Up Close: Materials Sciences at Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory
- PDF / 4,912,541 Bytes
- 5 Pages / 604.8 x 806.4 pts Page_size
- 104 Downloads / 189 Views
Lockheed's Research Laboratory was established in 1956 to support the recently founded Lockheed Missiles and Space Division. The earliest products of the division were a new génération of submarine-launched ballistic missile—Polaris and the Agena spacecraft. It was immediately recognized that both required advances in materials technology and the Materials Sciences Directorate was established in the research laboratory to address those needs. Today, materials researchers are conducting investigations in a wide range of topics in metallurgy, chemistry, structures, and nondestructive test/ évaluation. The laboratory has a particularly strong capability in performance analysis and problem identification/resolution for solid rocket propulsion Systems. Current work on the Trident II continues the laboratory's contributions to the Polaris, Poséidon, and Trident I missiles. Efforts are also focused on materials for other aerospace applications, such as advanced aircraft, the NASA Space Station (Freedom), and the Stratégie Défense Initiative. Examples of materials sciences achievements include the development of the space shuttle's heat shield tiles, the first use of lithium as an anode in batteries, a real-time x-ray inspection System for large rocket motors, and coated and un-
MRS BULLETIN/NOVEMBER1989
Figure 1. 800% superplastic elongation achieved in yttria-stabilized polycrystalline zirconia ceramic.
coated refractory métal hot gas manifolds for ballistic missile propulsion. The organization has a staff of about 170 professionals. Metallurgy Researchers in metallurgy investigate chemical, physical, and mechanical behavior of metals, ceramics, and composite materials. Studies include alloy development, protective coatings, mechanical behavior of materials, and advanced forming techniques. The labo-
ratory also évaluâtes the performance of a wide range of metallic and nonmetallic components used in aerospace Systems. Materials for high-temperature applications are developed for uses up to 1800°C and include refractory metals, superalloys, intermetallics, and ceramics. In addition, protective surface coatings are being studied for propulsion Systems and gas turbine engines. The laboratory is an industry leader in simulated environmental testing and use of spécial coatings for corrosion control. Corrosion research includes both aqueous and gaseous (high-temperature) aspects. Rapid solidification processing (RSP) is being used to develop alloys with spécial properties. For example, melt spinning of aluminum-lithium-beryllium compositions results in an alloy with mechanical properties compétitive with commercially available material used for aircraft, but with 20% lower density and 50% higher stiffness. Rapid solidification of aluminum plus zirconium with other elemental additions results in excellent thermal stability to over 425°C. The laboratory is also investigating spray casting as a technique to produce very high toughness materials. Rapidly solidified magnésium alloys hâve been developed with the potential of prov
Data Loading...
