Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AManECO (ASSESSMENT OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING LIMITS FOR ECO-DESIGN OPTIMIZATION IN HEAT EXCHANGERS)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-04-01 do 2023-03-31
At a time when the aeronautical industry is investing about 70% of Research and Technology spending on making air transport increasingly environmentally-friendly, the next generation of engines will be giving off far more heat than their current counterparts. One of the challenges will be to optimize management of these rising heat levels, by drawing heat off from where it is generated, reusing as much as possible and dissipating the rest. AManECO project is aligned with the development of heat recovery solutions using very high-efficiency heat exchangers, with innovative designs and manufacturing methods such as metal additive manufacturing (AM) and experimental testing. These future generation of heat exchangers will supplement the actual HX designs, traditionally manufactured for oil equipment products, and will enable aircraft engines manufacturer´s, like SAFRAN, to strengthen its position as world leader in this type of complex parts.
AManECO created a new concept of HX after discovering the real limits of the metal AM, and in particular laser powder bed fusion technology (PBF-LB), in terms of thins geometries manufactured with INCO718 and AlSi7Mg0.6 alloys. As a result of the project, AManECO proposes a methodology to create a HX design in accordance with ECO-Design TA in CS2.
AM has a great potential in terms of parts design and optimization in the field of aero-engines, in particular for advanced gear turbofans and highly efficient engines where an increased amount of energy has to be dissipated in cooling fluids. In this project the target are heat exchangers and heat recovery systems optimization through the investigation of advanced AM techniques and tools to overcome the gap that still exists between these structures optimized at computer scale and the industrial reality, related to the lack of fundamental knowledge of AM limits in terms of microstructures, surface quality, geometrical accuracy, thin features and associated performances.
The work proposed in AManECO aims at optimizing the PBF-LB manufacturing process of HX on several points:
- Allowing to assess the potential of PBF-LB to design and build parts with radically new architecture, based on the knowledge to be developed and considering the Eco-design aspects.
- Allowing to optimize the conception phase of heat exchangers reducing the development time/cost/energy by assessing the limits of LPB-LB technology, in terms of wall thickness, holes/gaps, overhang angle, thin layers, surface finish, etc., and include these limits in the design tools.
- Allowing an optimization of material used (AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO718) for the same efficiency, by finding for instance the optimal wall thickness in heat exchangers or new shapes with improved heat transfer capacity.
AManECO enhanced knowledge of metal AM and, specifically, the capability of PBF-LB process to manufacture thin layers and wall thickness with adequate surface finish using AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO 718 materials. In particular, investigating aerothermal and mechanical performance of thin walls to predict them in the design of HX and be able to optimize the HX´s design process in an Eco-friendly way after knowing the limits of the metal AM technology.
All in all, the main benefit of AMANECO project has been to prove the suitable behaviour in terms of aerothermal and mechanical properties of heat exchangers made by additive manufacturing with innovative designs, taken advantage of the PBF-LB technology characteristics to manufacture almost 50% thinner wall thickness with AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO 718 materials than the current state of the art and the application of novel customized surface treatments to HX´s internal channel which allows a better aerothermal performance. In addition, the time-to-market was reduced and the efficiency of the heat exchangers increased in comparison with conventional heat exchangers.
AManECO created a new concept of HX after discovering the real limits of the metal AM, and in particular laser powder bed fusion technology (PBF-LB), in terms of thins geometries manufactured with INCO718 and AlSi7Mg0.6 alloys. As a result of the project, AManECO proposes a methodology to create a HX design in accordance with ECO-Design TA in CS2.
AM has a great potential in terms of parts design and optimization in the field of aero-engines, in particular for advanced gear turbofans and highly efficient engines where an increased amount of energy has to be dissipated in cooling fluids. In this project the target are heat exchangers and heat recovery systems optimization through the investigation of advanced AM techniques and tools to overcome the gap that still exists between these structures optimized at computer scale and the industrial reality, related to the lack of fundamental knowledge of AM limits in terms of microstructures, surface quality, geometrical accuracy, thin features and associated performances.
The work proposed in AManECO aims at optimizing the PBF-LB manufacturing process of HX on several points:
- Allowing to assess the potential of PBF-LB to design and build parts with radically new architecture, based on the knowledge to be developed and considering the Eco-design aspects.
- Allowing to optimize the conception phase of heat exchangers reducing the development time/cost/energy by assessing the limits of LPB-LB technology, in terms of wall thickness, holes/gaps, overhang angle, thin layers, surface finish, etc., and include these limits in the design tools.
- Allowing an optimization of material used (AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO718) for the same efficiency, by finding for instance the optimal wall thickness in heat exchangers or new shapes with improved heat transfer capacity.
AManECO enhanced knowledge of metal AM and, specifically, the capability of PBF-LB process to manufacture thin layers and wall thickness with adequate surface finish using AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO 718 materials. In particular, investigating aerothermal and mechanical performance of thin walls to predict them in the design of HX and be able to optimize the HX´s design process in an Eco-friendly way after knowing the limits of the metal AM technology.
