MAGNESIUM CASTINGS IN AERONAUTICS APPLICATIONS - SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

摘要

Although weight reduction in aircrafts is a fundamental matter, use of magnesium alloys is not widespread in airplanes due to "traditional" problems with corrosion resistance. Though there is creation of new magnesium alloys with improved corrosion resistance, these alloys are mostly designed for automotive industry. Alloys for aerospace industry must combine high performance regarding mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. A review is given here on the use of magnesium in aircrafts in the past. The paper then presents requirements of modern aircraft industry from magnesium castings regarding mechanical properties as well as corrosion resistance. Today the drawback is a lack of sufficient number of available alloys fulfilling the needs of modern aerospace industry. The methodology used in an international research project (IDEA) to develop new magnesium alloys for special use in aircrafts is described here, as well as the experimental and virtual methods utilised in this development.