Aerospace

The Aerospace industry has a necessity for materials that are forced to undergo extreme conditions. Material testing is crucial to make sure that all of the parts have the desired characteristics so that they function as required for the environment. Performance materials such as polymers, metals and ceramics are implemented during the manufacturing process for aerospace products. The scientists at Ebatco will provide a professional report to demonstrate that each part has the desired material characteristics. The services provided will integrate seamlessly into your company’s process for development or verification.

Whether you are looking for verification of a current product or developing something new, the lab experts at Ebatco can run the micro- and nano- scale tests required for your product. Our experienced scientists are capable of performing a multitude of materials testing and will be able to meet the needs of your company. Ebatco has the instrumentation to complete mechanical, physical, chemical and other tests on your material to better understand the capabilities of the material.

Comprehensive tests include those on temperature sensitive coatings, surface contaminations, surface finish, surface roughness, and more can give you all of the answers you need to successfully develop and maintain your aerospace business. If you have any questions about the services or instrumentation available at Ebatco, feel free to call or email and a member of our team will be able to further assist you.

Applications

“Short lead time was essential-very good service.” -Daleen Welch, Senior Project Engineer, Aerospace & Defense Company

For more information please read our application notes:
Advancing, Receding and Roll-off Angle Measurements through Sliding Angle Method
Coating Scratch Resistance and Interfacial Adhesion Evaluation through Nanoscratch
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Measurement using TMA
Fracture Failure Analysis of Steel Wire
In-situ and Small-Volume Fracture Toughness Measurement via Nanoindentation
Interfacial adhesion evaluation of paint coating on Pepsi Can through Scratch Testing
Light Load Reciprocating Wear of Computer Hard Disk Coatings
Melting Temperature and Latent Heat of Fusion of Indium
Micro Contact Angle Measurements on Single Particles, Filaments and Patterned Surfaces
Nanoindentation for hardness and elastic modulus measurements at nanoscale
Optical Inspection and Profiling of Defects on a Coated Wafer Surface
Scratch Failure Characteristics of DLC Coating on M2 Steel
SEM EDS Analysis of Bicentennial Penny Patina
Simultaneous Thermal Analysis of the Decomposition of Calcium Oxalate
Specific Heat Capacity of Refractory Material
Thermogravimetric Analysis of Calcium Oxalate
Vickers Hardness Testing of Metallic and Ceramic Materials
Wear Resistance Evaluation and Debris Generation Study through Nano Wear

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Measurement using TMA

When a material is heated, its physical dimensions will change. Typically when heated, the material will expand, although there are some rare exceptions. This expansion is due to increased movement of the constituent atoms at elevated temperature. Elevated temperature forces these atoms to maintain a greater average separation distance than they would at a lower temperature.

The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), α, describes how much the size of an object will change with temperature. While the CTE is normally given as just a single number, it will change depending on the temperature. The magnitude of a given materials CTE is strongly related to the bond energy between its constituent atoms. For example, metals and polymers have much higher CTE’s than ceramics. This can be illustrated using a schematic plot of bond energy vs. atomic separation, as seen in Figure 1.

As a material is heated, its constituent atoms gain more kinetic energy and vibrate with larger amplitudes. When there are many atoms in close proximity, they will spread out to accommodate the larger amplitude, causing the material to expand. The minimum in potential energy is much lower for ceramics than for polymers, increasing the amount of heat required to melt the material as well as reducing the change in interatomic spacing.

Knowing the precise amount of thermal expansion that will occur within a system is critical for many material applications. The components in an internal combustion engine will expand as the engine warms up to operating temperature. Supersonic jets will stretch during flight because of the heat generated by friction with the air. Casting molds will change dimensions as a molten metal is poured in. Any large-scale structures will experience large dimensional changes with small changes in temperature and must be designed to accommodate them.

Ebatco NAT Lab uses a Q400 Thermomechanical Analyzer (TMA) from TA Instruments to accurately measure the CTE of materials. This instrument uses a flat, quartz probe to measure the amount of linear expansion in a material as it is heated. With a displacement resolution of 0.5 nm and a temperature range of -150^oC to 1000^oC, it can measure the CTE of a wide variety of materials across a broad temperature range. The results from thermal expansion tests on aluminum and silicon nitride can be seen in Figures 2 and 3.