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aero-online.org August 2013

Dassault Aviation’snEUROn

Vibro-acoustic Countermeasures

Metals Re-emerge

20 aero-online.org Aerospace Engineering, August 2013

What’s Online

Top ArticlesTop Products

Adjustable retraction for cable guidanceTriflex RSP cable-guid-

ance systems from igusfeature an adjustable re-traction system; they aredesigned for securecable guidance on largerobot arms or for robotsprogrammed to performcomplex movements.The force at which theunit retracts can be ad-justed by changing thepressure inside its pneu-

matic cylinder. The system can be attached to various robotmodels quickly and easily via compact mounting brackets.Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/12008.

Capacitor charging power suppliesUltraVolt Inc.’s high-power 8C-30C series capacitor charger

modules feature an output power of 250W, which is a 100%increase compared to the previous offering of 125W. Themodules were designed for applications including pulsedpower, cap-charger, pulse generators, Q-switch and Pockellcell drivers, lasers, and TDR (time domain reflectometer) testequipment. Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/12006.

Filters for industrial gas samplingMott Corp.’s all-metal inertial gas sampling filters allow the

collection of particle-free samples from virtually any gasstream, including those that are heavily contaminated andrun at extreme temperatures. Typical applications include gassampling in stack testing, lime or cement kilns, fluid catalyticcrackers, coking oven off-gas atmospheres, and generalprocess control and emission control monitoring. Read moreat www.sae.org/mags/aem/12005.

Eddy current testerThe portable four-frequency eddy current instrument from

UniWest offers single- and multi-frequency eddy current in-spection, good signal-to-noise ratio, frequency mixing capa-bilities, USB and Ethernet data storage, digital strip chart datacollection, and a color display. The device’s strong signal-to-noise and filtering capabilities allow for inspection in applica-tions normally outside of the scope of portable eddy currentequipment. Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/12004.

Excimer laser mirrorsNewport Corp.’s long-lived, deep ultraviolet (UV) excimer

laser mirrors have projected lifetimes greater than 30 billionpulses when used in the proper photocontamination-controlledenvironment. The mirrors feature all-dielectric, high-reflectorcoatings to minimize absorption and maximize reflected energyat 193 nm. Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/12003.

SAE G-19 Committeemaking progress oncounterfeit partsstandards

SAE International’s G-19 Counterfeit ElectronicComponents Com mittee,chartered to address thedifferent aspects of pre-venting, detecting, re-sponding to, and coun-teracting the threat ofcounterfeit electroniccomponents, provides astatus report on the ac-

tivities of the committee and its subcommittees. Read more atwww.sae.org/mags/aem/12100.

Battery safety starts in the factoryAt an April 2013 NTSB forum on batteries, a Saft represen-

tative said the company tests every one of the cells it pro-duces — something not all cell makers can say. Read more atwww.sae.org/mags/aem/12113.

Pratt & Whitney moves additive manufacturing intoproduction

Pratt & Whitney is quickly ramping up its capabilities foradditive manufacturing, using parts made with additiveprocesses on an engine that is being tested on a new Bom-bardier jet. The engine manufacturer also christened a newlaboratory that will focus on this rapidly emerging manufac-turing technique. Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/12061.

Boeing and FAA confident in 787 battery fix (video)U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on April 23-24 will

hold a hearing focusing on the design and certification of the787’s battery system. Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/12040.

Diesel aircraft coming soon to an airport near you?The recent development of diesel technology has made the

two-stroke, compression ignition engine an interesting op-tion for light aircraft manufacturers, seeking power units of100-300 hp, preferably not heavier than existing SI power-plants. Read more at www.sae.org/mags/aem/11241.

Phil Zulueta, Chairman of the SAE G-19Committee.

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What’s Online

Webcasts

The following webcasts are available for free on-demandviewing at www.sae.org/webcasts:

“Taking Data to NewHeights: How Airlines,Plane Manufacturers,and Suppliers Are Shap-ing the Future of Inte-grated Vehicle HealthManagement” exploresIVHM from three differ-ent perspectives. TheIVHM Centre, Cranfield University, offers an academic viewof the subject including educational offerings and research;UTC Aerospace Systems gives a supplier’s perspective of uti-lizing IVHM to improve field service and supply chain man-agement for components of major aircraft systems; andGulfstream discusses the subject of an airplane manufacturerthat has IVHM-enabled its latest business jet, the G650.

