Materials for Extreme Environments
Abstract
The Materials for Extreme Environments thrust is exploring new materials, innovative architectures, and development processes that will significantly enhance the performance and persistence of DoD platforms operating in extremely harsh environments. Materials with superior strength, functionality, and resiliency are critical for enabling DoD platforms, weapons and other components to operate and persist under conditions including, but not limited to, extremely high or low temperatures, turbulence, ionizing radiation, and/or corrosive environments. Recent developments in materials such as high entropy alloys, superconducting materials, and infiltrated carbon fiber composites hold promise for achieving material solutions for improved survivability in a wide range of harsh environmental conditions. Similarly, advancements in material design, processing and manufacturing are enabling novel material architectures that can further enhance performance and resilience in structures such as leading edges, windows and apertures, propulsion systems, and space structures. Exemplar areas of research within the Materials for Extreme Environments thrust include the following: 1) high temperature materials for hypersonic platforms, 2) high temperature window and aperture materials, 3) radiation and/or electromagnetic pulse (EMP) hardened electronics for space platforms, 4) coatings for platform survivability in corrosive environments, 5) active and passive cooling methods for apertures and forward-facing vehicle features, and 6) high magnetic field and superconducting materials for undersea magnetohydrodynamic pumps.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2024
- Source ID
- fb4a7d4da36365ae430fd59115aae651