Assessment of nacre-like ceramics in replacement to Ni superalloys in aircraft's engines

TL;DR

This paper evaluates nacre-like alumina ceramics as a sustainable, tough alternative to Ni superalloys in aircraft engines, focusing on performance, environmental impact, and production challenges.

Contribution

It introduces bioinspired nacre-like alumina as a potential replacement for superalloys, highlighting its advantages and current limitations.

Findings

NLA shows promising toughness and performance potential.

Challenges remain in reliability, shaping, and repair.

NLA could reduce environmental impact of engine materials.

Abstract

Aviation's fossil fuel emissions contribute to global warming. The production and disposal of the materials used in aircrafts too. The current metallic alloys present in the hot section of engines pose constraints in terms of temperature, pressure and weight that restrain the performance of the aircrafts. Also, these alloys are produced using rare, depleting resources, and polluting processes. In this paper, we hypothesize the use of bioinspired nacre-like alumina (NLA), a ceramic material that exhibits unusual toughness, and evaluate its potential as a replacement for superalloys in aircraft's engines. Comparing the performance of Ni superalloys and NLA in terms of properties, engine performance, and life cycle sustainability, we find NLA a promising alternative although progress has to be made with regards to its reliability, shaping, repair, and governance of the production process.