NASA 1996 STTR Phase I
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Proposal Number:
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960031
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Project Title:
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MANUFACTURE OF COST-AFFORDABLE METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE SPACE STRUCTURES
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Small Business Concern:
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Castex
14657 S.W. Teal Blvd. #260
Beaverton - OR 97007
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Research Institution:
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Ohio State University
2070 Neil Avenue
Columbus - OH 43210
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Principal Investigator/Project Manager:
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Mr. Xuan Nguyen-Dinh
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Technical Abstract:
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This project seeks to scale-up the manufacturing technology for
HyperMMCTM, a discontinuously reinforced aluminum (DRA)
composite, exhibiting exceptional room temperature yield
strength (555 MPa) at 0.2 volume fraction reinforcement. The
reinforcement is a proprietary titanium-based particulate which
provides wetting and chemical bonding to the matrix alloy, in
this instance aluminum alloy A 354. Further, HyperMMC has the
lowest cost-to-performance ratio amongst all DRA composites
evaluated to date.
The main goal of Phase I work is to demonstrate the feasibility
of manufacturing net- shape HyperMMC components which exhibit
reliable mechanical properties. Current research at Ohio State
University on the processing and mechanical behavior of metal
matrix composites will be brought to bear in this project to
achieve this goal. The following are the anticipated results
for Phase I work
Experimentally scale up the weight of the processed composite
to 15 kg batches;
Experimentally determine process parameters suitable for
producing sound components from investing casting and die
casting;
Identify by computed tomography the flaw size resulting from
each casting process;
Determine the fracture and fatigue properties of the cast
composite, as a means to validate the efficacy of the selected
process parameters, and establish a predictive life model of
HyperMMC.
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Potential Commercial Applications:
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Space structures: truss joints, beams; Engine propulsion
systems: frame, injector dome for combustion chamber;
Transportation systems: compressor rotor for turbochargers,
brake calipers and pads; Electronic packaging: semiconductor
heat sink module; Recreation and leisure goods: bicycle frame,