by Academician Yevgeny KABLOV, Director General of the All-Russia Research Institute of Aviation Materials

In June 1932 the All-Union (today the All-Russia) Institute of Aviation Materials (Russian abbreviation VIAM) was founded by order of the USSR People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry. In March 1994 by regulation of the Russian Federation government it was given the status of a State Scientific Center of the Russian Federation. Today, as decades ago, the research work of the major materials science enterprise in our country in many ways determines the appearance of products of national aerospace and nuclear technology and also finds application in mechanical and power engineering, construction, transport and medical technology.

All-Russia Institute of Aviation Materials.

"People need science.

A country, which does not develop it, inevitably becomes a colony."

Frederic Joliot-Curie

Today All-Russia Institute of Aviation Materials marks its 80th anniversary. The date is impressive. The point is not its long life but what kind of years they were and what results were achieved. For the country, for aviation and for the branch science.

Back in 1932, the institute researchers headed by professor Georgi Akimov (Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences from 1939), developed and introduced into the aircraft industry the first national high-strength steel chromansil, which made it possible to get rid of import deliveries of molybdenum and nickel. Five years later they created aircraft armor, which saved life of thousands of pilots, and in 1940--high-strength wood composite, namely, phenol-impregnated modified wood. By the way, the Il-2 strike-fighter or "flying tank", the most mass in the history of aviation (more than 36,000 units), was manufactured using these two materials. It became possible to preserve many combat aircraft owing to soft fireproof fiber fuel tanks developed and suggested in 1942-1943.

In the post-war years new nickel casting and deformable heat-resistant alloys with a heterophase hardening system for gas-turbine jet engines were developed on the initiative and under direction of Academician Sergei Kishkin. Among achievements of those years there were austenite-martensite steel alloyed with silicon and fuel inhibitor, used in the process of creation of the P-7 rocket, which put into the near-earth orbit the first man-made Earth satellite. According to the chief designer Academician Valentin Glushko*, "creation of rocket systems would be impossible without VIAM materials". Together with the design office headed by Academician Sergei Korolev**, the institute specialists created aluminum, magnesium and titanium alloys and heat-protective coatings for the Vostok spacecraft, on which Yuri Gagarin performed his legendary flight.

VIAM participated in implementation of the Soviet atomic project by offering a special zirconium-niobium alloy for heat-isolating elements of atomic reactors and also the designs and production technology of these elements, in particular, for the nuclear power plant of the Lenin atomic icebreaker. The process of introducing uranium fuel into graphite rods was mastered for the first

* See: Yu. Markov, "King of the Rocket Fire", Science in Russia, No. 5, 2008.--Ed.

** See: N. Koroleva, "His Name and Cosmos Are Inseparable", Science in Russia, No. 1, 2007.--Ed.

time, and non-metallic materials of different classes were studied to assess their stability to ionizing radiation. Together with the institute, headed by Academician Igor Kurchatov, there were created centrifuges, in which a new aluminum alloy and polymer composite materials found application, which contributed to a substantial increase in the volume of industrial production of enriched uranium-235.

In 1960s-1980s the first in the world aluminum-lithium weldable alloy of reduced density used in the airplanes Yak, Su, MiG, etc. was created based on the discovery by Academician Iosif Fridlyander of an effect of strengthening and increasing hardness in the triple aluminum-lithium-magnesium system.

The work on application of titanium for aviation started at VIAM in 1934. But in the 1950s it was managed to produce the first alloy on its base and create a casting plant for this metal. The institute developed more than fifty titanium alloys used serially in the different purpose equipment, including designs of the interplanetary stations Mars, Venera* and others, which made it possible to significantly reduce their weight. Titanium was used for manufacture of a fuselage of the T-4 Project 100 ("Sotka") experimental reconnaissance strike bomber-carrier rocket developed by the Sukhoi Design Office and a center wing section of the Tu-160 strategic bomber-carrier rocket.

In 1964, on the initiative of VIAM research works started in the USSR in the sphere of development of non-metallic, polymer and composite materials, including carbon, glass, organic and foam plastics, hermetic substances, elements of glazing and radar absorption widely used in the designs of An-124, An-125, Tu-160, MiG-29 and Su-27, blades and airframes of a-32, a-50, Mi-26 helicopters, parts of gas-turbine engines, space and rocket systems and other products of mechanical engineering, transport and construction.

In 1974-1987, the institute developed a number of unique materials (fibers, heat protection, composites, glues, paint and lacquer coatings) for the Buran space shuttle.

