Future Technology for Aerospace Structures Technology

The increasing importance of hypersonic systems future USAF requirements is increasing the need for lightweight, load-bearing structural designs. The optimum approach to this need is a hot primary structure that can carry the required loads at hightemperatures, which minimizes the need to heavily insulate the primary load-bearing structure. This desire, combined with the goal of lightweight and a robust maintainable structure, led NASP to select Titanium Matrix Composites (TMC) as one of itsprimary approaches. Under NASP, TMC was proven to be a good solution with capabilities up to 1500¿F, and the ability to use conventional titanium assembly techniques. However, the TMC processing methods in the 1990- 1992 timeframe, i.e., foil/fiber/foiland plasma spray, suffered from very high cost and reliability problems.FMW has transitioned an affordable, reliable TMC into production on the F-16 using a tape casting process. FMW, with Boeing as a subcontractor, proposes to apply the system to the Air Force hot primary structure requirement. The proposed program willdemonstrate that the state-of-the-art TMC material system can duplicate the NASP manufacturing accomplishments and design a full-scale part to be fabricated and tested in Phase II. Demonstration of hot TMC primary structure will have far reaching impact on the military hypersonic vehicle development. Both manned and unmanned systems will be impacted.