DEFINITION:

It includes:

• Material Processes (manufacturing and fabrication techniques)
• Modelling of material behaviour and properties
• Material obsolescence

(Source: ESA TD 24B, E and G)

SUBDOMAINS:

Material Processes, covering:

1. • joining (Including gluing, bonding, welding, brazing, soldering, fastening, repairing). Technologies of joining for Special and Advanced types of Structures are covered by 1-B-2
   • coating (development, manufacture and test of paints, conformal coatings, organic and inorganic coatings, thermo-optical coatings, thermal control materials, optical materials, sol-gel coatings, ALD, oxidation protection, finishes)
   • characterization and feedback (all aspects related to thermo-physical/ mechanical/chemical properties, long-term ageing effects)
   • advanced materials manufacturing (manufacturing aspects related to CFRP, ceramics, CMC, MMC, foams, functionally-gradient materials, sol-gel processed materials, near-net-shape processing route, PVD & CVD processes, ISRU processes for solid materials manufacture, nanotechnology aspects of materials…)

Modelling of material behaviour and properties, covering:

1. • microstructural and nano-structural characterization of materials
   • modelling of thermomechanical Processes of Materials including lifetime predictions
   • characterisation, modelling and testing of fracture mechanics
   • thermal analysis of materials (characterisation of the functional properties of materials from cryogenic to re-entry/launcher temperatures)

Material Obsolescence, covering

1. • regulation and legislation-based obsolescence: addresses the materials and manufacturing process availability and limitations due to environmental regulations and export regulations (e.g. REACH, RoHS, ITAR, etc.).
   • scarce materials: due to production stop, bankruptcy, etc.