Materials for the next generation of aircraft engineers

Researchers are today focusing their efforts on ambitious performance goals for turn‐of‐the‐century military and civil aircraft propulsion systems, objectives set by projects such as the High Speed Civil Transport. One such programme co‐ordinated by NASA and the DoD, the Integrated High‐Performance Turbine Engine Technology Initiative, or IHPTET, seeks to double thrust‐to‐weight ratios to 20:1 by the year 2003. Tomorrow's aircraft engines will undoubtedly run hotter and weigh less than their present‐day counterparts, and will depend on advanced materials. Metal‐matrix composites (MMCs) typically consisting of a titanium alloy matrix and ceramic reinforcement, are generally held as leading candidates because they are light and maintain their strength at higher operating temperatures.