Creating new materials to improve air travel is some of the most exciting work our researchers are doing. We work in close concert with makers of all types of aircraft to bring these laboratory discoveries to the real world.
Our advanced materials researchers make changes to existing materials on the molecular-, atomic- or nano-level that create new materials with desired qualities that can improve the safety and efficiency of air travel. This focus area includes researchers from the fields of chemistry, physics, math and engineering.
Interdisciplinary collaboration is the heart of our research efforts. Here are just a few of our centers and institutes that put this philosophy into practice. The Office of the Vice President for Research maintains a comprehensive list of university-wide centers and institutes.
The CPM Research Center tests the performance of components, subsystems and systems of the U.S. Army Apache, Blackhawk and Chinook helicopter platforms through measurements of vibration, speed, load, acoustic emission and temperature to develop diagnosis and prognosis algorithms for better predictive and proactive maintenance of aircraft. Additionally, the CPM generates value engineering and cost benefit analysis models of the U.S. Army CPM program.
This team focuses on the mechanics of aero-structures, development and application of noncontacting measurement methods, including 2-D and 3-D digital image correlation, characterization of metallic and composite material response under dynamic and static loading conditions and static and dynamic fracture of metallic and composite material systems.
The Center for Friction Stir Processing is a multi-university National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center focused on research and development in the area of friction-based materials processing technologies and science. At UofSC, we are focused mainly on light metals for transportation applications.
This research team has developed unique capabilities for synthesizing polymer nanocomposites containing custom-made, synthetic platelet materials. The team uses a broad array of characterization tools, including X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, for characterizing material microstructure.