QuesTek Innovations LLC, Evanston, Ill., announces that its ultra high-strength, high-toughness Ferrium M54 steel has been approved for inclusion in the aerospace industry’s Metallic Materials Properties Development & Standardization (MMPDS) Handbook. QuesTek accelerated M54 steel from a clean sheet design to a precise chemical composition in less than one year, and produced the first 10-ton ingot the following year.
SAE International issued an Aerospace Material Specification (AMS 6516) two years later. With this MMPDS approval, M54 steel has reached full flight qualification from clean sheet design in less than six years.
This marks QuesTek’s second fully qualified alloy, following the 2008 MMPDS approval of its ultra high strength, high toughness, corrosion resistant Ferrium S53 alloy, which is being used without toxic cadmium plating in landing gear and other corrosion-sensitive applications.
Integrated Computational Materials Engineering methodology and its Materials by Design technology have enabled QuesTek to design and develop M54 steel to be a cost-effective, drop-in replacement for AerMet 100. The alloy design project was funded under two Small Business Innovation Research contracts sponsored by the U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command.
The MMPDS Handbook provides standardized design values for alloys in aerospace structures, and is accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The A- and B-Basis design minima for M54 steel will first be published in MMPDS-09, allowing engineers to design components of M54 steel for flight safety critical components such as landing gear and helicopter rotor shafts. M54 steel is also an upgrade from 4340 and Maraging steel grades, and is being used in demanding oil and gas and other industry applications.
