Engineering assessment task 3 

Collaborative materials modification

research report 

Authors: Nimrit, Rohan, Caitlin

Date: 18/6/20
Abstract
This report contains information on the history of aircraft within Australia as well as a
sections and materials analysis

HISTORY OF FLIGHT IN AUSTRALIA

The history of flight in Australia has had an impact on the development of the
country.  Moderation of aeronautical engineering and aircrafts in Australia have
come a long way and immensely impacted lives of society and the environment in
many positive and negative ways.
HISTORY
In the early years, aircrafts were originally designed on natural observations such as
the action or wings of birds. The most prevalent form of early aircraft was balloons or
gliders. On December 1903, Wilbur and Orville invented a biplane, or two-winged
Flyer I. It was a 120 foot, 12 second flight at North Carolina. The first ever flight
passenger was American Leon Delagrange in 1908. Subsequent to that, the first
ever scheduled flying service began in 1914 in Florida when Glenn Curtis
established an aircraft that could take off and land on water adequately.
Improvements in aircraft designing were immensely slow as commercial aviation
was not given much recognition. Most flight was for military purposes, which
significantly heightened due to emergence of World War I. Development was
significantly focused on engines, motors and speed. Frank Whittle developed the
turbojet engine in 1938, enabling aircrafts to reach higher speeds. As commercial
flight began receiving more recognition, there was an increasing need for both larger
and faster airplanes to avoid accidents or crashes. During the 1930s, multiple
innovations and alterations commenced. For example, air-cooled engines replaced
water-cooled engines, instruments such as altimeters, airspeed indicators,
compasses and artificial horizon were improved, enabling flight in reduced visibility
such as the night. Overtime, equipment and processes were constantly developed
and advanced, introducing advanced standards of aircrafts such as the Boeing
777X, eventually resulting the most significant flying mechanisms of all time.
 
IMPACTS ON SOCIETY
As society increasingly develops, aeronautical engineering start playing a crucial
role in various aspects of our modern life. The invention of flight has positively
impacted the lives of individuals and general society in Australia through not only
making flight a possibility but also easing overseas commerce. Every new
amendment or intervention of aircraft designing works to bring individuals, families,
cultures and commodities around the world, closer to Australia. Additionally,
aeroplanes have immensely boosted tourism in isolated islands or countries such as
Australia.

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IMPACTS ON ENVIRONMENT
Furthermore, the innovation of aircraft has proven extremely useful to mankind,
however, retains the potential to negatively impact the environment and its
surroundings in many ways. Potential environmental concerns associated with
aircraft encompass pollution, specifically noise pollution, and destruction caused by
flight. For example, pollution is caused from exhaust gases from both piston and
turbine aircraft engines or from the immense noise produced by flight. Exhaust
pollution or greenhouse gas emission would cause the local air quality to decline,
significantly disturbing and damaging local surroundings, causing a loss of terrestrial
and aquatic biodiversity. Additionally, for flight to commence, it requires immense
land to build airports, hence, the clearance of land is inevitable, significantly reducing
the green space. This act of deforestation can severely impact the environment due
to the loss of animal and plant species resultant of their loss of habitat. In addition to
this, the lack of trees also allows greater levels of greenhouse gas emissions into the
atmosphere, ultimately leading to soil erosion and flooding

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AS1100 sketch: Turbine impeller

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(physical copy submitted separately)
Methods of forging
Forging involves physically applying force to shape, producing a stronger
component. The four principle methods of forging comprise of impression die
forging, cold forging, open die forging and seamless rolled ring forging. The
subsequent product of forging retains innumerable beneficial properties and is
hence, more demanded.

Impression Die Forging

Impression Die Forging, also known as closed-die forging, is the most common
method of forging. It involves the pressing of a material between two dies, until its
enlarged sides touch the walls of the die. The process typically utilises aluminium,
titanium, steels or other alloys to manufacture innumerable three-dimensional
shapes. This forging method takes in consideration the favourable grain structure
required via the use of controlled material deformation. Additionally, a prime
characteristic associated with impression die forging is the creation of a fin or flash
around the forged part or component. 

Cold Forging
Cold forging is a variation of impression die forging in which work is done at colder
temperatures. The process encompasses any stages with specific attention to
bending, cold heading, cold drawing, coining, extrusions and yielding to diverse
shapes. Additionally, cold forging produces a greater surface finish and dimensional
accuracy. However, the increased versatility does have its own disadvantages; a
major one being that it requires immense energy and the usage of powerful
equipment. This process is usually avoided on steels, as the metal is too strong for
cold forging due to being Carbon rich.

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Open Die Forging
Open die forging, also known as smith forging, is performed between flat dies, in
which the material isn’t confined laterally by impression dies during the forging
process. This method of forging is especially favourable for
parts over 200,000lbs in weight and 80 feet in length as
these approximate measurements, cater for maximum
results. Categories of open die forging encompass:
 Upsetting: a material is placed within two die and
decreased in height utilising compressive forces. This
reduction in height will also be accompanied with an
increase in width. 

 Cogging: also known as drawing out, is an open die forging

process in which a work is compressed within a flat die,
increasing its height and reducing thickness. 

 Fullering: a workpiece is defomed with convex

surfaces. This is undertaken in order to cause the
metal to creep out from an area to both sides of the
material.

