Capabilities · Advanced Materials & Structures
Materials are the starting point, not the end product.
A material only becomes valuable when it improves the system around it.
Conceptual visualisation
How materials perform inside a structure
ACE continues to work with advanced composite and polymer systems. The focus of this vertical, however, is how those materials perform inside a complete structure — under real loads, in a real environment, made by a real manufacturing process and maintained over a real service life.
That principle runs through every programme described on this site. Material choice follows from what the system has to do, and it is revisited as analysis, prototyping and testing reveal what the structure actually needs.
Development areas
- Continuous-fibre composites
- High-performance thermoplastics
- Hybrid structures
- Energy-absorbing materials
- Transparent polymers
- Lightweight structural concepts
- Protective laminates
- Functional surfaces
- Multifunctional structures
- Elastomer composites for sealing
These material families feed directly into the unmanned, protection and transparent-protection programmes. None of them is pursued for its own sake.
Engineering approach
From material to system
The questions we ask of a material are the questions the application asks of the structure.
- Continuous-fibre composites and thermoplastics
- Lightweight, stiff and tailorable structures for airframes and protective elements, with manufacturing and repair routes considered alongside performance.
- Hybrid and multifunctional structures
- Combining materials so that a structure carries load, absorbs energy, resists the environment or provides another function at the same time.
- Energy-absorbing materials and protective laminates
- Material systems developed around how energy moves and is dissipated through a protective structure.
- Transparent polymers
- Transparent materials assessed for clarity, impact behaviour and long-term stability within a framed, sealed assembly.
- Functional surfaces
- Surface treatments and finishes that add durability, environmental resistance or other properties to a structure.
- Elastomer composites
- Rubber and elastomer composite formulations for sealing interfaces exposed to pressure, temperature change and industrial gases — described below.
Application areas
- High-pressure gas storage and distribution systems
- CNG infrastructure and associated components
- Industrial valves, fittings and pressure connections
- Metal-to-metal sealing interfaces
- Pressure vessels and industrial equipment
- Custom sealing applications requiring specialised elastomer materials
R&D covers elastomer formulation, material selection, compounding, processing and performance evaluation, supported by material characterisation and application-specific testing — with emphasis on sealing integrity, mechanical durability, thermal stability and environmental resistance.
The objective is a reliable, manufacturable elastomer composite sealing material tailored to the operating conditions of each application.
Technology under development. Performance specifications and operating limits will be established through validation and qualification testing.
Specific material systems, formulations, lay-ups and processing routes are development information and are not published.
Working with a material that needs a structure around it?
Whether you supply materials, test them or need a structure built from them, we would like to hear about the application.
Next capability
Unmanned Systems