“Battery Design Innovation: It’s All About the Mathemat-ics” demonstrates, through the use of examples and case

studies, advanced symbolic mathematics techniques for de-veloping high-fidelity physical models of batteries. Speakersinclude Dr. Ralph White, Department of Chemical Engi-neering, University of South Carolina; and Dr. Sam Dao,Application Engineer, Maplesoft. Sponsor: Maplesoft

“Safety Trends for the Off-Highway Industry” examines arange of safety topics for the off-highway industry, fromsmart cylinders that allow operators to safely and preciselycontrol equipment to electrohydraulic braking systems.Speakers include Manfred Maiers, MICO; Haubold “Hub”vom Berg, MTS Systems Corp., Sensors Division; and GaryHeydinger, Ph.D., P.E., S-E-A. Sponsor: S-E-A

“PCA Engineers Limited Accelerates the Evolution of Tur-bochargers via Numerical Optimization and Advanced Sim-ulation Techniques” looks at turbocharging internal-com-bustion engines and illustrates the implementation of adesign-by-analysis approach, with examples of compressorand turbine designs for small gasoline engines. Speakers in-clude Chris Robinson, Ph.D., PCA Engineers Ltd.; and BradHutchinson, Ph.D., ANSYS Canada Ltd. Sponsor: ANSYS

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Editorial

The word “cycli-cal” does not havean unpleasantsound to it. Andsome good is im-plied in the word.The bad part aboutcyclical, though, isthat sometimesyou find yourselfin the part of that sine wave that leavesyou looking up at the x-axis.

In terms of the commercial aircraft in-dustry, the good news is that it seems tocurrently be looking down at the x-axis.

In the lead-up to the Paris Air Showthis year, fleets from around the worldwere again able to fly Boeing 787s, andproduction on that aircraft was set toramp up; Airbus was continually teasingabout the imminence of the first flightof the A350; and Bombardier was aboutto take the first flight of its new CSeriescommercial jet, which is expected to bejust one new aircraft program fromaround the globe with the realistic goalof contributing to the breakup of theduopoly that Boeing and Airbus have inthe 100- to 149-seat market.

According to the recent Global Aero-space & Defense Industry Outlook putout by AlixPartners, “the commercialaerospace sector accounted for 52% ofthe overall industry profit pool [in A&D]last year, and all signs point to contin-ued robust growth in the coming years.”

As optimistic as things look right now,history and some fundamental knowledgeabout sine waves tells us that the highthat the commercial aerospace industry ison right now simply will not last.

That fact was kind of hard to tell, how-ever, when in mid-June Boeing releasedits annual Current Market Outlook. Be-tween now and 2032, Boeing forecaststhe demand for 35,280 new aircraft,worth about $4.8 trillion, essentially dou-bling the 20,310 fleet in service todaywhen taking into account retired aircraft.

At the very least, Boeing knows some-thing of which it speaks, and it wouldseem that even if the current high can-not be maintained, the move in the op-posite direction over the next 20 yearsshould not be too extreme.

In fact, AlixPartners provided somesuggestions in its Outlook to avoid wideswings between highs and lows; specifi-cally, “to survive and thrive in the cur-rent industry cycle, companies in theA&D industry must become more effi-cient, especially in the face of challeng-ing commercial-aircraft ramp-ups.”

Efficiency will be the key as all air-craft makers pump up production to fillalready bulging backlogs, not just interms of the efficiency of the actual air-craft and all its components, but interms of manufacture and production.Randy Tinseth, Vice President of Mar-keting, Boeing Commercial Airplanes,was way above the x-axis when he saidduring the CMO announcement that“this forecast gives us confidence as weincrease our production rates and in-vest in new products like the 777X and787-10X.”

But AlixPartners seems to suggestsome caution may be in order. It ex-pects that commercial aircraft programswill have “ramped up by 45%” by 2017“to include a significant surge in big,new programs.”

However, reality is close by as itstressed “new programs will introducenew technologies, both for airframe andengine companies, aimed at improvingaircraft operating efficiency by up to20%, which will further increase thecomplexity of the supply chain and therisk of delays.”

There must be drastic measures at alllevels of the aircraft manufacturing andengineering experience to enable theramp-up to happen, and be successful,with minimal delays. As AlixPartnerssuggests, “The commercial-aerospacesupply chain is just not ready to handlea simultaneous increase in volume andcomplexity — it’s going to overheat, es-pecially among lower-tier suppliers.”

There is no alternative. We must beready. And we must recruit brilliant young,old, and otherwise engineers to participatein this challenge at all levels of the aero-space engineering experience. And makeaerospace engineering their high.

Jean L. BrogeManaging Editor

Maintaining the high

Thomas J. DrozdaDirector of Programs& Product [email protected] JostEditorial DirectorJean L. BrogeManaging EditorLindsay BrookeSenior EditorPatrick PonticelAssociate EditorRyan GehmAssociate EditorMatt MonaghanAssistant Editor

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Technology Update

Fine-Tuning Vibro-Acoustic Countermeasures in a Turboprop Aircraft

Turboprop engines are becomingmore and more popular becausethey offer up to 30% reduction infuel consumption compared to tur-bofan engines. But turboprop en-gines are also known for generat-ing substantial noise, so reducingcabin noise to ensure passengercomfort is an important engineer-ing challenge.

