Crafting Ceramics for Jet Engines Crafting Ceramics for Jet Engines Beth Dickey is working with researchers at NASA and the Air Force to design new high-temperature materials for turbine and rocket engines. Her goal is to make ceramics less brittle for aerospace applications.
Ceramics are hard but lightweight, with good heat, wear and corrosion resistance.
Today's jet engines are made from metallic superalloys that start to melt at 1200 degrees Celsius. Dickey is creating oxide ceramic composites to increase that temperature to 1400 degrees, a development which will have a big impact on engine efficiency. Dr. Dickey is in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering in the College of Engineering.