1. The History of Aircraft Materials

2. The History of Aircraft Materials
Questions to answer in this module…
What is the brief history of the materials used to construct aircraft?
Why were these materials adopted?
Why did some materials replace others?
What is the future for materials in aircraft?

3. Rubber
Charles Goodyear – Vulcanization
Tires
Seals and gaskets

4. 1903 - First flight - Wright Brothers
Aluminum engine block
Spruce & steel wire structure
Fabric skin

5. Wright Brothers
Why wood and wire structure?
Why fabric skin?

6. 1903 – Aluminum Engine Block
Most internal combustion engines of the time were of cast iron construction

7. 1907 – Plastic
Leo Hendrik Baekeland – refines plastic production to create bakelite

8. 1915 – All Metal Airplane
Hugo Junkers
Steel tubing
Sheet iron skin

9. 1916 - Stressed Skin Construction
LFG Roland C.II

10. Stressed-Skin Construction
Why stressed-skin?
Skeleton-like space frame
construction used for
non-stressed skin aircraft.

11. 1926 - Semi-Monocoque Construction
Ford Tri-motor

12. Semi-Monocoque Construction
Cutaway view
semi-monocoque
construction

13. 1930’s – Increased Aluminum Use
Duralumin and Alclad

14. 1931 - Stainless Steel Construction
Budd BB-1 Pioneer

15. Steel/ Stainless Steel vs. Aluminum
So why not build all aircraft out of stainless steel?
Corrosion resistance
Weight
Cost
Buckling failure

16. Plastics Use Expands
Plexiglas

17. 1942 - Composites- Fiberglass
Cockpit components for war effort

18. 1940’s – 1950’s Superalloys
Before World War II iron based alloys were developed for high temperture work.
The war increased demand of performance materials for turbochargers and jets.

19. Titanium
The A-12 precursor to the SR-71

20. 1969 - Carbon Fiber Composites
Rolls-Royce RB211 jet turbofan engine

21. 1970 – Boron Fiber Composites
F-14 Tomcat

22. Ceramics
Space Shuttle Thermal Protection Tiles

23. Aluminum-Lithium
Space Shuttle external fuel tank

24. 2005- GLARE
“GLAss-Reinforced” Fiber Metal Laminate (FML)

25. 2009 – Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Large scale composite use

26. Future- Intelligent Materials
Inbedded sensors and monitoring systems
Materials change properties and configurations

27. Future- Nanotechnology
Ultra-strength Composites
Locally tailored materials for
specific requirements

28. Summary
What is the brief history of the materials used to construct aircraft?
Why were these materials adopted?
What is the future for materials in aircraft?