“Propeller noise is largely domi-nated by tonal components associ-ated with the propeller blade pass-ing frequency and its harmonics,”said Pierre Huguenet, noise and vi-bration engineer at SENER, an en-gineering company that special-izes in solving vibro-acousticproblems.

Propeller noise can be dividedinto several categories. Thicknessnoise is generated by the volumeof air displaced by each propellerblade, and its level is strongly de-pendent on the helical tip speed andthe blade geometry. Blade loadingnoise can be either steady or unsteady.Steady blade loading depends on thepropeller net thrust and torque. Peri-odic blade loading is caused by oscilla-tions in the blade effective angle of at-tack that generate acoustic tones. Bladeloading noise depends on the bladesurface pressure. Finally, quadrupoleand nonlinear noise sources are onlyrelevant for propellers operating intransonic and supersonic regimes likehigh-speed propellers and prop fans.These sources can normally be ignoredfor a general aviation turboprop air-craft.

Propeller noise can be transmitted tothe cabin through the air — the air-borne path — and through the struc-ture — the structure-borne path. “Theenergy from the acoustic waves is cou-pled with the structure, which in turnis coupled with the interior cabin,”Huguenet said. “This means that wehave to deal with an external and aninternal acoustic field. Optimizing thecabin noise requires a fully coupledvibro-acoustic numerical model of theaircraft cabin and structure. Dependingon the location of the noise source,

sometimes the coupled zone can be re-duced to a critical or ‘wetted surface’area with the largest contribution tothe global interior noise.”

A variety of noise countermeasurescan be considered such as isolation ma-terials and structural modifications. “Ifthe noise problem is localized, then apossible solution is to make a localstructural change to the aircraft panelsuch as changing its thickness oradding rivets or an attached weight.For a global noise problem, you needto consider modifying the main struc-ture. You might also look at localchanges such as adding dynamic vibra-tion absorbers (DVAs), damping mate-rials, or viscoelastic materials. Makingstructural changes and adding isolationmaterials can reduce the perceivedcabin noise level by up to 15 dB,”Huguenet said. “Active control tech-niques interacting with the noisesource can provide further noise reduc-tions, but these methods are rathercomplex and can also be expensive.”

The simulation process needs to en-compass both the acoustic field and thestructural response at the frequencies ofinterest to solve coupled vibro-acousticproblems. “In our most recent project

on a turboprop aircraft, the model in-cluded a detailed finite-element model[FEM] of the fuselage structure and arepresentation of the interior and exte-rior acoustic domains using boundaryelements [BEM],” Huguenet said. “Cou-pled vibro-acoustic simulations wereperformed with LMS Virtual.Lab, focus-ing on the first blade passing frequency(BPF).”

In the case of a turboprop aircraft,SENER focuses on BPF tones generatedby the turboprop engine covering thelow- and mid-frequency range, the har-monics of the BPF tone, and possiblefalse harmonics. Low frequencies for aturboprop aircraft range from 10 to 200-250 Hz, and mid-frequencies from 250to 400-500 Hz. A statistical approachsuch as Statistical Energy Analysis isused to study frequencies higher than500 Hz.

“Vibro-acoustic problems are solvedby using FEM for the structure and ei-ther a FEM or a BEM for the acousticdomain. The choice between FEM/FEMand FEM/BEM depends on the size andcomplexity of the model and whetherthe problem is interior or exterior.FEM/FEM models require a full mesh,yet the matrices are sparse so large mod-

SENER used LMS Virtual.Lab to predict the cabin interior noise due to the fuselage vibration.

Aerospace Engineering, August 2013 aero-online.org 27

Technology Update

els can be efficiently solved. A cou-pled FEM/FEM model is usually pre-ferred for interior problems. FEM/BEM models, on the other hand,have less elements in the BEM meshso the model creation and modifica-tion are much faster.”

SENER has developed a specificmethodology to perform a two-stepsensitivity analysis, which provides agreater understanding of the vibro-acoustic countermeasures, optimiza-tion of the countermeasure distribu-tion, and a more efficient solutionfor weight reduction.

“LMS Virtual.Lab includes a num-ber of analysis tools and toolboxesthat are very useful for this type ofanalysis,” Huguenet said. “We haveused LMS Virtual.Lab concurrentlywith Nastran SOL 200 to perform asensitivity analysis of the baselineconfiguration. Sensitivity analyseshelp to determine which counter-measures are effective and which arenot.

“The goal of the optimization isalways to minimize the amount ofcountermeasures without compro-mising the amount of noise reduc-tion,” Huguenet said. “When youincrease the stiffness of 10 panels, itwill reduce the local noise level.This can be a good solution, but itmay not be the best one. Maybe in-creasing the thickness of only ninepanels would be only 0.01 dB nois-ier yet 20 kg lighter. Sensitivityanalysis helps us optimize thesetrade-offs.

