Silicon Nitride has become an important material in multiple industries including aerospace and aviation. Silicon Nitride aerospace and aviation applications have been driven by a number of key properties that make it perfectly suited to this space.
The Properties of Silicon Nitride
The aerospace industry is continually changing, causing materials and applications to change as well. In the aerospace industry, velocity requirements have increased from Mach 3 to Mach 5 and higher. The materials used in this sector need to match this requirement. Silicon nitride ceramic (Si₃N₄) has several properties that make it suitable, and even preferable, for use in this industry. First, this ceramic is incredibly light for the strength it provides. This makes it an enabling material for such industries as aerospace and other applications where both weight and strength are critically important. Next, Si ₃N ₄ceramics are also creep-resistant (as compared to metals), which improves the stability of structures at high temperature. This material has a great combination of additional properties including hardness, electromagnetic properties and thermal resistance required for extreme applications such as radome, missile fin, and engine components.
The Applications of Silicon Nitride in Aerospace and Aviation
This material has a number of key applications throughout the aviation and aerospace industries. In the past, traditional metals were used; however, the rapid pace of advancement in this field has meant that existing metals cannot stand up to the stress of supersonic and hypersonic travel. Silicon nitride is better suited to withstand the incredible temperatures that develop at high velocities. Si₃N₄ is already replacing legacy materials in:
Ball bearings
Radomes
RF Windows
Engine components The ability of silicon nitride ceramics to meet and exceed the demands and expectations of the aerospace industry only promises further growth and expansion of this material in this area.
Why Use Silicon Nitride in Aviation and Aerospace?
There are several reasons why those who work in the aviation and aerospace industry are relying on silicon nitride. First, while this material is relatively new to this industry, current properties that are known make it suited to this space. These ceramics are strong, durable, resistant to heat, and lightweight. They provide economic value and are versatile, having been incorporated in multiple aircraft and spacecraft parts already. As technology continues to grow and progress in this space, flight speeds and demands are only going to increase. This material is able to withstand the growth and progress in these industries over time.
Rely on Silicon Nitride
Clearly, this material is uniquely suited to the incredible demands of the aviation and aerospace industries. As more research is conducted, the application of silicon nitride ceramics in this space will continue to grow. This material has the potential to extend the capabilities of aircraft and spacecraft in this sector.
SINTX Technologies: Silicon Nitride Manufacturer
SINTX Technologies is a leading manufacturer of silicon nitride for biomedical applications and is quickly becoming a preferred material in industrial applications as well. SINTX Technologies is the sole US FDA and ISO 13485 2016 certified silicon nitride medical device manufacturing facility in the world. With more than three decades of experience and more than 130 peer-reviewed papers, SINTX Technologies is quickly becoming the preferred choice as a manufacturer of silicon nitride.