In 1970-2000, the technology and equipment for high-gradient casting of single-crystal blades with transpiration (penetration) cooling and their protection from high-temperature gas corrosion were created, high

* See: V. Senkevich, "Russian Space Research at the Turn of Centuries", Science in Russia, No. 1, 2001.--Ed.

heat resistant alloys with increased content of rhenium and ruthenium were developed for gas-turbine engines. In 1985-2005, the concept of creation of intellectual and adaptable polymer composite materials was implemented. For the first time in the world practice a reverse angle wing was produced from adaptable carbon fiber-reinforced plastic for the C-37 Berkut experimental fighter plane.

All this is only a part of what VIAM workers managed to do for the past decades. Altogether for the years of its existence the institute, in creative interaction with design offices, branch institutes and the USSR (later Russian) Academy of Sciences, developed 2,658 brands of structural and functional materials, over 3,500 original and breakthrough technologies and was granted 5,400 certificates of authorship and patents. The national industry masters over 130 development efforts of VIAM annually. The institute concluded more than 250 license agreements and contracts with national and foreign enterprises for transfer of rights to use the patents of the Russian Federation and know-how. VIAM participates in 65 prestigious scientific projects and contracts, submitting to them the original results of its research work.

Of course, it is an achievement of several generations of our scientists. Among them there are academicians Kuzma Andrianov and Andrei Bochvar, the above-mentioned Sergei Kishkin and Iosif Fridlyander, Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Georgi Akimov, Ruben Ambartsumyan, Vladimir Dobatkin and Alexei Tumanov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Radiy Shalin, member of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences Nikolai Davidenkov, member of the Belorussian Academy of Sciences Boris Yerofeev, Ivan Sidorin, Nikolai Sklyarov, Sergei Glazunov, Yakov Avrasin, Ivan Kolobnev and Sophia Kishkina, Drs Sc. (Tech.) and other outstanding scientists. The present generation of scientists develops their ideas and extensively uses results of fundamental studies.

The advanced design ideas were always based on the achievements of material sciences as just they are a basis of breakthrough successes in the creation of a new technology including the flight technology. Today the aviation material science, for all diversity of directions of its activities, is called to solve two basic practical tasks, i.e. creation of a series of materials for airframes and gas-turbine engines. When designing these products, the researchers strive, first of all, to reduce structural weight and sizes, ensure efficiency of parts in conditions of force, thermal, corrosion and other actions. The modern aerospace engineering makes use of aluminum, titanium and magnesium alloys and steels (up to 60 percent) and polymer and metallic composite materials (up to 40 percent).

With reference to composites, there is a forecast of a specialist in chemical physics and the Nobel Prizewinner of 1956 Acad. Nikolai Semyonov: "Substances will appear, which will serve at one time as materials, mechanisms and energy sources." This hypothesis of the outstanding scientist is coming true in a good measure. In response to demands of practice, and sometimes ahead of them, there are in the making the so-called "self-healing", i.e. self-removing microdestructions, and "wise" materials, which inform about the state of construction on a real-time basis, and structured systems, in which atoms and molecules of the material are arranged according to the lines of loading and arising stresses.

Similar development efforts are possible only on the basis of in-depth fundamental and applied studies and close interaction at the interface between science and production. This is evidenced by a fruitful cooperation of VIAM with 30 research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 16 higher education establish-

merits and more than 70 enterprises of different industries. Here is only one example.

The unique production method of a fiberless structural high-temperature ceramic composite material designed for working temperatures up to 1,500°C was developed by a team of young scientists of the Kurnakov Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, Mendeleev Russian Chemical-Technological University and VIAM under the direction of academicians Nikolai Kuznetsov, Pavel Sarkisov and the author of this paper. This process surpasses in the latter parameter and heat stability foreign analogs, possessing also high strength and the effect of self-healing of microdefects with renovation of the original mechanical characteristics up to 100 percent.

The use of this material promotes an increase in operational characteristics of gas-turbine plants, aviation and hypersonic aerojet engines, efficiency of elements of heat-loaded constructions at working temperatures of 300-400°C higher than in the materials used today, an increase (manifold) in ecofriendly conditions in using them and a decrease in product weight 2-3 times.

