This study presents a materials research agenda for the commercial aircraft and automotive industries for the next two decades. Case studies from each of the industries are used as a basis for discussion within the report: the 50-mpg, 5-passenger sedan for the automobile industry and the high-speed civil transport for the aircraft industry. Although no case study could be selected that would cover all the important research issues in a field, these two examples were chosen because both were seen to be industry priorities dependent upon, in part, materials innovations. The conclusions and recommendations identify the general materials drivers for the industries over the next 10 to 20 years and the materials research required for each field.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the NAS.

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) was established in 1964, under the charter of the NAS, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the NAS the responsibility for advising the federal government. The NAE also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the NAE.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was established in 1970 by the NAS to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the NAS by its charter to be an advisor to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the IOM.

The National Research Council (NRC) was organized by the NAS in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the NRC has become the principal operating agency of both the NAS and the NAE in providing services to the government, public, and scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the IOM. Drs. Alberts and White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the NRC.

The committee would like to express its appreciation to Dr. William W. Hakala, Director of the Division on Mechanical and Structural Systems of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Huseyin Sehitoglu, Program Officer of the Materials Engineering Program of the National Science Foundation, and Professor Branimir F. von Turkovich of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science of the University of Vermont (formerly Director of the Division on Mechanical and Structural Systems of the National Science Foundation) for their assistance during the formulation of this study. The committee would also like to thank those individuals who gave presentations at the workshop: Dr. James C. Williams, General Manager of the Materials Technology Laboratories for General Electric, Dr. William E. Quist, Principal Engineer for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Dr. M. S. Rashid, Head of the Metallurgical Department for the General Motors Research Laboratory, Dr. Peter Beardmore, Manager of the Metallurgy Department for Ford Motor Company, and Mr. Kenneth N. Walling, Director of Advanced and International Design for Chrysler Corporation. The committee also acknowledges with thanks the contributions of Dr. Robert M. Ehrenreich, Staff Officer, and Ms. Pat Williams, Senior Secretary, to the project.

In 1989, the National Research Council (NRC) published Materials Science and Engineering for the 1990s: Maintaining Competitiveness in the Age of Materials. This study addressed the status and future of materials science, the research opportunities, and the materials needs for several industries. The study concentrated on those areas of materials science and engineering that are traditional and ongoing and showed where additional research and changes in emphasis could lead to increased payoffs.

Based on this study, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requested that the National Materials Advisory Board convene the committee on Materials for the 21st Century to determine a more specific materials research agenda for the next 10–20 years for the commercial automotive and aircraft industries. NSF believed that a forward-looking study was needed to provide the materials-engineering research and development (R&D) community with an assessment of the future fundamental materials and manufacturing R&D required.

The statement of task approved by the NRC specified that a two-day workshop would be used to compile the information required on the environment in which these two industries currently operate and on the contents of the potential research agendas. The workshop was held on November 21–22, 1991. Experts involved in the materials-selection and R&D processes from both fields were invited. The attendees consisted of experts from the automobile and aircraft industries, representatives from affiliated materials-supply companies, materials scientists from academia, and representatives from government agencies and national laboratories.

To focus the workshop, a case study from each of the industries was selected for initial discussion. The committee selected two exemplary systems that should be of significance to the commercial aircraft and automotive industries for the next 10–20 years: the high-speed civil transport for the aircraft industry and energy-efficient vehicles for the automobile industry, specifically, the 50-mpg, 5-passenger sedan. Although the committee recognized that no case study could be selected that would cover all the important research issues in a field, the high-speed civil transport and the 50-mpg, 5-passenger sedan appeared to be the most generally applicable from a technology-driven perspective. The committee also limited the focus of the workshop to the major structural and mechanical aspects of these vehicles, realizing that the addition of such topics as working fluids and tire materials would require additional, topic-specific workshops.

The committee compiled the data from the workshop to ascertain the environment in which the two industries currently operate and then used this information to determine a materials research agenda for the next several decades. This report presents the results of these deliberations. Chapter 1 details the reasons for the selection of the case studies. The second chapter presents an overview of the environment in which the two industries operate and the general materials directions being pursued, based on the information compiled at the workshop. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the future materials research required for the commercial automotive and aircraft industries respectively.

Bernard H. Kear,

Chairman