GKN Aerospace (Chalet 73, Hall 2b/H174) has innovative technology on all new transport aircraft entering service, according to engineering and technology senior vice-president Russ Dunn, a former Airbus head of A350 wing engineering. “It’s not just about developing technology, but getting on to aircraft,” the executive told AIN. “GKN Aerospace is a company that everyone wants to partner with.”
Here at Le Bourget, six major aircraft and equipment programs are providing the manufacturer with debut platforms for its latest technological developments. On board the Airbus A350 twin-aisle twinjet are GKN spars, automated trailing-edge assemblies and CrystalVue II passenger windows, the latter similarly adorning Bombardier’s C Series jetliner that also is fitted with the UK company’s co-cured ailerons and winglets. All are made from composites.
The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine, which powers the A350, has engine case structures that include GKN additive-manufactured features, while Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000 geared turbofan (GTF) sports intermediate engine and turbine-exit cases.
For the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighter, GKN provides the cockpit canopy, plus various composites and metallic assemblies, and the F135 engine case and ice protection. Finally, the supplier has produced the composite airframe and cockpit windows for the Japanese HondaJet executive aircraft.
Such myriad products represent the wide range of GKN Aerospace’s expertise in aerospace technology; indeed, chief executive Kevin Cummings argues that the company offers “the widest range of capabilities” of any Tier 1 supplier of airframe and engine-support structures (a claimed Number 3 in the world), engine static and rotating structures, including maintenance (Number 2), and cockpit and cabin transparencies and ice-protection systems (respectively, Numbers 1 and 2). It employs 12,300 people at nearly 40 locations in nine countries on three continents.
“Five years ago, there was a lot of pressure on original equipment manufacturers [OEMs] to improve performance for new platforms–programs that are now entering service,” said Dunn. “Today, much more emphasis is being put on cost reductions, with OEMs having become very interested if we can see opportunities to save.”
Collaboration permits GKN to exploit “differentiating” technologies and to influence industry strategies. Its partners include government and academic research agencies and centers, along with world-famous airframe, engine, and system manufacturers with which the company has established “active technology programs.”
Working with research centers has provided GKN with access to funding for both parties through government agencies, said Dunn. Such partnerships have permitted the company to harness knowledge during early research, while de-risking new technical developments through so-called “catapult” centers (organizations set up by the UK Technology Strategy Board to promote research and development collaboration among businesses, engineers, and scientists).
Pointing out that increased competition demands world-class technology development, Dunn claims that GKN Aerospace leads the world with the widest range of strategic technologies to offer unique products. “The whole industry is innovating at a greater level than seen before,” he said.
He says that real opportunities arise “when you combine technologies to [introduce] your own expertise that is not available to competitors.” Dunn cites a wide range of GKN Aerospace technologies, each with several elements:
Chemistry and materials – erosion, anti-ice, and damage-detection coatings, and Haynes 282 high-temperature material development;
Processes – near net-shape joining, additive manufacture, forming and welding, composites automation, and automated polishing;
Major components – co-cured wing covers (skin panels), cockpit canopies, composite fan cases, and laser-welded and Space-propulsion structures; and
Major assemblies – composite fuselages, trailing-edge assemblies, and engine certification.
GKN sees “real value” in five strategic technologies that are being developed, each aimed variously at reducing cost, drag, fuel burn, noise or weight, while increasing efficiency, according to Dunn:
Integrated composites structures – GKN’s microwave curing technology is claimed to offer 90-percent reduction in build power consumption, enabling it to offer 15 percent cost reduction on “something as simple as a panel;”
Advanced metallic structures – the company’s advanced welding, analysis, and material capability, including “a lot of work in how to integrate different metals, such as welding to obtain complicated structures,” is said to have enabled a 10 percent weight reduction on Pratt & Whitney GTF engine cases and permitted the program to deliver a “step change” in specific fuel consumption;
Transparencies and coatings – GKN’s CrystalVue II coating “doubles the life” of aircraft cabin windows, offering “three to seven years” of extra operation;
Ice protection and detection – a patented closed-loop system offers “up to 50-percent reduction” in de-icing power consumption providing “[up to] $50,000” saving per single-aisle aircraft per year; and
Additive manufacture – the company is moving into production this year with an electron-beam melting (EBM) powder-bed process, enabling “a 25 percent” cost reduction on titanium components.
Leading in Additive Technology
GKN Aerospace (Chalet 73, Hall 2b/H174) has established a “strong strategy and plan” to lead in the exploitation of additive manufacturing (AM) in aerospace, according to the UK company’s engineering and technology senior vice-president, Russ Dunn.
Additive processes have huge potential for application in aerospace, where there is “a growing demand for more, and more efficient, aircraft,” said Dunn. “In coming years the industry will need to manufacture at greater speeds and with total consistency, producing lighter and more cost-effective [components] that generate less waste during manufacture and lower emissions in operation.”
With Swedish AM specialist Arcam, GKN Aerospace has set up a joint technology development (JTD) partnership to develop and industrialize electron beam melting (EBM), a “most promising” process in which three-dimensional metal components are built up layer-by-layer. A conductive metal powder–titanium for example–is melted by a powerful electron beam to produce “very precise, small- to medium-sized components” that require very little finishing.
Under the JTD agreement, GKN Aerospace has ordered two Arcam Q20 EBM machines for its Bristol, UK AM center, where it produces military and commercial aircraft components. Arcam says the Q20 system permits “industrial volume” production, including increased productivity, higher resolution, and a camera monitoring system for part quality verification.
The partners will collaborate to develop EBM equipment to manufacture complex titanium structures at the high volumes required to meet future demand. Alongside the Arcam partnership, GKN Aerospace is working with its parent group’s powder metallurgy division.
“Our aim has been to fully understand how EBM can be applied to our future aerostructures and aero engines portfolio,” said Dunn. “We believe [additive] processes will revolutionize manufacturing, particularly in aerospace, where cost, weight, and performance are critical. [This will] unlock innovations in low-drag, high-performance wing designs and lighter, even more-efficient engine systems that will dramatically improve airframe performance and reduce noxious emissions and noise.”
In April, GKN Aerospace revealed it was to lead a three-year, $4.8 million collaborative research program to develop titanium powder specifically for aerospace-component AM. Dubbed “titanium powder for net-shape component manufacture” (or TiPOW), it aims also to develop techniques and equipment to produce the powder consistently, in quantity, and less expensively.
TiPOW will investigate development of titanium alloys and powders more specifically suited to AM than initial materials that were not optimized for such processes. Backed by the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and Technology Strategy Board “innovation agency,” this research will be followed by definition of production methods aimed at minimizing AM material costs while meeting aerospace quality, quantity, and consistency standards.
Previous AM research focused largely on evolving processes required to enter full scale production, but Dunn said that to make a significant breakthrough, the “quality, repeatability, and cost of material will be critical.” The program also will explore effective re-use and recycling of titanium material and study potential applications for recycled material.
The TiPOW research work will run alongside Horizon (AM), another GKN Aerospace-led, ATI-supported, program that aims to “take promising AM techniques through to viable production processes,” according to the company. GKN has set up five development centers in North America and Europe to focus on AM processes and technology.