Joining (riveting, welding, adhesives and other fasteners) often represent the weak-link in aircraft design. Solid-state welding (friction stir) has shown some promise in providing stronger and more reliable joints, but this technology has some significant limitations. Two new methods of solid-state impact welding have been developed over the past decades at The Ohio State University: Vaporizing Foil Actuator Welding and Laser Impact Welding. These joints have proven to be very strong, fatigue resistant and can be implemented in a wide range of advanced and dissimilar metals. Startup, Applied Impulse, Inc., has begun to develop commercial systems to deploy this technology. New VTOL designs have new challenges and offer a new platform where innovative joining can improve these designs. Phase I of this program will align the technical knowledge and achievements in this area with identified needs in VTOL aircraft using a process that mimics the NSF-ICORPS business plan validation process of structured business hypothesis testing through large numbers of customer discovery interviews.
