Plenary Lecture
Aerospace Materials: Opportunities, Bottlenecks, and Challenges
Dr. Ionel Botef
School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Aeronautical Engineering
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg
South Africa
E-mail: ionel.botef@wits.ac.za
Abstract: Studies show that aerospace products operate in very aggressive environments characterized by high temperature, high pressure, large stresses on individual components, the presence of oxidizing and corroding atmosphere, as well as internally created or externally ingested particulate materials that induce erosion and impact damage. Consequently, during operation, the materials of individual components degrade. In addition, the impact of maintenance costs for both civil and military aircraft was estimated at least two to three times greater than initial purchase values, and this trend is expected to increase. As a result, for viable product realisation and maintenance, a spectrum of issues regarding novel processing technologies, innovation of new materials, performance, costs, and environmental impact must constantly be addressed. One of these technologies, namely the cold-gas dynamic-spray process has enabled a broad range of coatings and applications, including many that have not been previously possible or commercially practical, hence its potential for new aerospace applications. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to summarise the state of the art of this technology alongside its theoretical and experimental studies, and explore how the cold-gas dynamic-spray process could be integrated within a framework that finally could lead to more efficient aircraft maintenance. Based on the paper's qualitative findings supported by authorities, evidence, and logic essentially it is argued that the cold-gas dynamic-spray manufacturing process should not be viewed in isolation, but should be viewed as a component of a broad framework that finally leads to more efficient aerospace operations.
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Ionel Botef graduated in 1977 from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest, Romania, with a Masters in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. In the 1980s he worked as a senior engineer with Turbomecanica, a manufacturer of aircraft engines, where, for example, he coordinated the technology for SPEY 512-14 DW aircraft engine, a cooperation programme with Rolls-Royce, UK. In the 1990s he moved to South Africa where he achieved his PhD from the Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. From 1998 he has been a full time academic with the School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Aeronautical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.His research interests focus on interdisciplinary research that include company integration, information systems, manufacturing processes and systems, materials science, software engineering, and computational techniques.