All in all, the main benefit of AMANECO project has been to prove the suitable behaviour in terms of aerothermal and mechanical properties of heat exchangers made by additive manufacturing with innovative designs, taken advantage of the PBF-LB technology characteristics to manufacture almost 50% thinner wall thickness with AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO 718 materials than the current state of the art and the application of novel customized surface treatments to HX´s internal channel which allows a better aerothermal performance. In addition, the time-to-market was reduced and the efficiency of the heat exchangers increased in comparison with conventional heat exchangers.
The boundary limits of the metal PBF-LB technology were stablished for printing thin wall thickness. The best set of processing parameters were selected and design considerations were taken into account. A new methodology for printing very thin wall thicknesses was developed. This new methodology of printing using specific processing parameters and laser strategies can be applied to any product which needs thin wall thickness, not only to heat exchangers. Following this methodology wall thicknesses of AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO 718 materials thinner than the state of the art were accomplished. These low wall thicknesses are able to withstand enough pressure proof for the aircraft application. In addition, the achieved equivalent yield strength and ultimate tensile strength are good enough for the application. These experimental data was compared with the simulated data obtained by FEM and even if the values are different, the trends were similar.
A customized surface treatments were developed for each material to reduce the roughness of internal channels. These surface treatments optimized the aerothermal behaviour of the samples, increasing the efficiency.
The environmental impact of all samples for both materials was analysed by LCA and the influence of the material was compared. In addition, a LCI database was created.
Several final real scale demonstrators (12 of AlSi7Mg0.6 and 13 of INCO 718 material) were manufactured according to two designs, which were aerothermically characterized. These heat exchangers showed a better aerothermal behaviour than conventional ones considering the same design.
The exploitable results achieved were 8, focused on methodologies for manufacturing, surface treatments, and testing, Eco design LCI datasets, numercial analysis, and simulation. Regarding dissemination activities, the results were displayed in ADDIT3D BIEMH fair, several posts in social media (LinkedIn), 2 oral presentation in seminars about AM, 1 workshop about Clean Aviation and 2 press releases. Additionally, 3 scientific publications are under preparation.
A customized surface treatments were developed for each material to reduce the roughness of internal channels. These surface treatments optimized the aerothermal behaviour of the samples, increasing the efficiency.
The environmental impact of all samples for both materials was analysed by LCA and the influence of the material was compared. In addition, a LCI database was created.
Several final real scale demonstrators (12 of AlSi7Mg0.6 and 13 of INCO 718 material) were manufactured according to two designs, which were aerothermically characterized. These heat exchangers showed a better aerothermal behaviour than conventional ones considering the same design.
The exploitable results achieved were 8, focused on methodologies for manufacturing, surface treatments, and testing, Eco design LCI datasets, numercial analysis, and simulation. Regarding dissemination activities, the results were displayed in ADDIT3D BIEMH fair, several posts in social media (LinkedIn), 2 oral presentation in seminars about AM, 1 workshop about Clean Aviation and 2 press releases. Additionally, 3 scientific publications are under preparation.
Thiner wall thicknesses than those achieved in the current state of the art were achieved for metal PBF-LB processing of AlSi7Mg0.6 and INCO 718 samples. This allows a more design freedom, lightweighting of the parts and improving efficiency of products where the wall thickness has influence, such as heat exchangers, stirling engine regenerator and so on.
Recommendations for designers were suggested with respect to the minimum wall thickness to achieve set target values for mechanical and aerothermal properties.
Eco-design recommendations for improving the environmental profile of the heat exchanger were defined. These recommendations will allow the creation of heat exchangers that are environmentally sustainable and help to reduce their overall aircraft environmental footprint.
AMANECO´s results will contribute to decrease the aircraft weight and increase the efficiency of thermal management systems. As a result, CO2 emissions will be reduced as well as fuel consumption. Thus, less GHG gasses will be emitted, and fuel costs will be reduced. In addition, the application of metal PBF-LB technology allows a reduced material usage, energy savings and can result in fewer transportation requirements and simplified supply chain.
AMANECO is in line with EU policy aiming at reducing emissions from the aviation sector to address environmental aspects and societal needs.
Recommendations for designers were suggested with respect to the minimum wall thickness to achieve set target values for mechanical and aerothermal properties.
Eco-design recommendations for improving the environmental profile of the heat exchanger were defined. These recommendations will allow the creation of heat exchangers that are environmentally sustainable and help to reduce their overall aircraft environmental footprint.
AMANECO´s results will contribute to decrease the aircraft weight and increase the efficiency of thermal management systems. As a result, CO2 emissions will be reduced as well as fuel consumption. Thus, less GHG gasses will be emitted, and fuel costs will be reduced. In addition, the application of metal PBF-LB technology allows a reduced material usage, energy savings and can result in fewer transportation requirements and simplified supply chain.
AMANECO is in line with EU policy aiming at reducing emissions from the aviation sector to address environmental aspects and societal needs.