Tue, 18 May, 2021
TWI is working alongside project leader Meggitt Aerospace Limited on an EU-CleanSky 2 funded project to improve air-oil heat exchanger technology using additive layer manufacturing.
The ‘Compact - Additive Layer Manufactured Air Oil Heat Exchanger (C-ALM AOHE)’ project has received funding under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme JTI-CS2-2018-CFP08-LPA-01 whose remit is to mature and validate disruptive technologies for next generation Large Passenger Aircraft through large scale integrated demonstration, for advanced engine and aircraft configuration.
The objectives of the ongoing project are to design, develop, manufacture and test a compact air-oil heat exchanger for use in next generation geared VHBR/UHBR turbofan engines for the aerospace industry.
The project work includes:
- Design of a C-ALM AOHE incorporating novel geometry and construction with step change technology attributes
- Creating a thermal model of the proposed design using computational techniques
- Building, testing and validating a thermally representative C-ALM AOHE model
- Refine the design to create an optimised C-ALM AOHE
- Test and validate the final design in line with requirements
The project will deliver a fully-validated air-oil heat exchanger to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, Manufacturing Capability Readiness Level (MCRL) 4 and MCRL 6, with a heat load of 80kW and a dry weight of less than 10kg that can directly flow into follow-on flight demonstrator and NPI programmes.
While this work will be primarily aimed at aerospace applications, the technology may find use in other industries, such as automotive.
We will bring you more updates as the project progresses.
The C-ALM AOHE project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 831880