Advanced ceramics: a materials platform for next generation aerospace and beyond

To what extent might the advanced ceramics and their composite variants emerge as game‑changing leaders in next‑generation aerospace extreme‑environment technologies and beyond? This contribution is meant to introduce a non-professional audience to some of the current frontier topics on advanced ceramics manufactured as bulk or composite, for aerospace and beyond. It is expected that the potential of advanced ceramics for extreme-environment technologies can be unlocked by leveraging their favorable property combination of exceptional thermophysical properties like high melting point, lightness and strong resistance to chemical degradation and oxidation under extreme conditions.
To refer to something that is widely talked about today, speed is the name of the game when it comes to modern aerospace priorities. Aerospace engineers have long sought materials able to thrive where airflow becomes plasma and oxidation accelerates beyond intuition. Governments around the world are investing “mountains of money” to develop components capable of enabling airborne vehicles to travel fast worldwide. While such ambition has been a nebulous dream for decades, recent advancements in ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites bring that dream closer to reality.