“Given the demand for more eco-nomical aircraft, the ability to opti-mize countermeasures is impor-tant,” Huguenet said. “We use ahybrid approach with a brute forcemathematical optimization as a firststep, and a second more subtle opti-mization step to fine-tune the solu-tion without losing too much soundreduction capabilities. When youare able to remove 10 kg of DVAswith only a 0.2 dB loss, that’s nearlyalways a good trade-off.”

This article was written by JenniferSchlegel, Senior Editor, LMS Interna-tional, Leuven, Belgium.

Examples of different meshes used in LMS Virtual.Lab to optimize noise countermeasures.


MetalsMake aComebackA look at how new metallicand hybrid materials are com-peting with carbon compositesfor a continuing role in aero-space manufacturing.

by Richard Gardner, European Editor

The past two decades in the aero-space sector have seen a steadytrend toward the ever-increas-ing use of carbon fiber rein-

forced polymer (CFRP) composite mate-rials beyond weight-saving componentsfor aircraft into major primary struc-tures on a scale that was unimaginablea few years ago.

While general aviation aircraft andsport gliders represented an easy start-ing point in expanding the use of com-posites, the adoption of large CFRPstructures came about in stages. Obvi-

ous items such as fuselage/wing fairingsand tail assemblies provided muchscope for saving weight while creatingawkward aerodynamic shapes in a sin-gle piece through a relatively easy mold-ing process, using human labor to laydown composite sheets, and requiringmodest-size autoclaves.

As manufacturing experience andcomposite technologies improved, withmore automation and investment innew manufacturing facilities allowinglarger structures to be assembled, theuse of CFRP components has boomed.

Moving up from adoption on GAtypes through business jets into re-gional passenger aircraft, the “plasticaircraft” was soon featured as a keymust-have catalog item in the productlines of the sector’s biggest manufactur-ers, Airbus and Boeing. This was alsothe case in the military aerospace sectorwhere new manned and unmanned air-frames saw large-scale use of compos-ites for structural use.

Controversially, Boeing’s adoption ofcomposite structural components foralmost the whole of the 787’s airframeseemed to signal the beginning of theend for traditional metal structuralmanufacturing. Even the giant AirbusA380 featured a huge dependency oncomposite fuselage and wing compo-nents. But interestingly, the latest Air-bus widebody addition to its portfolio,the A350XWB, is not quite as commit-ted to plastics, and retains a mix of ad-vanced metallic components and com-posite materials.

Another factor is also emerging. Overthe next 20-30 years, it is estimated thatthe world will require over 30,000 newlarge commercial transport aircraft tomeet expanding traffic needs as well asreplacements for aging aircraft.

With production rates ramping up toreduce order backlogs and maintain rea-sonable delivery requirements, this in-creasing demand for new aircraft islikely to present a real challenge to thecomposite materials supply chain. Thiscoincides with new advances in metal-lic materials that are re-introducing

Closeup of a 787 fuselage panel showing the composite structure with metal fasteners and strength-eners. (Richard Gardner)

The Boeing 777 assembly line in Seattle shows plenty of evidence of conventional metal structuralcomponents dominating the scene. (Richard Gardner)

greater competition. The latest metallicproducts and processes are certainly be-coming far more competitive, and thesigns are that they are likely to make areal comeback, especially on the emerg-ing next-generation airframes that areshaping up on the CAD/CAM screens ofthe major manufacturers.

Aluminum in the AirA market leader in the supply of ad-

vanced metallic materials for the aero-space sector is Constellium (formerlyAlcan Engineered Products), which hasinvested in a range of new Airwareproducts tailored to meet today’s de-manding needs for performance(strength, stiffness, and damage toler-ance), ease of manufacture, and com-petitive costs.

An important factor, and one seen byConstellium as an aspect that benefitsfrom the use of metallic components, isthe increasing environmental concernover the need to recycle structural mate-rials. Constellium provides a close focuson how waste material is recovered andre-used, right through the supply chainmanufacturing process up to the timewhen the airframe is eventually disman-tled after a lifetime of service use. Thisapproach minimizes material losses andenables a very positive outcome, longterm, in environmental benefits.

In this respect, it scores higher thanwithin the composite manufacturingand recycling supply chain, and usesless environmentally harmful contents.Airware is 100% recyclable. These light-weight, high-performance materialsgive overall hybrid structural solutionsthat offer a more sustainable future,with a reduced carbon footprint.

The unique Airware technology fea-tures a much lower density, a higherstiffness, and better damage tolerance.Combined with advanced welding andredesign of aircraft aerostructures, it isclaimed to achieve up to a 25% reduc-tion in structural weight.

Higher corrosion resistance and greaterfatigue resistance increase the structuraldurability, and this in turn guaranteeslonger intervals between heavy mainte-nance periods out of service. These ad-vantages are encouraging aerospace man-ufacturers to use advanced aluminum

solutions rather than composites formore high-tech structures.

