Challenge purpose: Cost-effective lightweight design and tool-less manufacturing for an Air Intake duct of ECS application

About the challenge

The component proposed for the technological study in this project, selected on the basis of the OEM's choice to identify material and process that can lead to a considerable reduction in weight and in cost is the Air intake duct of the Environment Control System (ECS). Challenges when designing ECS ducting can stem from the complexity of component configuration, a powerful solution for overcoming these difficulties could be additive manufacturing.

Main section of application:

• Aeronautics

Main cross-cutting topics:

• Manufacturing & assembly
• Material supply & development

Scope of the challenge

Create a demonstrator with an alternative material and process of the Air intake duct of the Environment Control System (ECS) installed on the P180, and test it statically.  The scope is to identify material and process that can bring significant weight and cost savings on this component and on all similar complex shaped parts. For a real possession of the technologies (possibility of certifying the product), it is necessary to have a potential qualification of the candidate material and process.

The scope:

• Processes that can be used to build parts with complex shapes as monolithic as possible
• The search for lower-cost materials to Qualify and search for Eligible ones to be used for a possible Product Certification
• A structural testing campaign (at coupons level if needed) for the previous purpose and to support the process, up to the full-scale test of ECS Air intake duct.

The component proposed for the technological study in this project is the Air intake duct of the Environment Control System installed on the P180.

Manufactured as a welded assembly of formed thin sheets of austenitic stainless steel (AISI321), target weight as a new air intake made as monolithic carbon fibre laminate cured in autoclave, but with effective reduction manufacturing cost and increased flexibility if you have to change the (tool-less).

Challenge objectives

Realize a demonstrator in alternative material and process of the Air intake duct of the Environment Control System (ECS)taken as a reference. The main objectives of this challenge are:

• Weight reduction 50-60%
• Cost reduction 10-15%
• Set-up method to qualify material and process, to apply the same material and process on similar items.
• Organize a dedicated aeronautical supply chain.

Can you provide a solution to this challenge?
More information can be found here: https://www.rightweightnwe.com/application-form