Alcoa Says They Can Lower Cost, Weight And Production Risk Of
New Airplanes
A "completely new set of aluminum-based solutions" for the
aerospace market is being touted by an aluminum manufacturer that
it says will allow airframers to build dramatically lighter and
lower-cost short-range airplanes at significantly lower production
risk than composite-intensive planes.
The new materials, announced late last week by aluminum
manufacturer Alcoa, combine new alloys and advanced structural
technologies, use Alcoa sheet, plate, forgings and hard alloy
extrusion products across aircraft structures, including airplane
wings and fuselage elements, according to the company
Alcoa says the new technologies can; lower the weight of the
plane by up to 10% vs. composite-intensive planes, lower the cost
to manufacture, operate and repair planes by up to 30% vs.
composite-intensive planes, and at significantly lower production
risk. The company says it will also allow for a 12% increase in
fuel efficiency, on top of the 15% from new engines, and deliver
passenger comfort features equivalent to composite-intensive
planes, such as higher cabin pressure, large windows and higher
humidity.
“The decisions made in the past decade to build the first
composite-intensive aircraft were a huge wake-up call for
us,” said Mick Wallis, President of Alcoa North American
Rolled Products who is responsible for Alcoa’s aerospace
sheet and plate products. “In hindsight it was the right
decision for the time – when advanced aluminum solutions were
not as developed -- but our technology solutions have made quantum
leaps since those decisions.
"And it’s important to keep in mind that the mission
requirements of short-range airplanes are dramatically different
than those of longer-range planes,” added Wallis. “With
these new solutions we are confident we can add value to airframers
in their short-range offerings, just as we have proven with
longer-range planes…and the market research we’ve
conducted says we are not alone in that belief.”
The combination of Alcoa solutions results in short range
aircraft that meet or exceed airframer targets for corrosion
resistance, aerodynamic drag, maintenance requirements, and fuel
efficiency along with improved buy-to-fly ratios. In fact, the
improvements developed by Alcoa for a new short-range aircraft can
generate up to a 12% increase in fuel efficiency on top of the 15%
improvement from new engines. Included in the new solutions
portfolio are advanced alloys and third-generation aluminum lithium
alloys that result in up to 7% lower density in major structural
applications along with critically important corrosion resistance.
Alcoa’s most-recent aluminum lithium alloys were selected for
large commercial aircraft plate applications and are being used on
planes about to enter the marketplace. These newest aluminum
lithium alloys provide additional enhanced performance.
New improvements in aerodynamics for skin sheet developed by
Alcoa reduce skin friction drag by up to 6%. In addition, new
advanced structural technologies using forged, extruded, and rolled
products enable increased wing aspect ratio for improved fuel
savings, provide up to 10 times the damage tolerance vs.
conventional alloys, and allow increased cabin pressurization for
enhanced passenger comfort, on par with all new aircraft structures
in development today.
“As we began work on these new solutions, we wanted to
ensure they contribute to all four phases of a plane’s life
cycle,” said Eric Roegner, President of Alcoa Forgings and
Extrusions. “In the first phase, when it is built, we will
lower manufacturing and assembly costs and reduce program risks for
the airframer through established high volume supply chains and
reduced investment requirements via existing
infrastructure…and aircraft operators want the reduced risk
associated with timely delivery.
“In the second phase, when customers fly the plane, the
lower weight and aerodynamic technologies will increase fuel
efficiency by up to 12% on their own and up to 27% when new engines
are factored in,” said Roegner.
Wallis added, “In the third phase, as airlines maintain
the plane, we will lower costs because of enhanced corrosion
resistance that helps with emerging inspection interval
requirements. And, in the last phase -- the end of life or
retirement of the plane -- aluminum’s infinite recyclability
puts it head and shoulders above other materials in that it can be
turned back into useful products again and again.”
In addition to the positive reception the new solutions are
receiving from airframers wrestling with material choices, Alcoa
conducted market research across the industry – including
tier one players, airlines, maintenance/MRO and other leasing
companies – to determine perceptions of choice for primary
structure applications, outscoring composites in favorability.
The company says its research also shows that nearly 3 out of 4
of the technical and design respondents surveyed had a favorable
perception of aluminum as the primary structural material for new
aircraft vs. 54% for composites. Among management and commercial
constituencies, the results showed the opposite.