Airbus has adopted Airware structuralcomponents for the latest A350XWB (in-ternal wing structures and fuselage), andBombardier has also chosen it for thefuselage of the new 130-seat C Series

super-size regional jet. Both new aircraftare due to make their first flights soon.

Airware products are available inthree innovative forms. Airware I-Gaugeis the thickest low-density alloy plate(165-mm thick), and offers OEMs betterperformance while minimizing weight

Aerospace Engineering, August 2013 29

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Materials Feature

and simplifying manufacturing and assembly of complexmonolithic shapes. It is 46% more corrosion resistant and25% more fatigue resistant.

Airware I-Form is a highly formable product and comes insheet form, allowing the design of complex 3D curvatureshapes with no loss of mechanical properties and a reductionin manufacturing steps. Highly formable, it is 3% lighter, 47%tougher, and 40% more corrosion resistant, and reduces thenumber of manufacturing steps from four to two. It is best

suited for fuselage nose and tail structures, as on the Bom-bardier C Series.

Airware I-Core is 21% stronger and is a high-strength ex-truded product that comes in a low-density alloy. It is opti-mized for a hybrid structure environment with the best crash-worthiness ratio. Its ability to absorb energy reduces the risksof structural damage in a crash or emergency landing, andalso makes it an ideal solution for cargo floor beams.

In March, Constellium opened a new casthouse in Issoire,France, dedicated to low-density alloys. The industrializationof the new technology has involved the reinvention of someof the manufacturing processes, with an open view on inno-vation. Some �52 million was spent on the new project,which included a pilot phase that took place in the com-pany’s R&D center at Voreppe, France.

Constellium is integrating its manufacturing capacity, whichnow comprises facilities in France, Switzerland, and the U.S. atRavenswood, WV. These plants work closely with customers inclose partnership to exploit the gains that can be made from

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Metals Make a Comeback

At its Issoire recycling casthouse, Constellium has demonstrated the recy-clability of A300 wings and cockpit parts with a recovery yield of over90%, resulting in new aluminum ready for use in future aircraft.

Composites may have been the aerospace industry’s darling overthe past few years, but the use of metals in aircraft systems and com-ponents has not gone away and is not expected to any time soon.Whether airframers are designing an all-new aircraft or trending moretoward substantial redesigns of existing types, the end goal is thesame: improved fuel efficiency.

In this live SAE webcast from the editors of Aerospace Engineering, indus-try experts will discuss some of the latest technological breakthroughsand challenges facing engineers tasked with making thorough use ofhigh-strength metals in various aircraft systems and structures while si-multaneously reducing weight, improving fuel efficiency, and main-

taining structural integrity. Tony Morales, Alcoa’s Global Marketing Di-rector, Aerospace & Defense, will highlight Alcoa’s current and futuretechnology developments that can help enable next-generation en-hanced structures; Dr. Rob Sharman, Head of Metallics Technology,GKN Aerospace, will discuss GKN’s expertise and research in advancedmetals; and Sean Holt, Aerospace Application Manager, Sandvik Coro-mant, will offer insights from a tooling perspective.

Attendees of the September 26 webcast will be invited to interactwith the experts during a Q&A segment.

Visit http://www.sae.org/mags/aem/webcasts.htm to register forthe webcast.

The Re-emergence of Aerospace Metals Sponsored by:


Materials Feature

using advanced materials. A good exam-ple is the way in which the companyhas worked with Lockheed Martin onthe F-35.

“To meet a critical need for very largemonolithic components for the F-35,we needed to produce very large platesof previously unheard-of dimensions,”said Kyle Lorentzen, CEO of Constel-lium’s Ravenswood facility. “This wasachieved by combining a unique manu-facturing capability with a tailoredproduct range.”

On the F-35, Constellium’s 7050 and7140 alloys have been used, which givestrength and lightness and importantly,greater corrosion resistance. But legacymilitary aircraft, including the F-16 andF-18, have also received replacementmaterials in their bulkheads, skins, andother key structural components usingAirware 2297 and 2098 alloys.

Manufacturing Methods Lithium has been in the headlines as

a result of the long-running Boeing bat-tle to cure its battery problems on the787, but combined with aluminum,lithium can produce a range of alloysthat offer the best of both worlds — thestrength and lightness of CFRP materi-als with the more environmentallyfriendly ease of manufacture and flexi-bility of aluminum structures.

These “superalloys” are winning overmany engineers and decision-makers inthe main aircraft supplier companies.But the situation is subject to muchchange at present as the plastic vs.metal debate is very dynamic. This re-sults from an almost continuous flow ofnew innovation and processes that arechanging how aircraft are put together.

