Advanced Materials for Aerospace and Space Applications

Constant swirls of innovative ideas are starting to push composites and hybrid metal-composite components for use in an ever expanding circle of products. Recent discoveries of Graphene/Au composites have invigorated innovations for its application to aerospace and space products. Attributes such as a low CTE, stiffness, and light weight attract other manufacturers of smaller products to use composites for enhanced performance and durability. The uses and economics of composites is an enormously broad subject. Examples of composite materials will be described in this paper to provide samples of applications selected for their far reaching potential to enhance product performance. Examples will also be presented to explain the application of carbon based composites where the product performance or application would not be possible without special materials. This paper will also describe emerging materials such as graphene and some of its applications to enhance the performance of current technologies. It is easy become enamored with the composite big parts built for trains, planes, automobiles, ships, and wind turbine blades. We sometimes forget that there is a world of composites that exists outside these highly visible products where composites materials are contributing in substantial ways to other product's improvement. Many times the use of composites is integrated into the larger products in the form of components where tribology is critical to performance or coatings are needed to provide thermal protection.