High Performance Aluminum Casting (HPAC) for Landing Gear Components

ORBITEC proposes to develop high-performance, aluminum castings (HPAC) for use in Air Force landing gear structures. The HPAC structures will achieve material properties similar to those of forged structures. The casting process is well suited to the fabrication of components from existing metallic alloys and also facilitates the use of particle and fiber reinforcements to create metal matrix composites to tailor the mechanical properties of the materials. In addition, designers will have the ability to optimize the cast structures by varying the material composition and properties at different points within the landing gear structures. The mature HPAC structures are expected to offer low cost, high strength, aluminum castings that will allow for more efficient manufacturing of aircraft landing gear components. The Phase I effort will involve the selection of candidate materials and manufacturing techniques, the fabrication of material specimens for nondestructive and mechanical testing, the analysis of the material composition and test results, and the development of Phase II fabrication, test, and analysis plans.