Advanced Composite Structures Australia is investing in Ultra-High Temperature Composites manufacturing for hypersonic and space structures

Recently, ACS-A was awarded a $240,000 Australian Government Defence Global Competitiveness Grant to increase production rate and reduce the manufacturing cost of fibre reinforced composite components for Defence applications.

This funding is supporting the procurement of specialised infrastructure to enable the production of ultra-high temperature composites, including ultra-high temperature furnaces.

Hypersonic aerostructures need ultra-high temperature resistant materials when travelling at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound or above Mach 5. As such, certain composite material components can withstand temperatures up to 2,500°C, which is well beyond the capability of conventional materials. This enables flight vehicles to travel for sustained periods at hypersonic speeds and resist high heat loads generated from complex aerodynamic flow regimes.

At present, ultra-high temperature composites component production is complex, costly and involves advanced manufacturing processes that require highly skilled people.

ACS-A says it is investing in the acquisition of specialised equipment and development of processes to enable automated manufacture of ultra-high temperature composites for hypersonic and space vehicle parts.

“ACS-A delivers high-value engineering and manufacturing services, providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ enabling customers to fast-track their product to market. ACS-A has been investing in manufacturing and is a long-term supplier to Defence,” Dr Paul Falzon, General Manager, said.

“Our engineering team and facilities are continually evolving to meet the future needs of the Space and Defence sectors. Hypersonics is the next frontier and ACS-A is well placed to transform this into reality.”

Source: www.australiandefence.com.au and www.acs-aus.com