ABSTRACT
Considerable effort is being directed to reducing the weight of aerospace structures and their associated manufacturing costs. Derivatives from current aluminium alloys are being developed to provide materials for low fatigue crack propagation rate and damage tolerance design. For titanium alloys the target is a better balance between strength and fracture toughness and higher fatigue resistance. Process technology is being improved to produce one-piece complex configuration parts, to reduce assembly costs and to reduce weight through fewer parts. For future structures, such as in supersonic transport, further developments in forming technology for lightweight heat resistant materials will be needed.