The said team together with specialists from the Institute of Power Problems of Chemical Physics (Moscow) and the Grebenshchikov Institute of Chemistry of Silicates (St. Petersburg) suggested multilevel gradient protection systems of high-temperature carbon-bearing composites withstanding temperatures up to 2,000 °C in aggressive media (including in plasmachemical flows). These systems provide efficiency of heat-intense units and parts made of carbon-bearing composites including in elements of perspective hypersonic flight vehicles (nose of a fuselage, front edges of wings).

Topicality of the obtained results is conditioned by the fact that in Russia there is no production of continuous refractory reinforcing fillers based on silicon carbide fibers similar to those used abroad. The Japanese companies as their principal developers and producers nei-

Perspective materials for airframes.

ther sell licenses for industrial technologies nor deliver silicon carbide fibers to Russia.

The authors of these works Denis Grashchenkov, Natalya Uvarova (VIAM), both Cands Sc. (Tech.) and Yelizaveta Simonenko, Cand. Sc. (Chem.) (Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology) were given the award of the Russian Federation President in the field of science and innovations for young scientists in 2010.

Polymer composite materials (PCM) have widespread application in flight vehicles due to substantial advantages of specific strength and hardness, exceptional combination of structural and thermophysical properties. For example, if in the airframe and interior of the Tu-204 aeroplane the volume of PCM made up 14 percent of its weight, in the passenger airbuses of a new generation it reaches 50 percent.

It should be noted that PCM based on carbon fiber is an efficient way of reducing the mass of flight vehicle. But extreme deficit of production of such fibers in the Russian Federation forces us to use imported fiber fillers for the development of national polycomposites competitive in the world market. VIAM has already developed a series of such materials. However, it should be stressed that utilization of imported fibers is limited and controllable. Therefore, it is required to develop national fibers with a principally new level of characteristics for Russian producers.

Our specialists suggested procedures for production of prepregs* with increased accuracy of weight characteristics. Using an adequate technological complex developed at the institute, these new development projects are realized in the conditions of real production in the form of specimens for certification of PCM, batches of semi-finished products and display samples of aviation equipment items.

The so-called intellectual materials are one of the most promising and fast-developing areas in material science. Their first generation-self-adapting polymer composites--possessed ability to redistribute mechanicals stresses in the construction. The second generation is represented by inform-composites with integrated sensors. Like the human nervous system, fine optical fibers penetrate construction and thus register deformations and temperatures. The third generation is mechano-composites. They are notable for feedback based on plurality of miniature actuators (executive units). The latter are operated by electric power and are capable to develop efforts up to hundreds of newtons with a shift down to units of millimeters. Mechanocomposites can be used for replacement of mechanical assemblies, active slaking of vibrations and redistribution of mechanical stresses in

* Prepregs are composite materials or semi-finished products. They are produced by impregnation of a reinforcing fiber base with uniformly distributed binders.--Ed.

Different types of alloys in the PS-90A engine.

constructions. Currently VIAM with the participation of institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences is active in development of PCM of an intellectual type.

It is important that ideas of our specialists are fulfilled at the VIAM. The unique experimental base of the institute with 19 research and technical complexes makes up a basis for innovative activities, including for production of science-intensive high-technology products based on own development works both for the domestic market and for export. Besides, the whole work cycle is carried out starting from fundamental and applied research to the very material, technology, equipment, preparation of documents and organization of small-tonnage production.

Apart from the said complex for production of prepregs from PCM, the most important is production of ceramic materials and also cast rod stocks from heat-resistant nickel alloys for gas-turbine aviation engines. The high cost of heat-resistant alloys with expensive metals (rhenium, tantalum, cobalt, etc.) called for tackling the problem of rational recycling of all wastes formed in the metallurgical and foundry production and also at repair works, where the workedout engines are delivered to. VIAM specialists developed and implemented a resource-saving technology of alloy waste smelting in vacuum induction furnaces, which allows from 100 percent casting wastes to get rod stocks, which in full measure meet the requirements in relation to their purity and properties. Thus, expensive and scarce alloying metals return to production, their saving is achieved, and the alloy cost decreases by 30-50 percent. For a period from 2005 up to the present time more than 200 t of alloys of different grades are produced by this technology and delivered to engine factories.

The institute suggested a brand new vacuum ion-plasma high-energy technology designed for protective, hardening and heat-reflecting coatings for turbine and compressor blades and other parts of aviation engines and gas-turbine plants, which greatly increases their service life. Therefore, there were worked out and produced MAP-2 and MAP-3 automated plants.

