Scientists propose a method to assess strength of materials for aerospace industry
Scientists of Lobachevsky University and the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have designed an experimental test bench to determine the elastic characteristics of carbon plastics, polymer composite materials for manufacturing high strength and lightweight products. The development will make it possible to assess the quality of import-substituting materials for the aerospace industry.
”The use of carbon fibre reinforced plastics is increasing every year. Today, carbon composites are used to manufacture various products: from racing supercar bonnets and electric guitar decks to individual elements and entire assemblies in the aviation and space industries, where the cost of error is too high. Our method makes it possible to determine the elastic characteristics of these materials as accurately as possible,” said Kirill Mineev, one of the co-authors of the design, researcher at the laboratory of intense millimetre-range radiation sources at the UNN Faculty of Radiophysics.
Transverse deformation in the composite material test specimen under impact loading is measured by a microwave interferometer. Longitudinal strain is measured using standard strain gauges. From these values, a coefficient is calculated to evaluate the mechanical properties of the material. Sounding by microwave radiation makes it possible to achieve high accuracy of measurements irrespective of the quality of surface treatment of the composite material. Moreover, microwave signals are not scattered in dust clouds, which can be released upon impact on the sample.
UNN researchers have already noted a high interest to their development on the part of Russian manufacturers of composites for aviation and space.
”In the situation of restricted supplies of foreign composites, the production of Russian polymers is actively developing. The test laboratories of such production facilities can be equipped with the test benches developed in Nizhny Novgorod, and no more than two persons will be required for their operation”, Kirill Mineev pointed out.
The technology was patented in 2024 with the assistance of the UNN Technology Transfer Centre.
The research was performed by the staff of the laboratory of intense millimetre-range radiation sources at the UNN Faculty of Radiophysics and the UNN Research Institute of Mechanics with the participation of the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The project was initiated as part of the Priority 2030 federal programme. The research results were published in the highly rated international Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves.
