Course goals and contents
The course is aimed to students following higher degree programs (Laurea magistrale) in Aeronautical Engineering, Space Engineering, Mechanical Enginering and Materisl Engineering willing to complete their knowledge with concepts of structural mechanics, materials science and technology, which were introduced in previous courses (as for example Tecnologie e Materiali Aerospaziali I). Particular attention will be given to special materials and technologies for aerospace applications (advanced composites, materials for gossamer structures and propellants, thermal protections, sandwich and morphing structures). Moreover, innovative materials and technologies (smart materials, self-healing and bio-mimetic materials, micro and nano materials and related technologies – MEMS, NEMS, rapid prototyping) will be presented and discussed.
Consideration will be given to aspects related to air/spacecraft operations such as functional degradation, damage inspection and repair techniques

Topics description

Module 1: Special metallic materials and non-conventional technologies
Metals and alloys for high temperature/ corrosive environments. Elasto-plastic behavior. Superplastic forming, sintering, powder metallurgy. Non-conventional machining techniques. Chemical/electrochemical machining, spark-erosion, ultrasonic machining.

Module 2: Polymeric materials for aerospace applications
Iperelastic and viscoelastic materials. Spring-damper models. Application in space propulsion: materials and technologies of solid grains for rocket engines. Materials and technologies for gossamer structures.

Module 3: Advanced composites and technologies
Thermoplastic matrix composites. Infusion techniques (RTM, VaRTM, RFI). Contact and non-contact technologies (solid tool, water-jet, laser, electron-beam, plasma). Materials and technologies for sandwich and morphing.

Module 4: Materials and technologies for special applications
Fiber metal laminates - FML (ARALL, GLARE). Metal matrix composites – MMC; materials and technologies. Ceramic matrix composites – CMC. Thermal protection systems – TPS; thermal insulators, refractories, ablatives.

Module 5: Innovative materials and technologies
Smart materials: shape memory alloys - SMA, piezoelectric materials - PZT, fiber optics - FO. Self-healing materials. Micro- and nano-technologies. Micro-electro-mechanical-systems – MEMS. Nano-electro-mechanical-systems – NEMS. Rapid prototyping and rapid tooling. Biocomposites. Bio-mimetic concepts.

Module 6: Materials degradation during operation
Tribology and corrosion principles. Surface treatments. Hygrothermal, edge and notches effects in composites. Production defects; fatigue, impact, environmental aging. Degradation of materials in space environment. Non-destructive testing (NDT). Repairing techniques.

Class organization and evaluation procedure

The class includes lectures and seminars given by experts from industrial and research institutions on treated topics, as well as numerical trials and laboratory demonstrations

Final evaluation consists in an oral exam (in English) about all treated topics