Abstract
This paper reviews the potential of polymer and ceramic matrix composites for aerospace/space vehicle applications. Special, unique and multifunctional properties arising due to the dispersion of nanoparticles in ceramic and metal matrix are briefly discussed followed by a classification of resulting aerospace applications. The paper presents polymer matrix composites comprising majority of aerospace applications in structures, coating, tribology, structural health monitoring, electromagnetic shielding and shape memory applications. The capabilities of the ceramic matrix nanocomposites to providing the electromagnetic shielding for aircrafts and better tribological properties to suit space environments are discussed. Structural health monitoring capability of ceramic matrix nanocomposite is also discussed. The properties of resulting nanocomposite material with its disadvantages like cost and processing difficulties are discussed. The paper concludes after the discussion of the possible future perspectives and challenges in implementation and further development of polymer and ceramic nanocomposite materials.
Highlights
Nanocomposites are the materials of twenty-first century having an annual growth rate of 25% due to their multifunctional capabilities
We focus on the structural applications of nanocomposites suitable for aerospace and space vehicles
The capability to tailor materials at nanoscale has opened up the possibilities of developing next-generation multifunctional materials suitable to meet the requirements posed by the aerospace industry
Summary
Nanocomposites are the materials of twenty-first century having an annual growth rate of 25% due to their multifunctional capabilities. PMNC and CMNC have found applications for aircrafts and spacecrafts (see Fig. 1), whereas the use of metal matrix nanocomposite is limited due to the limitations of processing Due to their ease of production, PMNCs have been widely used (Alexandre and Dubois 2000; Pandey et al 2005; Thostenson et al 2005; Choi and Awaji 2005; Ray and Bousmina 2005; Andrews and Weisenberger 2004). Compared to microfiber composites, LSbased nanocomposites show improvements in moduli, strength, heat resistance and biodegradability along with decreased flammability and gas permeability These improvements make LS-based nanocomposites attractive for aerospace applications (Bharadwaj 2001; Ray et al 2002; Giannelis 1998).
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