Aluminium Based Metal Matrix Composites for Aerospace Application: A Literature Review

Aerospace is a material intensive industry. Inadequacy of a single or a group of materials to fulfill all the stringent requirements of aerospace industry along with the dual demand of economy and performance have led the researchers to look for new material. Composite is the answer. Although aircraft utilizes numerous elements in their construction, the most important of these is aluminium because of its low density, good castability, high strength, corrosion resistant and good fatigue strength. However its usage is constrained due to its limited strength and hardness. To overcome this, aluminium is combined with various other elements. An example of this includes a family of materials known as aluminum metal matrix composites (Al-MMCs). Of all criteria of material selection for aerospace application, the most important is strength to weight ratio i.e. high specific modulus (E/ρ). Because of its high specific modulus, good mechanical and thermal properties aluminium based metal matrix composites are natural choice for aerospace applications.