Aircraft

Landing gear on US Air Force Boeing KC-135 tankers is to be changed to a corrosion-resistant alloy, Ferrium S53, designed entirely on computer. The high-strength stainless steel was developed in under a year and for $100,000 by Illinois-based Questek Innovations. Alloy development would normally take years and cost millions.

The USAF wants to end the use of cadmium for anti-corrosion coatings because it is toxic. Ferrium S53 does not need a coating to prevent corrosion, although coatings for mechanical needs may be required. Due to the material’s structural stiffness it could also be used for folding-wing joint pins and is being considered for golf clubs.

“They did the first melt and hit about 90% of the specification they were going for,” says Bradley Smith, executive director of the US Department of Defense strategic environmental research and development programme that partly funded the work. The test phase for Ferrium S53 is to be completed this year.

Questek was spun out of Northwestern University and uses specialist software on desktop computers to simulate crystalline structure changes and manufacturing processing effects.

ROB COPPINGER / LONDON