MUMBAI, India, Oct. 5 -- Intellectual Property India has published a patent application (202641114208 A) filed by Vallurupalli Nageswara Rao Vignana Jyothi Institute Of Engineering And Technology on September 23, 2026, for A Lightweight Wear-Resistant Aa7050 Composite And Method For Manufacturing The Same By Electromagnetic Stir Casting.
Inventor includes Dr. G. Raghu Babu.
The application for the patent was published on October 02, 2026, under issue no. 40/2026.
Abstract: ABSTRACT [0057] The aerospace industry is still working on obtaining new structural materials that are lighter and better than traditional metals. One of the promising material candidates for this aim is aluminium metal matrix composite materials. The aluminium alloy of 7050 type, which is extensively employed in the construction of aircraft, particularly for manufacturing key components like wing spars, fuselage frames, and bulkheads, can exhibit satisfactory characteristics in most cases but fails in terms of specific stiffness and tribology. This study attempts to compensate for the lack of properties mentioned above through the development of hybrid metal matrix composites consisting of AA7050 alloy and two reinforcements lithium as an element to increase stiffness and reduce density and molybdenum disulfide as a solid lubricant, the amount of which will be increased in several variants. [0058] All composites were produced by electromagnetic stir casting, which was selected for its ability to achieve uniform particle distribution without impeller contamination, and specimens were characterized through tensile testing, Vickers microhardness measurement, compression testing, scanning electron microscopy for microstructural and fractographic analysis, and X-ray diffraction for phase identification; Pin-on-disc wear tests were conducted and the results showed that Sample 4 achieved the lowest specific wear rate, confirming its superiority across both mechanical and tribological criteria. The results showed that composites with moderate molybdenum disulfide reinforcement alongside the lithium addition gave the best combination of tensile strength, hardness, and compression strength, supported by a uniform microstructure and a ductile fracture mode confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Higher reinforcement fractions caused particle segregation to grain boundaries, which reduced tensile performance, while lower fractions produced superior compressive strength and compressive yield capacity. X-ray diffraction confirmed that no harmful intermetallic phases formed in any composition, validating the thermodynamic stability of the fabricated system at the processing temperature used. The composites developed in this work show steady and meaningful improvement over the unreinforced base alloy and demonstrate clear potential for use in lightweight aerospace semi-structural components such as brackets, frame connectors, mounting plates, and unmanned aerial vehicle structural members.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
