The fast transport system is the backbone of the world’s current growth and development. Our aerospace industry is advancing day by day in order to provide quick mobilization of things from one place to another. The main aim of this industry is to get the minimum possible weight of the air vehicle without compromising with the strength. Lower weight ultimately favours us not only with less fuel requirement but too with the speed increment. The same applies to the automotive sector. Earlier, Aluminium alloys were the baseline of aircraft structures. The use of composite materials leads to a substantial overall reduction in aircraft weight, reflecting a decrease in fuel consumption.
A composite as material as a materials system consists of a mixture or combination of two or more micro constituents mutually insoluble and differing in form or material composition. Targeting key aspects like lightweight, high-strength, high-stiffness, and good fatigue resistance, PMCs (Polymer Matrix Composites) and MMCs (Metal Matrix Composites) are readily used for aerospace and automotive applications, as they offer significant payoffs in terms of high precision performance. Aluminium or Titanium-based MMCs with oxide, nitride or carbide reinforcement are commonly being used, but the major issue is their production and manufacturing cost. PMCs like Glass-fibre and Carbon-fibre composite are most often associated with space applications as they possess very high stiffness and excellent thermal stability over a wide temperature range.
Our research group is currently focusing on lightweight and mechanically robust composite materials targeting various components in automotive as well as aerospace applications. However, these days’ nanocomposites utilize the vast surface area per mass and high length-to-width ratios of nanoscale objects to improve material properties. CNTs, graphene, and graphene oxide are some of the nanofillers currently used, having the potential in achieving extraordinary properties with their uniform dispersion.