The materials used to create the aircraft have changed a lot since the first flight. How do engineers choose what airplanes will be made of?
Before you begin your journey, you take a comfortable airplane and think: “Wait, this plane weighs several hundred tons. How do we even fly? ”.
Airlines have developed their strategies to combat this problem. In addition to flight physics, the use of lightweight materials is a hot issue.
The Boeing aircraft manufacturer recently introduced the world's lightest metal, microlattice, which is very durable and lightweight and consists of air in 99, 99 percent. Boeing hopes that the ultralight metal will mean a significant shift in aircraft production.
The new Boeing metal is the latest scientific achievement in the aviation field. Engineers improved the material of which the planes are composed, since the first commercial flight. For many decades, the main material was aluminum.
Aluminum has many qualities that are necessary in aircraft construction: it is relatively durable, lightweight and non-corrosive. Forty years ago, 70% of the aircraft was made of pure aluminum. This number has decreased to 20% at present, mainly due to the development of aluminum alloys. The most common alloy used in the manufacture of aircraft, called 7075, which consists of a small amount of zinc, magnesium and copper, as well as impurities of manganese, silicon, iron, titanium and other metals. New metal processing technologies have led to the appearance of nanocomposites with improved optical, electrical and magnetic properties.
The great advantage of composites is that in addition to strength and weight, they can be cast into complex shapes. This reduces the need for heavy fasteners or connections, which are potential points of failure.
So the next time you think about how such a large object can fly through the air, think about the fact that you are surrounded by several hundred different varieties of light metals.
