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CLASSIFICATION OF MATERIALS

• MAJOR TYPES OF MATERIALS THAT YOU KNOW:

• METALS
• CERAMICS
• POLYMERS
• COMPOSITES
• ADVANCED MATERIALS

MATERIAL FAMILIES / SUB-FAMILIES

Materials

Metals Plastics Ceramics Composites Family

(Ashby)

Ferrous Thermoplastics

Non-ferrous Thermosets Sub-family

Elastomers

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MATERIAL SUB-FAMILIES / CLASSES

Materials

Metals
Family

Ferrous
Sub-family

Cast iron
Carbon steel
Alloy steel Classes
Stainless steel

METALS
METALS

Ferrous Non-ferrous
aluminum
cast iron
brass
carbon steel
bronze
alloy steel
copper
stainless steel
lead
magnesium
nickel
tin
titanium
tungsten
zinc
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POLYMER

POLYMERS

Thermoplastics Thermosets Elastomers

ABS alkyd butyl
acetal epoxy fluorocarbon
acrylic melamine neoprene
nylon phenolic nitrile
polycarbonate polyester polysulfide
polyethylene urethane rubber
polypropylene silicone
polystyrene
vinyl

POLYMERS

• Strong, flexible, electrically and thermally insulating, not creep-resistant,

impact-resistant, lightweight, temperature-sensitive, soft, corrosion-resistant
• Thermoplastic: polymers repeatedly softened by heating and hardened
by cooling
• Thermoset: polymers hardened by curing
• Elastomers : ‘elastic polymers’, can either be thermoplastic or thermoset
polymers

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CERAMICS
Strong in compression, weak in tension, brittle, stiff, electrically and
thermally insulating, not impact-resistant, medium weight, very
temperature tolerant, very hard, corrosion-resistant

Ceramic
alumina
beryllia
diamond
magnesia
silicon carbide
silicon nitride
zirconia

SILICON CARBIDE
• excellent corrosion resistant
• low density
• resistant to high temperatures
• high electrical resistance
• high hardness
• low tensile strength
• low toughness difficult to shape
• products: electrical insulators, cutting tools, grinding wheel

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THOUGHTS ABOUT THESE “FUNDAMENTAL” MATERIALS

•METALS: METALLIC BOND
• STRONG, DUCTILE
• HIGH THERMAL & ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY
• OPAQUE, REFLECTIVE.

•POLYMERS/PLASTICS: COVALENT BONDING  SHARING OF E’S

• SOFT, DUCTILE, LOW STRENGTH, LOW DENSITY
• THERMAL & ELECTRICAL INSULATORS
• OPTICALLY TRANSLUCENT OR TRANSPARENT.

•CERAMICS: IONIC BONDING (REFRACTORY) – COMPOUNDS OF METALLIC & NON-

METALLIC ELEMENTS (OXIDES, CARBIDES, NITRIDES, SULFIDES)
• STRONG, HARD, BRITTLE, GLASSY, ELASTIC
• NON-CONDUCTING (INSULATORS)

COMPOSITES
Stiff, strong, light, non-conducting, moderately corrosion-resistant,
sensitive to temperature

Natural Composites Engineering Composites

Bone Reinforced concrete beams
Wood Thermoset composites: Thermoset resins
Bamboo: Natures fiber glass due to (polyurethanes, polesters, epoxies)
pronounced fibrillar structure Glass fibers, Carbon fibers, Synthetic fibers,
which is very apparent when metalfibers, or ceramic fibers
fractured. Thermoplastic composites (polypropylene, nylon,
Muscle and other tissue polyester,TPU,polyimide)
Glass fibers, Carbon fibers, Synthetic fibers,
metalfibers, or ceramic fibers

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PROPERTY PROFILES BY FAMILY

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Metals

Several uses of steel

and pressed aluminum.

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Ceramics

Examples of ceramic materials ranging from household to high performance

combustion engines which utilize both metals and ceramics.

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Polymers

Polymers include “Plastics” and rubber materials

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Composites

Polymer composite materials: reinforcing glass

fibers in a polymer matrix.

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Semiconductors

Micro-Electrical-
Mechanical Systems
(MEMS)

Si wafer for computer

chip devices.

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Material Selection

Different materials exhibit

different microstructures
and resultant Properties

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Material Selection
How do you decide on a specific material for your application ?

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MECHANICAL PROPERTIES IN DESIGN

Designers need to know about mechanical properties…
…to choose the right material for a given component (e.g. a car’s crankshaft) or structure (e.g. a dam).
They need to make sure that there won’t be too much deflection under load, and that the forces won’t be
high enough to cause failure.

