JCU engineers develop world-first bendable ceramic for aerospace applications

James Cook University engineers have created a groundbreaking bendable ceramic material that could revolutionise aerospace design, the university announced on Wednesday.

The material, which can be 3D-printed and withstand more than 10,000 loading cycles without breaking, has attracted the attention of global aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which will partner with the JCU team over the next year to stress test the innovation.

“These are the ceramics that can take you above Mach 5, which is getting into hypersonic territory,” said project lead Dr Elsa Antunes. “We are able to combine technologies by simultaneously producing complex shapes with ceramics that are bendable and have an extended lifetime.”

While traditional ceramics are valued in aerospace for their heat resistance, they are prone to cracking due to their brittle nature. The JCU team’s prototype demonstrates exceptional flexural strength of around 1.7 gigapascals and can withstand 80 per cent of its maximum load through thousands of cycles without failure.

“A normal ceramic material available on the market can take only 20 per cent of that load before it will break,” Dr Antunes explained.

The material can be produced within seven days, compared to traditional ceramic matrix materials that take at least a month to fabricate. The 3D printing process also allows for complex structures and varying thickness in different areas, creating opportunities for improved thermal management in extreme environments where temperatures can reach 2000-3000 degrees.

Lockheed Martin, known for developing advanced aircraft like the SR-71 Blackbird and F-35 Lightning II, will help test ceramic parts that could be used in aircraft for thermal management by exposing them to extreme temperatures and forces.

The Queensland Defence Science Alliance is also contributing funding to the project through their Collaborative Research Grants program.

Picture: supplied