 5.7 summarizes the main points reviewed in this chapter.
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High-temperature strength of aluminium
An important consideration when using aluminium alloys (and other materials) in aircraft structures is softening that occurs at elevated temperature. Care must be taken when selecting materials for supersonic aircraft to ensure structural weakening does not occur owing to excessive heating. Material properties such as stiffness, strength, fatigue resistance and toughness are degraded at high temperature.… Continue reading High-temperature strength of aluminium
Heat treatment of age-hardenable aluminium alloys
Background The heat-treatment process of age-hardenable aluminium alloys called ageing is essential to achieve the high mechanical properties required for aerostructures. Without the ageing process, the heat-treatable alloys would not have the properties needed for highly loaded aircraft components. As mentioned, the ageing process is only effective in the 2000, 4000 (containing Mg), 6000, 7000… Continue reading Heat treatment of age-hardenable aluminium alloys
Speciality aluminium alloys
Occasionally, existing aluminium alloys do not have all the properties required for an aerospace application, and so the aircraft industry develops a new alloy. The practice of developing new aluminium alloys was common in the era between the mid-1930s and 1970 to meet the needs of the rapid advances in the aerospace industry. For example,… Continue reading Speciality aluminium alloys
Age-hardenable aluminum alloys
The 2000, 6000, 7000 and many 8000 alloys can be strengthened by age-hardening. It is only by age-hardening that aluminium alloys obtain the strength needed for use in highly loaded structures and, therefore, this process is critical in the construction of aircraft. We first examine the composition and uses of the age-hardenable alloys used in… Continue reading Age-hardenable aluminum alloys
Non-age-hardenable aluminium alloys
The use of non-age-hardenable wrought alloys in aircraft is limited because they lack the strength, fatigue resistance and ductility needed for structural components such as skin panels, stiffeners, ribs and spars. The proof strength of most tempered non-age-hardenable alloys is below 225 MPa, which is inadequate for highly stressed aircraft structures. However, these alloys are… Continue reading Non-age-hardenable aluminium alloys
Aluminum alloy types
Casting and wrought alloys Aluminium alloys are classified as casting alloys, wrought non-heat-treatable alloys or wrought heat-treatable alloys. Casting alloys are used in their as-cast condition without any mechanical or heat treatment after being cast. The mechanical properties of casting alloys are generally inferior to wrought alloys, and are not used in aircraft structures. Casting… Continue reading Aluminum alloy types
Introduction
Aluminium has been an important aerospace structural material in the development of weight-efficient airframes for aircraft since the 1930s. The development of aircraft capable of flying at high speeds and high altitudes would have been difficult without the use of high-strength aluminium alloys in major airframe components such as the fuselage and wings. Compared with… Continue reading Introduction
Machining of metals
The final stage in the fabrication of aircraft metal structures involves the machining operations of milling, routing, trimming and drilling. Metal components are rarely in their final shape at the end of processing, and it is necessary to remove excess material using a variety of machining processes. Increasingly, these processes are being carried out automatically… Continue reading Machining of metals
Powder metallurgy for production of aerospace superalloys
Forging, extrusion, rolling and other working operations are used in the forming and shaping of aluminium, magnesium, titanium and steel structural components for aerospace applications. However, it is difficult to shape nickel-based superalloys for jet engine components using these same working operations. Superalloys are so-named because of their very high alloy content; typically 40–60% of… Continue reading Powder metallurgy for production of aerospace superalloys