X-ray showing an artificial hip joint,

made of metal, which broke in two whilst
inside someone’s leg.

As an engineer, you don’t want to be

famous for designing a component that
failed.

Crack in a bicycle crank

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FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES

Characteristic Behavior Property Units

Strength strong, weak ultimate strength MPa (ksi)
Elastic strength elastic then plastic yield strength MPa (ksi)
Stiffness flexible, rigid modulus of elasticity MPa (Mpsi)
% elongation,
Ductility draws, forms easily dimensionless
% area reduction
Hardness resists surface Brinell No. MPa (ksi)
indentation
Corrosion resistance resists chemicals, galvanic series activity
oxidation number

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FUNDAMENTAL PROPERTIES

Characteristic Behavior Property Units

Fatigue resistance endures many load cycles endurance limit MPa (Mpsi)
thermal
Conductivity conductivity (Btu/hr) / (F-ft),
conducts, insulates
(heat, electric) electrical Mhos
conductivity
Creep resistance time dependent creep strength MPa (ksi)
stretching
Impact resistance shock, impact loads Charpy energy N-m, (ft-lbs)
Density (mass) mass density kg/m3, (slugs/ft3)
heavy, light
Density (weight) weight density N/m3, (lbs/ft3)
Temperature tolerance softens, or melts easily melting point degrees C, F

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THE MATERIALS SELECTION PROCESS

1. Pick Application Determine required Properties

Properties: mechanical, electrical, thermal,
magnetic, optical, deteriorative.

2. Properties Identify candidate Material(s)

Material: structure, composition.

3. Material Identify required Processing

Processing: changes structure and overall shape
ex: casting, sintering, vapor deposition, doping
forming, joining, annealing.

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COURSE GOAL IS TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE

OF MATERIAL SELECTION BY:

• Using the right material for the job.

one that is most economical and
“Greenest” when life usage is considered

• Understanding the relation between

properties, structure, and processing.

• Recognizing new design opportunities offered

by materials selection.

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PROCESSING AND MATERIALS SELECTION

• PROCESSING OF MATERIALS DRAMATICALLY AFFECTS THE PROPERTIES
• STEEL: heat treatments provides many variations of steel
• ALUMINUM- heat treatments provides many variations of al
• PLASTICS- quenching of PET enable clear bottles for sodas
• COMPOSITES- post curing improves strengths and stiffness

• MATERIALS SELECTION
• MATERIALS ARE SELECTED FOR APPLICATIONS BASED UPON
• Cost of part (piece price)
• Material cost accounts for 50% to 90% of total part cost
• Mechanical properties
• stiffer materials for load bearing applications (tensile modulus)
• stronger materials for impact and bending applications
• electrical and thermal properties
• Shape
• forming a material to a particular shape limits material selection
• Appearance
• paintability, shininess, texture, smell, etc.

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MATERIAL SELECTION CRITERIA FOR AIRCRAFT

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STATIC STRENGTH
• Material must support ultimate loads without failure. material
must support limit loads without permanent deformation.
• initial evaluation for each component
• usually aluminum is the initial material selection
• if aluminum cannot support the applied load within the
size limitation of the component, higher strength
materials must be considered (titanium or steel)
• if aluminum is too heavy to meet the performance
requirements, graphite/epoxy or next generation
materials should be considered

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STIFFNESS

• Deformation of material at limit loads must not interfere with safe

operation
• there are cases where meeting the static strength requirement
results in a component that has unacceptable deflections
• if that is the case, the component is said to be a ‘stiffness’ design

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FATIGUE (CRACK INITIATION)

The ability of a material to resist cracking under cyclical loading

• stress concentration factors
• component is limited to a certain stress level based on the
required life of the airframe
• further processing may improve fatigue properties such as shot
peening or cold working

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DAMAGE TOLERANCE (CRACK GROWTH)

• The ability of a material to resist crack propagation under cyclical

loading
• slow crack growth design
• use of alloys with increased fracture toughness

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WEIGHT

• Low weight is critical to meeting aircraft performance goals

• materials are tailored for specific requirements to minimize weight
• materials with higher strength to weight ratios typically have higher
acquisition costs but lower life cycle costs (i.e. lower fuel consumption)

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CORROSION
• Surface corrosion
• galvanic corrosion of dissimilar metals
• surface treatments
• proper drainage
• Stress corrosion cracking
• certain alloys are more susceptible to stress corrosion cracking
• especially severe in the short transverse grain direction

