CA Aerospace Center Opens

A Canadian aerospace research and development center will develop a new generation of highly resistant materials, surface treatments and manufacturing processes designed to meet the extreme requirements of the aerospace industry.

The McGill Aerospace Materials and Alloy Development Centre, which opened this week at the NRC Industrial Materials Institute in Boucherville, Quebec, is a collaboration between NRC and McGill University.

Christian Moreau, NRC's lead researcher for spray technologies, said the materials are needed to help aircraft parts perform in extreme temperatures and corrosive environments.

The center brings together several different laboratories on multiple sites, including the Cold Spray facilities located at the NRC Industrial Materials Institute. Cold Spray technology is of particular interest to the aerospace industry because the materials used in the coatings do not melt and therefore conserve their original properties.

Other laboratories, for electron beam physical vapour deposition and electronic speckle pattern interferometry, will be located on the McGill University campus. The fourth laboratory, located at the Manufacturing Technology Centre of the NRC Institute for Aerospace Research on the Université de Montréal Campus, will be dedicated to the production of specialized titanium parts using an isothermal forging press.

McGill's graduate students will supplement their academic training by conducting research in McGill and NRC laboratories.

"The aerospace sector is a key contributor to the economy of the Montréal Region," said Raymond Bachand, minister of economic development, innovation and export trade, minister of tourism and the minister responsible for the Montréal region. "In 2006, Quebec aerospace exports, 90 percent of which originate in the Montréal region, totalled over $10 billion dollars. Our aerospace industry also ranks first in terms of manufacturing exports carried out in Québec. The new McGill Aerospace Materials and Alloy Development Centre will contribute significantly to the continued expansion of this industry."

The project was made possible by financial contributions by the Government of Canada (NRC and the Canada Foundation for Innovation), the Government of Quebec and its Ministry of Education and industrial partners.

For more information, visit: www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca