Aluminium matrix composite

Citation

(1998), "Aluminium matrix composite", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770eab.019

Aluminium matrix composite

Aluminium matrix composite

Keywords Aircraft, Aluminium, Composite materials, Fins

An aluminium matrix composite, developed by DWA Composite Specialties, Chatsworth, California has been fabricated into a ventral fin for the US Air Force F-16 jet fighter. Ventral fins, located under the aft section of the fuselage provide added stability during tight, high-speed turns. However, they are subjected to severe buffeting and turbulence, which has caused conventional aluminium alloy fins to fail in less than 400 hours of flight time. To solve the problem, researchers at Wright Patterson Air Force Base Materials Directorate worked with DWA to develop a ventral fin with higher stiffness.

The discontinuously reinforced aluminium (DRA) composite has a matrix of aluminium alloy 6,092, reinforced with particles of silicon carbide. Stiffness is about 50 per cent higher than monolithic aluminium and the composite fin is more stable, yet the weight is the same. Material cost has dropped by more than 50 per cent since the programme began, and is currently nearly 30 per cent below the programme goal. Furthermore, DRA is machinable by conventional practice.

DRA fins are projected to last 7,000 hours, more than twice the expected life of the original fins, and more than 17 times longer than actual operating life. This marks the first large-scale structural application of DRA in production aircraft.

For further details contact Mark Van Den Berg, DWA Composite Specialties, Chatsworth, California 91311, USA. Tel: + 1 818 998 1504.