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PRODUCIBILITY
• Commercial availability
• fabrication alternatives
• PM
• machined from plate
• machined from forging
• casting

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COST
• Raw material cost comparisons
• aluminum plate = $2 - $3 / lb.
• steel plate = $5 - $10 / lb.
• titanium plate = $15 - $25 / lb.
• fiberglass/epoxy prepreg = $15 - $25 / lb.
• graphite/epoxy prepreg = $50 - $100 / lb.
• Detail fabrication costs
• Assembly costs
• Life cycle costs
• cost of weight (loss of payload, increased fuel consumption)
• cost of maintenance

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SPECIALIZED REQUIREMENTS

• temperature
• lightning and static electricity dissipation
• erosion and abrasion
• marine environment
• impact resistance

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Performance Vs. Cost Dilemma

• Highest performance for the lowest cost is the goal of every

airplane material selection.
• compromise is required

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Material Types

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ALUMINUM
• Aluminum accounts for ~80% of the structural material of most
commercial and military transport aircraft
• Inexpensive and easy to form and machine
• Alloys are tailored to specific needs
• 2000 series alloys (aluminum-copper-magnesium) are medium to high
strength with good fatigue resistance but low stress corrosion cracking
resistance.
• 2024-t3 is the yardstick for fatigue properties
• 5000 and 6000 series alloys are low to medium strength but easily
welded

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ALUMINUM (CONT.)

• 7000 series alloys (aluminum-zinc-magnesium-copper) are high strength

with improved stress corrosion cracking resistance but most have no
better fatigue properties than 2000 series
• 7050 and 7075 alloys are widely used
• 7475 alloy provides higher fatigue resistance similar to 2024-t3

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ALUMINUM TEMPERS

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ALUMINUM TEMPERS (CONT.)

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ALUMINUM TEMPERS (CONT.)

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ALUMINUM COMPARISON CHART

Material Typical Application
2024-T3, High Strength Tension Applications. Best
T351, Fracture Toughness/Slow Crack Growth Rate
T42 and Good Fatigue life. Thick Forms Have Low
Short Transverse Properties including Stress
Corrosion Cracking.
2324-T3 8% Improvement In Strength Over 2024-T3 With
Increased Fatigue And Toughness Properties.
7075-T6, High Strength Compression Applications.
T651, Higher Strength Than 2024-T3, But Lower
T7351 Fracture Toughness. T7351 has Excellent
Stress Corrosion Cracking Resistance and
Better Fracture Toughness Than T6.
7050-T7451 Better Properties Than 7075-T7351 In Thicker
Sections.

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TITANIUM
• Better strength to weight ratio than aluminum or steel
• Typically comprises ~5% by weight in commercial aircraft and up to
~25% by weight for high performance military aircraft
• Good corrosion resistance
• Good temperature resistance
• Good fatigue and damage tolerance properties in the annealed
form
• Typical alloy is Ti 6Al-4V either annealed or solution treated and
aged
• High cost for metals

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STEEL
• Steel may be selected when tensile strengths greater than titanium are
necessary
• Steel is usually limited to a few highly loaded components such as
landing gear
• There are many steel alloys to choose from (see chart); select the one
that is tailored for your application.

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STEEL (CONT.)
Mil-Hdbk-5 List of Aerospace Steel Alloys:

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COMPOSITE
• The embedding of small diameter high strength high modulus fibers in a
homogeneous matrix material
• Material is anisotropic (much stronger in the fiber oriented directions)
• Fibers
• graphite (high strength, stiffness)
• fiberglass (fair strength, low cost, secondary structure)
• kevlar (damage tolerant)
• Matrix
• epoxy (primary matrix material) to 250° F
• bismaleimide (high temp applications) to 350° F

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MATERIAL PROPERTIES COMPARISON

Material Ftu Fty Fcy E Density
6 3
(ksi) (ksi) (ksi) (10 psi) (lb/in )
2024-T3 Aluminum 64 47 39 10.5 .101
7075-T6 Aluminum 78 71 70 10.3 .101
6Al-4V Titanium 134 126 132 16.0 .160
Annealed
6Al-4V Titanium 150 140 145 16.0 .160
Solution Treated and
Aged
15-5PH Stainless 154 145 152 28.5 .283
Steel (H1025)
Fiberglass Epoxy 80 60 5 .065
(Unidirectional)
Graphite Epoxy 170 140 22 .056
(Unidirectional)

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NEXT GENERATION MATERIALS

• Aluminum lithium
• Glare (fiberglass reinforced aluminum)
• Tigr (graphite reinforced titanium)

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