Seamless Rolled Ring Forging

Seamless rolled ring forging describes a process performed via punching a hole to
form a thick and round metal figurine. The material is then rolled, squeezed or
pounded into a thin, round shape. The diameter may vary accordingly, typically
ranging from 2 inches to 30 feet. The basic method of seamless ring forming
comprises of:
1. Starting component is rounded, then undergoes upsetting
2. The component is punched and pierced
3. It is then placed on ring mill
4. The ring rolling process begins
5. Diameter of ring is increased during rotations
6. Desired size is achieved

Reasons of Forging

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There are numerous benefits that come with forging materials and hence, reasons
for forging materials comprise of the following: 
 The controlled deformation at extremely high temperatures enables the work
piece to retain higher overall mechanical properties and structural strength.
Additionally it ensures an increase in impact strength, meaning there is
greater resistance to internal gas pockets or fatigue, enabling an adequate
grain structure and flow.
 The material resultant of forging displays good strength and toughness and
hence, displays high reliability in applications that require high stress.
 Forging is a time efficient method as it can quickly and efficiently generate
products within a short period of time.
 Cost effective benefits: forged parts are relatively cheaper than other
processes
 Environmental benefits: Due to minimal waste or scrap production as per the
forging method, there is a sense of ethical responsibility to forge materials
instead of adopting alternative processes. 

Bushings

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What are bushings?
Tubes used on a slow rotating or oscillating part to improve efficiency and reduce
vibration and noise. They are used to reduce friction
How is a powder metallurgy phosphor bronze bushing made?
Powder metallurgy is a process that
involves the process of mixing a metal
powder with additives then
compressing it, sintering it then
occasionally other machining steps
before creating the finished product.
So, for a phosphor bronze bushing to
be made a bronze powder would need
to be mixed with a phosphor additive
and then compressed into a mould review.com/introduction-to-powder-metallurgy/the-
ready for sintering where the part will be powder-metallurgy-process/
heated below its melting point and thus
bonding the powder together and
creating the finished product. 

How does it compare to a bearing containing ceramic balls?

Depending on the purpose both bushings and ball bearings can have specific
advantages and disadvantages. Bushings require easy access for maintenance as it
requires constant lubrication whereas ball bearings do not require as much
maintenance. However ceramic materials are known to be quite brittle which could
potentially cause major problems upon a minor malfunction.

Why would it be preferable in certain uses?

A bushing would be easily preferable over a ball bearing as it is more suited for slow
moving parts whereas a ball bearing works at higher speeds. Ball bearings also tend
to be more expensive (costing six to ten times as much as a bushing) but they also
can only be used with stronger materials, due to the fact that if the material is too
weak, the balls from the bearing will cut into the metal over time causing problems in
the future. Thus, bushings would be more preferable in situations for slower moving
parts with higher loads or parts made of weaker metals that aren't coated in a
chrome layer or anything of the sort. 

Spring and lock washers

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What specific material is used to make spring and lock washers,
due to its properties?
Although stainless steel is the material that most commonly used for spring and lock
washers, below is a list of advantages and disadvantages for other materials that are
commonly used.
Materials List
Material Advantages Disadvantages

Stainless  High corrosion resistance   More difficult to manufacture 

Steel  Resistance to fire and heat  Not cost effective
 Can retain strength at high  Can be easily smudged with fingerprints
temperatures  thus making it less presentable.
 Good strength to weight ratio 
 Resistance to oxidation 
 Useful for a long period

Bronze  Lighter than steel   More expensive than brass and steel 
 Resists corrosion and metal  Can deteriorate easy as it has a low
fatigue better than most steels  resistance to ammonia and ferric
 Conducts heat and electricity compounds 
really well   Can suffer from ‘bronze disease’
 Can be deformed easy 

Copper  Naturally corrosion resistant   Not as strong as steel

 Lightweight   More expensive than steel  
 Can withstand high temperatures   Susceptible to damage from acids 
 Softer and easier to work with

The reason stainless steel is most commonly used compared to copper or bronze,
despite being more expensive, it can retain its strength for a longer period of time
compared to bronze or copper, thus making it more desirable for manufacturers
who’s designs require a long-lasting strength.

What is the forming process of spring and lock washes?

Spring and lock washes or more commonly referred to as Split-Lock Washers, are
washers in which are cut up springs. These washers have two ends of the coil facing
outward, which allows the spring to bite into the bolt head and the surface it is being
applied to. The forming process starts with a spring. A spring is made through wire
being thread into a machine, which holds and vibrates the wire, which then in return
forms a spring. This spring is then cut as the wire is being spun and vibrates, to
create individual spring lock washers. The most common material used for washers,
is stainless steel, due to its many advantages listed in the table. Other common
materials used for washes include bronze and copper.
  The changes to the grain structure, from the result of the forming process, include
no change at all, due to material just being reshaped. Forging can alter a materials
grain structure, but there is no forging involved in the process of making a spring and
lock washer.

What changes to the grain structure occur, due to the forming

process?

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Within the grain structure of stainless steel, changes can occur under a multitude of
circumstances, for example it can be changed due to hardening, work hardening or
cold forging.
Forging a metal will already have altered the metals grain structure, cold-forging
can help alter the grain structure in a way that is favourable for the requirements of
the material. By doing so this gives the material extra strength thus making it more
desirable.
However, due to the forming process of spring lock washers, the grain structure
would have already been affected during the forming process of the metal, rather
than the forming process of the spring lock washers.

Conclusion
Throughout the course of this assessment, our group has learnt innumerable
collaborative and communicational skills as well a deeper understanding into the
concepts associated with aeronautical engineering. The effective method of
teamwork via equally splitting work followed by reading over each other’s responses,
enabled all of us to gain a deeper understanding of the history of aeronautical
engineering, the methods of forging and the reasons for forging, bushings
specifically what they are preferred within this industry, and finally spring and lock
washers inclusive of their application, forming processes and grain structures.

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