ASM Cleveland Chapter

Meeting Location

ASM International Headquarters
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Materials Issues in Commercial Aircraft Wheels and Brakes

Dr. Charles A. Parker, FASM, Trustee (2007-2010)

Aircraft wheels and brakes are a demanding application for engineering materials. With each new commercial aircraft, the demands increase to manage higher loads, higher temperatures, with lighter weight. Each wheel must be capable of supporting nearly 30 tons of aircraft, with a roll life of 80,000 kilometers or more. Brakes must be capable of stopping the aircraft, while absorbing more than 100 MJ of energy. The equipment must function at arctic temperatures of -55ºC, and cope with friction material temperatures approaching 2000ºC. This talk will discuss the performance requirements for wheels and brakes, and how the selection and properties of engineering materials allows those demanding requirements to be met.

Wheels and brakes are manufactured from an interesting array of materials, including aerospace aluminum alloys, high temperature corrosion resistant steels, nickel based alloys, titanium alloys, and carbon-carbon composites. In this talk, I will review the materials of the main components of a commercial aircraft wheel and brake, and discuss how the processing and properties of the material make it successful in the application. For example, we will discuss how it is possible that carbon can be used as a friction material at 800ºC, when it would be expected to oxidize rapidly above 600 ºC. Also, for example, we will discuss how fatigue life is managed in the aluminum alloy wheels, to ensure safe use throughout the life of the equipment.

May 2008

Monday, May 12th, 2008

National Officers’ Night

5:45 Social Hour
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Presentation: Materials Issues in Commercial Aircraft Wheels and Brakes
Dr. Charles A. Parker, FASM Trustee (2007-2010)
Map to ASM International Headquarters (place link here)
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Charles A. Parker, FASM Trustee (2007-2010)

Dr. Charles A. Parker, FASM, is project leader for wheels and brakes at Honeywell Aircraft Landing Systems; South Bend, Ind. Dr. Parker joined Honeywell in 1994, and currently is project leader for Airbus A380 wheels and brakes. Until 2002, he was a member of the Friction Materials Research & Development Team, where he made significant contributions to the development of low-cost friction materials, as well as helping to define the mechanisms of surface wear in carbon brake friction materials. Before coming to South Bend, Dr. Parker worked for nine years at AlliedSignal Research & Technology, Des Plaines, Ill. While there, he managed a variety of projects, including: developing oxide superconductors for motor and bearing applications, devising a computer program to estimate the properties of hydrocarbon jet fuels and coming up with a method for estimating thermodynamic properties of alloys. He was also supervisor of the mechanical testing and electron microscopy laboratories. Dr. Parker has a master’s and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s from Stanford University. He is an ASM Fellow and a past chairman of the ASM Chicago Chapter as well as the Notre Dame Chapter.