Computational Materials For Qualification And Certification (CM4QC)

CM4QC is an informal collaboration of U.S. aviation-focused companies, research and regulatory government agencies, and universities that was assembled to develop a comprehensive strategic framework and maturation path for increasing the use of computational materials (CM) approaches in the aviation qualification and certification (Q&C) domain with an initial focus on additive manufacturing (AM). CM4QC members are organized into three working groups (WG) by technology readiness level (TRL) as follows: WG 1 (high TRL, industry vision and regulatory implications), WG 2 (medium TRL, transitioning fundamental research to engineering applications), and WG 3 (low TRL, fundamental research).

Why is CM4QC Needed?

Although considerable scientific and technological advances have been made in recent years in AM processes, these advances have not translated into significant market penetration of AM parts within the aviation industry. It is broadly acknowledged that using traditional Q&C approaches for AM components is one of the most significant barriers to broader adoption of AM, resulting in high costs, long product development and certification timelines, and complex design iterations during the product development cycle. A new approach is urgently needed. CM4QC was assembled to develop a vision for a new Q&C paradigm with increased use of CM methods aimed at decreasing the time and cost of Q&C of process-intensive material (PIM) approaches in the aviation industry, with AM as the immediate use case. This vision was developed with substantial input from industry, regulatory agencies, government research organizations, and academia. The diagram below shows the expected benefits of this new approach.

What Needs to Be Done?

CM tools at low TRL are already being used by engineers in the aviation industry for materials and process development to inform higher TRL technologies. These capabilities need significant maturation to enable industry to implement them at reduced cost, regularize their use, and incorporate them into Q&C packages with design by analysis as the prototype. The tools include those needed for process-structure-property-performance simulation with numerous multiphysics models at different time and length scales supporting various elements of this ecosystem. Deploying these tools for Q&C will require an investment in verification and validation (V&V) processes, along with uncertainty quantification (UQ). Existing computational tools are in a heterogeneous state of readiness, and most are not at the appropriate readiness level for Q&C applications. Industry and the U.S. Government have invested heavily in computational tools for materials processing, manufacturing, and properties prediction, yet these capabilities are currently accepted only in pre-Q&C phases of product development. To maintain U.S. competitiveness for both civilian and defense aviation applications, CM4QC has outlined a path toward updating the conventional (and largely empirically based) Q&C framework with well-validated CM-informed approaches that will accelerate the implementation of process-intensive materials approaches such as metals AM.