METAL ALLOYS AND THEIR

USE IN SPACE APPLICATIONS

STUDENT: KAROLINA PADILLA
 INTRODUCTION
The main motivations for the development of materials
with applications in aeronautics:
1.Reducing operating costs Desirable characteristics in materials:
2.Extended service life 1. Bear static waight of the aircraft and the
3.Better fuel efficiency additional loads related to taxing, take-off,
4.Increased payload and flight range landing, manoeuvres, turbulence, etc.
2. The materials should have relatively low
Principal goals:
densities for wight reduction and adequate
5.Weight reduction
mechanical properties for the specific
6.Service life extension in aircraft components and application.
structures 3. Damage tolerance to withstand extreme
7.Advance materials should guarantee improved fatigue conditions of temperature, humidity and
and wear behavior ultraviolet radiation
8.Damage tolerance
9.Corrosion resistance
 Aeronautics can be defined as the science that
is responsible for the study and construction
(aeronautical engineering) of vehicles capable
HISTORICAL of flight, and of the factors that favor flight.
Since the First World War, some manufacturers
BACKGROU started to use steel. Its problem lies in its high
ND density, and problems corrosion. From the
appearance of aluminum production methods
that reduced its cost, it begins to pose the use
(as duralumin) of this element due to its low
density, ease of processed and adequate
alloying strength.
Currently ther are 3-5 alloys of aluminum used in
the aeronautical sector, such as:
1. Aluminium-lithium (Al-Li) alloy development
has a long history back to the 1920s. However, it is
only since the 1990s that fundamental
understanding of these alloys has matured and
enabled developing a family of alloys with
excellent combinations of engineering properties,
the so-called 3rd generation Al-Li alloys. Due to
low density of lithium this alloy is very light their
main problem lies in their behavior towards crack
growth.

Picture: Sample of C919 barrel section of fuselage is launched.

2. Duralumin (Al-Cu) is known as the 2xxx series
are used in those components subjected to traction
forces such as the wing intrados (underside of an
airplane wing).
3. Al-Zn alloy, also known as 7xxx whose main
problem is in stress corrosion, phenomenon that
cracks the material due to internal stresses caused
by the treatment applied thermal. They are used for
compressive stresses, such as the extrados. Through
different alloying and processed elements, the aim is
to reduce weight, rather than increasing their
resistance.
4. Other alloys: Al-Zn-Mg and Al-Cu-Ni
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURES
X-RAY DIFFRACTION PATTERNS
MOST COMMON APPLICATIONS
REFERENCES

• GLORIA, Antonio, et al. Alloys for aeronautic applications: State of the

art and perspectives. Metals, 2019, vol. 9, no 6, p. 662.
• WANHILL, R. J. H. Aerospace applications of aluminum–lithium alloys.
En Aluminum-lithium Alloys. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2014. p. 503-
535.
• MÁRQUEZ, Javier Otero. Aleaciones metálicas de aplicaciones en
aeronáutica. 2015.