SPARTA, INC.

SPARTA, INC. PROPOSES A PROGRAM TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF FABRICATING THERMALLY COMPATIBLE RIVET AND THREADED FASTENERS USING HIGH TEMPERATURE (HT) ALUMINUM ALLOYS (AL-FE) FOR APPLICATION WITH 350 TO 650 DEG F AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I WILL BE TO PRODUCE FASTENERS WHICH ARE COMPATIBLE WITH HIGH TEMPERATURE ALUMINUM, CAN OPERATE IN AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENT, AND WILL SUSTAIN THE STRUCTURAL LOADS. THE PROGRAM WILL INVESTIGATE ALLOY AND PROCESSING VARIATIONS OF THE AL-FE-X CLASS OF HIGH TEMPERATURE ALUMINUMS AND IDENTIFY THOSE PARAMETER VARIABLES WHICH WILL RESULT IN MATERIALS WITH THE FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTES: HIGH STRENGTH AT TEMPERATURE, MALLEABILITY (DUCTILITY), AND FRACTURE TOUGHNESS. THE PHASE I APPROACH WILL INCLUDE: 1) IDENTIFICATION OF TYPICAL AIRCRAFT COMPONENT APPLICATIONS AND ASSOCIATED DESIGN REQUIREMENTS, 2) IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF AL-FE-X ALLOYS AND PROCESSING (E.G., HEAT TREAT) APPROACHES, 3) COMPONENT DESIGN STUDIES, 4) MEASUREMENT OF CRITICAL MECHANICAL PROPERTIES, 5) FABRICATION OF RIVETS AND TESTING IN ASTM JOINTS, 6) ANALYSIS OF "MOST PROMISING" FASTENER MATERIALS IN TYPICAL PARTS, AND 7) DOCUMENTATION OF RESULTS.