QuesTek Innovations LLC, has created an ultra high-strength, high toughness Ferrium® M54TM steel that has been approved for use in the aerospace industry’s Metallic Materials Properties Development & Standardization (MMPDS) Handbook.
The company used Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) methodology and its Materials by Design® technology to develop the M54 steel to be a cost-effective alternative for AerMet® 100. This project was funded by two Small Business Innovation Research contracts, which were both sponsored by the US Navy Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
Ferrium® M54TM was created from a clean sheet design to a precise chemical composition in under one year and produced the first 10-ton ingot the next year. Only two years after that SAE International issued an Aerospace Material Specification (AMS 6516). Now with the MMPDS approval, the new CRA has achieved full flight qualification in less than six years.
The MMPDS Handbook gives standardized design values for alloys used in aerospace structures and is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Engineers will now be able to design components using M54 steel for landing gear and helicopter rotor shafts. However, since the steel is an upgrade from 4340 and maraging steel grades, it can also be used in the oil and gas industry.