Many current production aircraftsuch as the 787 and A380, for example,have to incorporate additional metalstrengthening components such asbrackets and support struts, in additionto using very large composite panelswith molded-in strengtheners. Thenew-generation aluminum lithiumcomponents can be machined withgreat accuracy in complex forms, sav-ing the extra complication of combin-ing different types of structural materialthat adds to the assembly effort. Therecan be no escaping the fact that com-

posite materials involve the use of un-friendly resins, and waste disposal is anissue. In operational terms, using ad-vanced metallics in vulnerable parts ofthe structure, such as where vehiclestrikes might be expected, can offer aneasier permanent repair solution andbetter overall resilience.

Some years ago, Airbus announced atone of its Toulouse technical briefingsthat it was experimenting with new ma-

terials that would offer superior per-formance and keep weight down. Thisbecame GLARE, or Glass Laminate Alu-minum Reinforced Epoxy. It turned outto resemble a multi-layer sandwichcomprising many very thin layers ofaluminum between layers of CFRP, allbonded together with epoxy.

The innovative aspect of the tech-nology at that time was that the pre-pregnated composite layers could be

The F-35 is the most modern combat plane in production and uses both composite structure andmetal components in the fuselage and wing. (BAE Systems)

Airware from Constellium enables aircraft designers and manufacturers to meet demands for a newgeneration of lighter, more efficient, and greener aircraft.

laid down in different directions tocater for specific stress conditions (sim-ilar to what is now common on manycomposite components). This meantthat the resulting panels were ex-tremely strong, yet light.

As the GLARE sheets are bonded to-gether, they can be handled in the man-ufacturing process like sheets of alu-minum, using conventional techniques.Compared to conventional aluminum,GLARE panels are more resilient, havegreater corrosion and fire resistance,and are lighter. They require less inspec-tion and maintenance, and have a longlifetime. Major structural panel sectionson the A380 have GLARE panels.

But the pace of the metallics revivalis quickening. The re-emergence ofmetallic solutions as alternatives to fu-ture wing structures, for example, is anarea that is being actively developed byGKN Aerospace, a global Tier One sup-plier that has a very sizable stake inboth metallic and composite structuralmanufacturing for all the major aero-space constructors.

The company believes that additivemanufacturing (AM) presents a massiveopportunity to create complex shapes,some of which would be impossible tomanufacture using conventional meth-

ods, with higher functionality and dif-ferent materials. Using AM techniques,materials can be fused to form objectsfrom 3D models, building up structuresiteratively instead of taking forgingsand then machining material away. AMcan produce highly complicated, near-net-shape geometries with a good sur-face finish, and, by almost eliminatingthe machining process, can make greatsavings in cost and carbon emissions.

GKN has invested heavily in explor-ing many different associated technolo-gies, but is presently focusing onprocesses such as electron beam melt-ing, selective laser melting, and directmetal deposition techniques. It believesthe potential for advanced welding andjoining processes, such as laser welding,linear friction welding (LFW), and fric-tion stir welding, is very applicable forfuture wing structures.

Laser welding techniques developedby GKN have been used on the EuropeanAriane rocket nozzle and are now beingapplied to critical engine structures onthe latest Rolls-Royce Trent XWB. Theyare being studied for new aerostructureapplications. LFW joins two items of ma-terial by rubbing them together until thesurface gets hot enough to become plas-tic. A load then forces them together,forming the joint. The technique canform near-net-shape engineered blanks,considerably reducing build costs. Thishas been developed to reduce theamount of waste material that canemerge from a forging (up to 90%).

The company is also looking closelyat using LFW with titanium as well asdissimilar materials and alloys. It be-lieves friction stir welding could replacetoday’s bolted and riveted metallicjoints with large panels. This solid-statejointing process forces together partsunder load with a rotating tool, heatingand stirring the plasticized metal tobond the components.

The benefits are many and includereducing component weight, improv-ing fatigue performance, reducing theparts count, lowering design and assem-bly costs, and easier maintenance. Littlewonder that at the front line of aero-space structural manufacturing, me -tallics are well positioned for a signifi-cant comeback.

aero-online.org Aerospace Engineering, August 2013Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/45606-795

AM technology being developed by GKN Aerospace creates complex metallic shapes that reducematerial waste, saves weight, are extremely strong, and show the way forward for future exploita-tion in aerospace component manufacture.

Metals Make a Comeback


The first of five development air-craft in the Airbus widebodyA350XWB flight test fleet rolledout of the paint shop this past

May following its completion and suc-cessful integration of all systems andengines, with ground tests well under-way. Whether this aircraft makes it intothe air in time to put in an appearanceat the Paris Air Show in June was un-clear at press time, but with advance or-ders for 617 aircraft for 35 customers al-ready signed up, it was sure to be amajor topic of interest at the show.

