Latest Stories

Briefs
Energy

Biobased Carbon Fibers and Thermosetting Resins for Use in DOD Composites Applications

The aim was to use renewable resources derived from plants and other sources to prepare high-performance carbon fiber and thermosetting matrix resins with high strength and high thermal resistance.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

Air Force Explores Use of Thermoplastic Fin for F-16

Collins Aerospace was awarded a contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory to build an advanced, high-impact resistant, F-16 ventral fin using Collins’ thermoplastic welding...

Feature Image

INSIDER
Manned Systems

Collins Aerospace to Manufacture F-15EX Wheels and Brakes

Collins Aerospace recently announced its selection by Boeing to provide boltless wheels and carbon brakes for lots one through three on the F-15EX aircraft in production for the...

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

DEVCOM Forms International Partnership to Study Superhard Materials

Developing world-class advanced technology for soldiers on the battlefield is a key part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s (DEVCOM) mission....

Feature Image

Articles
Materials

Solving Signal Interference Challenges in Aerospace and Defense Electronics

As the complexity of signal challenges in aerospace and defense technology increases, design engineers need to creatively combine materials to solve multiple problems at once.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Aerospace

Ceramic Matrix Composites Offer Lighter, More Durable Engine Parts

If you're looking for the next cool idea in sustainable aviation, Pratt & Whitney's (P&W) Andy Lazur may have just the thing. Only it’s designed to run hot.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

NASA to Increase Sustainable Aircraft Manufacturing with HiCAM

One of the aeronautical challenges of the 21st century is finding a way to quickly construct new, sustainable aircraft. Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM), one...

Feature Image

Articles
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Molded RF Materials for Hypersonic Sensors and Seekers

Hypersonics and the materials needed therein are critical to both our nation’s defense and our national economy, says one feature writer.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

Air Force Awards $100 Million to Continue B-1 Digital Engineering Program

The B-1 System Program Office (SPO) recently awarded a six-year, $100 million follow-on contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation...

Feature Image

INSIDER
Green Design & Manufacturing

Making Carbon Aircraft Brakes More Environmentally Friendly

For those onboard a commercial jet, the lowering of the landing gear is a familiar sound signaling the home stretch of the flight. Then comes the sound of wheels on the tarmac,...

Feature Image

Briefs
Materials

Fatigue Behavior of an Advanced Melt-Infiltrated SIC/SIC Composite with Environmental Barrier Coating at 1200°C in Air and in Steam

SiC fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composites are being evaluated for aircraft engine hot-section components.

Feature Image

Briefs
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Bio-Based Polyurethane Containing Isosorbide for Use in Composites and Coatings

Polyurethane can be easily molded or cast into a film at ambient conditions.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

New Airfield Matting System Being Developed

Since the 1940s, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has evaluated expeditionary airfield matting systems that allow military units to quickly build runways, hangar...

Feature Image

Articles
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Developing Thermoplastic Composites for Use in Commercial Aircraft

Thermoplastic composite materials (TPC) are gaining momentum for use in commercial airplanes and other aerospace applications, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

Material Could Make Aircraft as Quiet as a Hairdryer

An incredibly light new material that can reduce aircraft engine noise and improve passenger comfort has been developed at the University of Bath (UK). The aerogel weighs just 2.1 kg...

Feature Image

Articles
Imaging

Advanced CT Inspection and Data Analysis

Learn about the ways to ensure that your composite designs are structurally sound.

Feature Image

Briefs
Materials

Biobased Carbon Fibers and Thermosetting Resins for Use in DOD Composites Applications

Advanced bio-based fibers and high-performance thermosetting resins will help reduce the dependence of military composites on high-cost petroleum.

Feature Image

Application Briefs
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Portable 3D Printing Factory

The fully operational, self-contained 3D printing “factory” is housed in a shipping container.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Collins Aerospace to Modernize B-52 Wheels and Brakes

As the U.S. Air Force extends the operational service life of the B-52 Stratofortress into the 2050s, it has selected Collins Aerospace to design and develop a new wheel and carbon...

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

Nanoscale Materials Could Reduce Manufacturing, Aviation Greenhouse Gasses

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) is partnering with 16 industrial partners on the MASTRO project, which is tasked with...

Feature Image

Articles
Aerospace

More Bang for the Buck: A New Design and Manufacturing Method for Deep Penetrating Bomb Cases

There is a new way to design penetrators and projectiles: Composites.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

Army Awards $13.5 Million for High-Speed Missile Materials Research

The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University announced a new $13.5 million award from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development...

Feature Image

Articles
Materials

How Advanced Vacuum Bag Kits Streamline Composite Parts Manufacturing

The manufacturing of complex composite aerospace components is a labor-intensive process, especially the application of the vacuum bag layers needed for consolidation and cure.

Feature Image

Briefs
Sensors/Data Acquisition

Designing Sensory and Adaptive Composite Materials

Newly developed computational approaches aid in the design of composites that exhibit remarkable abilities to both sense external cues and adapt to these cues in controllable, "programmable" ways.

Feature Image

Briefs
Energy

Design of New Piezoelectric Composites Using Nanocellulose

Using cellulose crystals as building blocks for the design and development of new low-density functional polymer composites.

Feature Image

Briefs
Materials

Bioenvironmental Engineering Guide for Composite Materials

Develop a comprehensive baseline for identifying, evaluating, and controlling occupational and environmental hazards associated with composite fibers.

Feature Image

Briefs
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Fast Reacting Nano-Composite Energetic Materials: Synthesis and Combustion Characterization

The advent of nanoparticle fuels enables new kinds of reactions, and new kinds of applications.

Feature Image

Briefs
Aerospace

Progress on Zirconia-Polyurea Matrix Hybrid Composites

Incorporating zirconia particles into polyurea elastomers to form hybrid composites and designing them into state-of-the-art body armor has the potential to achieve lightweight ballistic efficiency.

Feature Image

INSIDER
Materials

Hybrid Nanomaterials Hold Promise for Improved Ceramic Composites

Researchers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are seeking to patent a novel process for manufacturing a type of material called preceramic polymer-grafted nanoparticles,...

Feature Image