Paint coating innovations fuel real-world ultrasonic air travel

The accumulation of heat on the surface of an
aircraft has been one of the obstacles to the development of supersonic aircraft, because traveling at Mach 5 can produce extremely high temperatures of up to 3,600 to 5,400 degrees F on the surface of the aircraft. So far aircraft coating materials experienced such high temperatures are often easily broken down and destroyed, but this bottleneck is about to change. A team of Chinese and British scientists has developed a new ceramic coating for carbide, which is expected to achieve a breakthrough in ultrasonic travel.
1 Mach is 1x the speed of sound (generally refers to sound propagation speed of 340 m / s, i.e. 1224 km / h, but sound waves can be transmitted in solid, liquid or gas media, the greater the density of the medium, the faster the speed of sound, so in fact Mach size is not fixed), Mach number less than 1 for subsonic speed, currently civilian Aircraft tend to fly at the subsonic speed of Mach 0.5 to 0.8, the Boeing 747 cruise can reach Mach 0.98 (nearly 1120 km/h), while the average Mach number greater than 1.2 is supersonic aircraft, generally Mach number greater than 5 called supersonic aircraft.
newly developed coating is 12 times more efficient than current ceramics. The most common high temperature-resistant ceramics, such as molybide carbide, are effective in heat resistance, but are very easy to deteriorate. The new ceramic coating is derived from a new manufacturing technique called reactive melt penetration, which gives the coating an ultra-strong and oxidation-resistant structure.
, there are many potential uses for materials that can withstand temperatures of 3,000 degrees C (about 5,400 degrees F), especially in military and space technology. Newly developed coating materials can resist the biggest problems of melting and oxidation in high temperature environments.
Exposing any material to a temperature high enough, its molecular chain will loosen off, especially if they are flushed again by high-speed particles, which often result in "ablation";
in order for an aircraft to move at supersonic speeds, it is also necessary to protect its surface components from air compression damage caused by high pressure and damage to structural components caused by friction, in particular its front edge.
, ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTC) are currently used to cover the body's surface, and these non-metallic solid materials can remain stable at temperatures above 2000 degrees C (approximately 3600 degrees F). A common UHTC used to coat drill bits, engine components and supersonic aircraft is ZrC.another promising candidate for high-temperature coating materials on
aircraft is ZrB2, which not only antioxidants at temperatures up to 1500 degrees C (2700 degrees F), but is also low in density and relatively low in cost. Unfortunately, when boron atoms oxidize, boron in ZrB2 makes it easy to melt, with disastrous consequences.
new study has found that a new carbide ceramic material can withstand the ultra-high temperatures faced by supersonic travel.Lead researcher Xiao Ping, of the University of Manchester, said:
UHTCs are currently available in extreme environments, so it is worth exploring new single-phase ceramics to improve performance in reducing ablation and better antioxidants."
" has also been shown that the introduction of this ceramic into carbon fiber-reinforced carbon-based composites may be an effective way to improve heat impact resistance.
the new coating is a ternary alloy mixture made of vanadium, titanium, carbon and boron, which is deposited into a carbon composite by means of a method called reactive melt penetration, and although it has similar properties to other UHTCs, relatively low boron concentrations make it less likely to melt, and the carbon structure helps prevent tearing of previous materials such as ZrB2 under thermal shock.
results show that carbide coatings show better ablation resistance at 2000 to 3000 degrees C than existing candidate UHTC (high-temperature composites such as molybric carbide and dieborides), the researchers said in the report.
civilian supersonic aircraft, once implemented, will significantly reduce global travel time, supersonic aircraft can cross the globe in a matter of hours.
new coatings are even more widely used in the current aerospace industry, and spacecraft are at risk of extreme temperatures during their return to the atmosphere, making it safer to use this ceramic coating.
breakthrough ceramic coating was developed by researchers at the University of Manchester, the Royce Institute and Central South University of China. Through the study of commonly used overheating solutions and zirconium carbidification (ZrC), the project pioneered a new process for enhancing radon carbidification with carbon-carbon composites.
history, only two supersonic passenger aircraft have been mass produced and put into commercial operation, the Concorde jointly developed by Britain and France, and the Tu-144 of the former Soviet Union, all of which appeared in the late 1960s. However, since its inception, supersonic passenger aircraft has been plagued by cost-effectiveness, environmental damage and other factors, there is no large-scale promotion and use. Figure-144 left the commercially operated stage after its last passenger flight in June 1978, while Concorde made its last commercial flight on 26 November 2003. With the official retirement of Concorde, there has been no commercially operated supersonic airliner in the world.
But because supersonic passenger aircraft have higher speed and efficiency than ordinary civil aviation aircraft, so has been attracting the attention and interest of many aircraft manufacturers, but in fact, the new generation of supersonic aircraft exploration and research has not stopped.
Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have announced plans to revive their supersonic aircraft, which cannot be used for regular passenger travel, but are being carefully considered for commercial supersonic flights. Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive of
Boeing, said the new supersonic jets, which could reduce travel time by up to 700 per cent over the next decade, would reduce flights from Shanghai to New York from 15 hours to two hours.
Boom's ultra-high-speed commercial aircraft
Colorado-based technology company Boom is also developing new super-high-speed jets for commercial passengers. Since the Paris Air Show, five airlines have ordered ultra-high-speed commercial aircraft from the company. Speaking at the Paris Air Show, Boom's chief executive and founder Blake Scholl said: "The company is excited to offer something new to our passengers and we are excited to share our products with the world's major airlines at a faster speed in the future. It
whether supersonic aviation is commercially viable.
.S. BOOM Aircraft Manufacturing Company announced that this year will test-fly its own research and development of supersonic passenger aircraft, according to the company, if the aircraft successfully put into commercial flight, Beijing to Los Angeles only four hours!
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