Tue, 14 October, 2025
TWI engineers were pleased to welcome industry representatives from across the aerospace, energy and defence sectors for a workshop on joining of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs).
Organised in conjunction with the Defence Materials Centre of Excellence (DMEx) and Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the day provided an opportunity for world-leading expertise in state-of-the-art CMC materials to be shared between businesses and organisations as well as across sectors and applications. Attendees were able to present on their latest research into novel methods for joining and took part in a collaborative workshop looking at the next major hurdles for the development of CMC components.
Ceramic matrix composites provide a durable material option with high temperature resistance as well as delivering significant weight savings compared to metallic counterparts. It is for these properties (among others) that these materials are of increasing interest in highly demanding applications. Aerospace jet engines, nuclear power generation and hypersonic weapon capabilities are just some of the many applications for which CMC adoption could provide a step-change in capabilities.
Attendees discussed the opportunities and challenges in joining of CMCs to other materials, inspection of CMC components, and the additive manufacturing of CMC materials.
TWI holds deep expertise in materials performance across ceramics, polymers and metallic materials. Our engineers can support development of materials and components, provide advice and recommendations on material selection, and support inspection and testing requirements in mature applications – to find out more, please email contactus@twi.co.uk.
Additional Information
Dstl has set up a multi-million research partnership to develop ground-breaking new materials – the Defence Materials Centre of Excellence (DMEx). It is bringing together world leading researchers from Dstl, industry, research technology organisations, and academia to develop the next generation of advanced materials systems for the defence of the UK. DMEx will research, create, and prototype new materials that can perform under harsh conditions.
Find out more:
https://www.royce.ac.uk/programmes/dmex/
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laboratory