Airplane wings upgrade#

“We can provide as much protection as existing steel armor at a fraction of the weight-or provide much more protection at the same weight.' “In short, we found that steel-CMF offers much more protection than all other existing armor materials while lowering the weight remarkably,” Rabiei said in 2018, after he conducted a study looking at explosives. 50 caliber rounds, temperatures as high as 800 degrees Celsius, and even explosive incendiary devices as close as 18 inches away. Steel-steel CMF is a sturdy material, capable of withstanding. The foam used here was a steel-steel CMF, meaning both its hollow pores and matrix were made of steel. The only difference is its cellular structure is made out of metal. Metal foam resembles any other type of foam, with hollow gas-filled spherical pores taking up much of the volume. “And while infused CMF is about the same weight as aluminum, it is tougher and has other characteristics that make it more appealing from a flight performance, safety and fuel efficiency standpoint.”

“We call our hybrid material ‘infused CMF,’” says Afsaneh Rabiei, corresponding author of a paper on the work and a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State, in a press statement. But scientists from North Carolina State University are investigating what might be an even better material: a combination of epoxy resin and what's known as steel composite metal foam, or CMF.

Airplane wings upgrade#

The material is still just in testing, but from bug build to erosion, it appears to offer an upgrade on what aluminum can provide.Īirplane wings are made out of a specific type of aluminum, an alloy that offers a combination of lightness and strength comparable to steel that makes for easy flying.A new study suggests that a newer material, a metal foam made out of steel and epoxy glue, could be even stronger and more effective.

High-grade aluminum has been the standard material of choice for airplane wings for years.