The host nation, France, remains aworld leader in advanced aerospace anddefense products; though, as with mostother major European players in thismarket, much activity is now con-ducted within international partner-ships. Although France is a major share-holder in EADS, which includes Airbus,Airbus Military, MBDA, Astrium, andEurocopter, it also retains nationalchampions in the shape of Dassault, Ar-ianespace, and companies that havealso become multinational, such as theSafran and Thales Groups.

Military BackgrounderEven though state financial budgets

are under extreme pressure, it is un-likely that there will be any significantrollback in aerospace investment.France has always taken a long-termview regarding this area of industrialactivity as a precious national asset thatannually generates irreplaceable levelsof export revenue, thanks largely to thesuccess of Airbus, the Snecma enginegroup, and the country’s booming spacesector.

Last year, France’s aerospace and de-fense revenues grew by 16% to €42.5billion. Exports rose 20% to €26.98 bil-lion, representing 75% of turnover,and orders in 2012 reached €49.7 bil-lion. Including indirect as well as di-rect jobs in the aerospace/defense sec-tor, France employs an estimated310,000 people.

A large portion of the 74% that werecivil sales came from Airbus activity,but France is also building large num-bers of Dassault Falcon business jets andits share of ATR regional airliners, aswell as being a 50% partner in CFM’sCFM56 engine program, the world’sbiggest-selling civil jet engine, which isaboard the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320families. The CFM-56’s successor en-gine, the LEAP development, is the soleoffering on the new 737 MAX.

In late April, the French governmentpublished its policy document on de-fense and national security, outliningplans leading up to 2020. The intentionis to try and retain as much front-linecapability as possible. However, therewill be some defense cuts in the FrenchServices, which will be made in trainingand second-line support areas, ratherthan in existing or planned national ca-pability.

The revised program for 2020 in-cludes: 140 reconnaissance and attackhelicopters, 30 army-operated UAVs,115 utility helicopters, 225 multirolefighters, 50 tactical transports, sevenAEW&C detection and surveillance air-craft, 12 air tankers, and 12 surveillanceUAVs. This total front-line fleet isslightly reduced in comparison totoday’s fleets, but some areas where theFrench military planners wanted actionhave not yet been addressed. This in-

The FrenchResurgenceDespite facing great domestic political challenges resulting from the growing national debtlevel and a general financialmalaise in the Euro-zone countrieswithin the EU, successive Frenchgovernments have remained highly supportive of their aerospace sector.

by Richard Gardner, European Editor

Dassault Aviation produces the Falcon 900LX, 2000LX, and 7X business

jets alongside Rafale fighters.


The French Resurgence

cludes the future development of UAVsand a new anti-ship missile system.

Focus on Dassault The most important French military

air program is undoubtedly the Das-sault Rafale, which has been selectedby the Indian Air Force for a newmedium multi-role combat aircraft. De-spite negotiations throughout last year,which were due to conclude at the endof March 2013 with a confirmation ofthe order for up to 126 aircraft, thetalks have become protracted, as isoften the case with Indian military pro-curement.

Dassault remains in competitivemode as it continues to offer theRafale worldwide against the Eu-rofighter Typhoon and U.S. fighters,including the F-35 and F/A-18E/FSuper Hornet. Brazil is a key exporttarget for Dassault, and the countryonce announced a Rafale selection toreplace its French-supplied Miragefighters, but the statement was lateroverruled by the Brazilian Air Forceand no new fighter has yet been cho-sen, though a decision is still due. Das-sault is also gaining valuable extra rev-enues from upgraded Mirage 2000contracts that include major radar,avionics, and weapons replacement.

In December of last year, Dassault an-nounced that Europe’s unmanned com-bat air vehicle, nEUROn, had success-fully completed its maiden flight. Thisdemonstrator program, launched in2005, involves France, Italy, Sweden,Spain, Greece, and Switzerland, and isintended to evaluate the performanceof an advanced stealthy combat air plat-form.

nEUROn features a 10-m-long fuse-lage, with a 12.5-m wingspan and a lowradar signature. It also has an operatinginternal weapons bay. Flight tests willprogress from flying trials in France toautonomous trials in Sweden starting in2014. These trials will be followed byfurther weapons firing and stealth trialsin Italy. The nEUROn is powered by asingle Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adourengine.

Dassault produces the Falcon 900LX,2000LX, and 7X business jets alongsideRafale fighters, and these aircraft serve

as government VIP transports and alsoas maritime patrol aircraft with manyair forces, navies, and coastguard organ-izations, as well as hundreds of businesscustomers worldwide.

The Falcon family has been consider-ably upgraded over the years, recentlycelebrating the 50th anniversary of the

original Falcon 20. Since then, over2,250 members of the jet family havebeen delivered. These business jets nowfeature advanced fly-by-wire flight con-trols, hi-tech glass cockpits, global com-munications through satellite links, andaerodynamic refinements such aswinglets that enhance range.

A French Navy Rafale landing on a French aircraft carrier.

