Rourkela: A research group at National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, has created a lightweight material that can be used in developing aircraft landing gear with ‘high durability’, which is a must to endure the wear and tear during landing and taxiing of planes.NITR made the announcement in a media release issued on Thursday. “Typically made of aluminium and aluminium alloys, aircraft landing gear are designed to absorb the weight of the aircraft and must endure contact with the runway. Such conditions rapidly wear the gear material. While aluminium and aluminium alloys are lightweight in nature, their durability under such high-stress conditions remains a limitation,” said the release.To address this gap, Syed Nasimul Alam, associate professor, metallurgical and materials engineering, NIT Rourkela, along with his research scholar group, comprising Dr Arka Ghosh, Dr Ashutosh Das, Dr Pankaj Shrivastava, Nityananda Sahoo, Parth Patel and Dr Velaphi Msomi from the University of South Africa, have developed a novel nanocomposite material that can be used for aircraft landing gear.The findings of this research have been published in the prestigious Materials Letters journal. “Aligning with the Centre’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, this innovation from NIT Rourkela will help position the country as a potential contributor to next-generation aerospace materials,” the release said.Arka Ghosh, working as an assistant Professor at C V Raman Global University, worked with the team under the supervision of S N Alam for more than four years to develop this novel material. According to Dr Ghosh “lightweight meets durability in this innovative Al-based hybrid nanocomposite. It paves the way for safer, long-lasting, and more efficient aerospace landing gear systems”.Another researcher Pankaj Shrivastava is currently serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. He has been associated with the research team under the guidance of S N Alam for over four years, contributing to the development of this novel material.According to Shrivastava, “This innovative Al-based hybrid nanocomposite successfully combines lightweight characteristics with enhanced durability, opening new possibilities for safer, more reliable and efficient aerospace landing gear systems. This research work was published in the prestigious Materials Letters journal in April 2026.”