Besides, we launched output of pressed gas turbine disks from heat-resistant nickel and titanium alloys by the isothermal method* in air. For this purpose a production site was set up, which was equipped with special-purpose presses to make pilot-industrial and serial batches of pressed disks of up to 350 mm, 400 mm and 550 mm diameter. The values of the required pressing efforts decreased considerably from 6,000-10,000 tf in case of conventional technology to 630 and 1,600 tf. At the same time, the material utilization rate increased 2-3 times. For a complex of these works the staff members of the institute received an award of the Russian Federation Government in the field of science and technology for 2010.

* Isothermal method of pressing assumes that a stamp and a blank are heated during deformation to the same temperature.--Ed.

We must also point out that setting up of production of FK-20 and FK-40 phenolorubber foams, widely used in aerospace engineering, including the Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters and Proton and Soyuz boosters.

The institute is studying also climate and corrosion stability of materials and developing protective and functional coatings, such as lacquers, paints and hermetic substances, and also methods of assessment of endurance life of alloys used in aviation affected by the environment. To solve these problems VIAM put into operation the Center of Climate Tests named after Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Georgi Akimov in Gelendzhik in 2009.

VIAM met its 80th anniversary with weighty results in the sphere of industrial materials-science technologies used in civil and defense industries. Today our efforts are focused on solving of not only branch tasks, but also of integrated interbranch and interdisciplinary problems

under the federal target programs, using also the mechanisms of technological platforms*. Two of these programs "New Composite Polymer Materials and Technologies" and "Materials and Technologies of Metallurgy", worked out on the initiative of VIAM, are approved by decision of the government commission for high technologies and innovations. VIAM is a coordinator of these programs with the participation of around 200 leading scientific, educational and production organizations of the country. Besides, the draft subprogram "National Network of Climate Test Centers" is worked out also on our initiative with the participation of leading scientific and production organizations.

According to expert evaluations, more than 80 percent of priority developments of objects of new technology in leading sectors of economy in the near future will be based on new materials and technologies. Only their

* Technological platform is a communication platform for interaction of business, science, consumers and the state on matters of modernization and scientific-technical development in specific technological areas.--Ed.

availability can ensure transition of industry to a new technological level and also production of national competitive equipment.

The commission for modernization and technological development of Russian economy determined five key priorities ensuring technological breakthrough. But it is obvious that none of them can be realized without integrated development of national technologies in the field of new materials of a new generation and implementation of principles of high-level processing of raw materials, which would ensure avoiding of a situation, when the Russian Federation, while supplying foreign countries with its raw materials, buys in the same place products with a high added value based on the said raw materials.

Today various industries require new "supermaterials", and therefore VIAM puts forward a proposal to include the subject of "Materials and High-Level Processing of Raw Materials" into the priorities of modernization of Russian economy. As it appears, a successful realization

of this concept should be supported by an adequate state program. At present our proposal is backed by the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade, the RF Ministry of Defense, the Committee for Science and Science-Intensive Technologies of the State Duma, the Committee for Education and Science of the Federation Council, many other government institutions and also corporations and enterprises.

The innovative product competitive in foreign and domestic markets can be created only by highly qualified scientists, engineers and workers. No money invested in science or renovation of production will yield desired results, if there are no people capable of generating and realizing daring ideas. The institute pays great attention to the development of its personnel.

Today VIAM has 1,806 staff members. The age of 839 staff members does not exceed 35 years, while in 1996 the number of young people below 35 made up 34 out of the total number (2,400) of those employed. That is, for the last one and a half decades the average age decreased from 61.5 to 44. 2 years. Besides, we are trying to help them feel needed by the institute and the industry. Every young specialist has his own "teacher" or tutor, who helps him increase his competence and feel at home at the institute.

Another important factor of attraction of young specialists is a maximal, almost by 75 percent, renewal of the research and technological equipment. They are well paid for good job and have no problems with career motivation. Our young scientists participate annually in international exhibitions and seminars and speak at the traditional European youth conference on materials science.

To preserve and maintain the leading world-class research centers and develop their scientific potential, VIAM trains (for its divisions) highly skilled specialists out of postgraduates and also engineers at the basic chairs set up at Tsiolkovsky Moscow Aviation Technological University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Moscow State Evening Metallurgical Institute. We have a cooperation agreement on science and technology in force with seven Russian research universities and actively work with universities of Germany and the Netherlands.

In conclusion I would like to quote a saying of the great Italian artist, scientist, thinker and engineer Leonardo da Vinci: "He who knows everything can do everything. If only I could know, it would lend me wings." These words pronounced five centuries ago, are topical for us even today.