Snecma is a leading aerospace engine producer and many of its products are built in cooperationwith other partners in Europe and the U.S.


Aircraft Feature

Transport FuturesFrance is due to receive the first pro-

duction A400M military transport thisyear. The order for 50 aircraft will re-place existing fleets of Transall and C-130 Hercules tactical airlift aircraft withthe French Air Force. Further deliveriesto Germany, the UK, Spain, and Turkeywill follow, and Airbus Military is pro-moting the A400M in global exportmarkets.

This large transport can carry up to116 paratroops and has a high-volumefreight cabin accommodating two at-tack helicopters or three heavy armoredvehicles, plus alternative engineeringvehicles such as excavators and mobilecranes, making it very suitable for emer-gency relief support as well as strategicand tactical military airlift.

The A440M bridges the gap betweenthe smaller U.S.-built Lockheed MartinC-130J and the larger Boeing C-17, andit can fly from France to the Gulf non-stop. The maximum payload is over80,000 pounds, and the A400M can op-erate into short, rough surfaces as wellas from conventional runways.

The design also has built-in provisionfor use as an air tanker, using remov-able under-wing flight refueling pods.Converting to the tanking role requiresno internal modification and the cargohold can still be used for freight or pas-sengers. All A400Ms have a refuelingprobe.

Airbus Military has also had greatsales success with its smaller militarytransport aircraft, which include theC212, CN235, and CN295 Transporter.The U.S. Coastguard uses the HC-235for coastal surveillance and search andrescue.

Airbus is also leading the sales battlein the export market for large tankertransports with the A330 MRTT, whichis now in service with the air forces ofthe UK, Australia, UAE, and Saudi Ara-bia, with India and France due to fol-low. Within the EADS/EurocopterGroup, the French aerospace industryhas a big stake in all the major pro-grams, including the EC725 Cougar andEC532 Super Puma, NH-90, Tiger UHTattack helicopter, and the Fennec fam-ily of light military helicopters in usewith armies and navies for training, re-

Thales supplies all the cockpits and flight control systems for the Airbus family. This is ODICIS, afuturistic concept for a wrap-around display system incorporating the latest apps technology andmaximum display flexibility.

Dassault's nEUROn made its first flight at the end of last year. Tests will continue in France until mov-ing to Sweden in 2014.


The French Resurgence

connaissance, and ship-to-shore lighttransport, as well as search and rescue.

In the Flight PlanThe success of the trans-European

Airbus venture, now 40 years old, hastransformed the global market for largecommercial transport aircraft. With ahuge product line covering passengerjets seating from 130 on the A319 up to700 in the A380, the consortium hasdeveloped modern, highly competitiveaircraft that now enjoy a firm deliverybacklog of almost 5,000 aircraft, whichwill keep the final assembly lines flow-ing at maximum capacity for the nextseven years. To date Airbus has soldmore than 12,800 aircraft. ThroughMay, nearly 500 new orders had beenannounced just this year.

The latest project to emerge from thesprawling Toulouse final assembly line(from a brand new assembly building)is the long-range A350XWB, which canseat from 270 to 350 passengers, using25% less fuel than previous aircraft inthis midsize widebody category. Thedevelopment program is ramping upwith a view to achieving entry intoservice in 2014.

The new Rolls-Royce Trent XWB hasbeen certified for flight, and the initialrating for the A350-800 will be between75,000-79,000 lb thrust. The A350-900model, which has production priority,will have engines rated at 84,000-lbthrust.

Following into service in 2017 on thestretched A350-1000 will be the 97,000-lb thrust engine. The best-selling A320is currently being rolled out of threefinal assembly lines, soon to be four, ata rate of 40 each month. This aircraft,like Boeing’s 737, shows every sign ofjust running and running.

The Franco-Italian ATR twin turbo-prop regional airliner has been chosenby many customers for use as a VIPtransport, coastguard patrol aircraft,and as a navy and air force maritimepatrol aircraft. As well as sea searchradar, the MPA version carries electro-optical and infrared sensors for day ornight identification and tracking of sur-face targets and small vessels. Onboarddisplay systems enable surveillance oflarge areas of coastline or open sea, with

multiple tracking and datalinks toships, shore bases, or other aircraft.

MBDA has become the main Euro-pean supplier for all types of short-,medium-, and long-range missiles.France is a major partner in the group,and a new generation of air-to-surfaceweapons is under development, while

today’s major programs include the AS-RAAM and Mica short-range air-to-airmissiles, the Meteor beyond-visual-hori-zon AAM, the Scalp-Storm Shadowstand-off attack missile, MARTE anti-ship missile, and the ASTER advancedship- or land-based air defense/anti-mis-sile systems.

The first Airbus A350XWB emerged from the paint shop in May.

The Eurocopter is co-produced between France and Germany and has recently been upgraded withenhanced engines and avionics systems. (EADS)

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