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Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace
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Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Aerospace Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2024 | Viewed by 13685

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jafar Jamshidi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Integrated Product Development Centre for Aeronautics, School of Aerospace, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 0AL, UK
Interests: integrated product development; aircraft design; metrology; high value manufacturing; manufacturing automation; transforming initial design to manufacturable design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aerospace research has developed rapidly in recent years. To meet the needs associated with these developments, the shape of aeronautical components has started to become more complex and multifunctional. Materials tend to be composed of alloys or composites with a high level of mechanical performance. The continued application of traditional equivalents (e.g., forging and casting) and subtractive processes for the manufacture of high-performance aerospace components faces long lead times, low qualification rates, high costs, or even the inability to manufacture them at all.

The emergence of additive manufacturing (AM) has opened up a new way to solve these challenges and has led to the rapid development of applications in the aerospace sector. The main applications of additive manufacturing in aerospace include rapid prototyping and low volume machining, leading to significant cost and lead-time reductions. The full utilization of AM in aerospace particularly on structural components is only possible when challenges in their manufacturing speed and accuracy and issues associated to AM product validation are resolved.

This Special Issue welcomes papers from ongoing or recently completed research projects in additive manufacturing in the aerospace sector. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

  • Structural part design for AM utilization;
  • Internal and external topology optimization for AM;
  • Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing for AM parts;
  • AM product validation and non-destructive testing;
  • AM process improvement and in situ inspection;
  • Multimaterial AM technology and applications;
  • Bio-inspired design of structural parts for AM.

Dr. Jafar Jamshidi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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17 pages, 15497 KiB  
Article
Novel Aluminum Alloy Tailored for Additive Manufacturing: Structural Characterization and Qualification Perspectives
by Maurizio Arena, Bharat Mehta, Tommaso Tirelli, Paolo Ambrogiani, Martina Castaldo, Sven Bengtsson and Lars Nyborg
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 4647; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14114647 - 28 May 2024
Viewed by 1377
Abstract
The recent advances achieved in additive manufacturing (AM) technology demonstrate the potential to realize customized metal components, ensuring weight reduction opportunities. These benefits make AM attractive for high-cost aerospace applications, especially where high geometric complexity is required. In the context of an EU [...] Read more.
The recent advances achieved in additive manufacturing (AM) technology demonstrate the potential to realize customized metal components, ensuring weight reduction opportunities. These benefits make AM attractive for high-cost aerospace applications, especially where high geometric complexity is required. In the context of an EU research scenario, the H2020 MANUELA (Additive Manufacturing Using Metal Pilot Line) project promotes the development of new technologies for design optimization by enabling the application of novel materials in AM. This paper illustrates recent advances in a new aluminum alloy (Al-HS1) with high strength emphasizing all of the characterization steps at the coupon level. This material has been employed in the re-engineering of a conventional hydraulic manifold using a powder bed fusion-laser beam (PBF-LB) process. Both the simulations and structural tests allowed for proving its compliance and technological maturity with industrial standards and applicable airworthiness requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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16 pages, 11135 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of Nanotechnology Treatments in Composite Aircraft Applications
by Enrico Cestino, Juri Catapano, Francesco Galvano, Andrea Felis, Sabrina Zuccalà, Valentina Martilla, Vito Sapienza and Lorenzo Chesta
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 1721; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14051721 - 20 Feb 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1325
Abstract
This paper aims to verify the effectiveness of a process of superficial protection based on nanotechnologies produced by 4Ward360 and specifically developed for aeronautical applications on composite material aircraft. The Dardo aircraft, a composite VLA category manufactured by CFM Air, was taken as [...] Read more.
This paper aims to verify the effectiveness of a process of superficial protection based on nanotechnologies produced by 4Ward360 and specifically developed for aeronautical applications on composite material aircraft. The Dardo aircraft, a composite VLA category manufactured by CFM Air, was taken as a reference case and two application/investigation areas were identified. The potential anticorrosive behavior of the nanotechnology treatment was investigated when applied to the metal joints of the aircraft, such as the wing–fuselage attachments usually made of Al-2024-T3 aluminum alloy. Furthermore, the potential increased effectiveness in cleaning was investigated as another possible application concerning the parts made of composite material both solid and in a sandwich configuration and the plexiglass parts of the canopy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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22 pages, 7244 KiB  
Article
Routing Design for Pipe System Considering Natural Frequency
by Jiang Fan, Hongbin Xu, Qingze Meng and Yumin Su
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 1143; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14031143 - 29 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1056
Abstract
This paper proposes a novel path planning method that considers the natural frequencies of pipes. The approach begins by presenting an adaptive decomposition method to accurately define the routing space for aero engines. Compared with the traditional decomposition method, obstacle identification efficiency is [...] Read more.
This paper proposes a novel path planning method that considers the natural frequencies of pipes. The approach begins by presenting an adaptive decomposition method to accurately define the routing space for aero engines. Compared with the traditional decomposition method, obstacle identification efficiency is improved by more than 50%. This paper improves the initial population of the genetic algorithm based on the rapidly exploring random tree. Subsequently, a numerical surrogate model is developed to predict the natural frequencies of pipes. An evaluation function is created incorporating the weighted values of the natural frequency and the tube length. Additionally, this paper introduces several new operators to mitigate the issue of illegal paths during algorithm iterations. Finally, the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through experiments on two well-designed examples and an application in an aero engine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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21 pages, 4372 KiB  
Article
Manufacturing Process of Helicopter Tail Rotor Blades from Composite Materials Using 3D-Printed Moulds
by Radu Torpan and Sebastian-Marian Zaharia
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 972; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14030972 - 23 Jan 2024
Viewed by 3487
Abstract
Conventional processes require a mould for the manufacture of each test product, which often results in high costs but is ideal for large series of products. In contrast, for prototypes, additive manufacturing processes are a suitable low-cost time-saving alternative. The primary objective of [...] Read more.
Conventional processes require a mould for the manufacture of each test product, which often results in high costs but is ideal for large series of products. In contrast, for prototypes, additive manufacturing processes are a suitable low-cost time-saving alternative. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the capabilities of 3D-printed tooling in a real-life scenario for composite blades with low production numbers and prototypes in order to allow development and production costs to decrease and to also reduce lead times in the early phases of new projects. The 3D printing process is economically advantageous in terms of production costs for the composite blade mould, reducing the cost three times compared to the conventional manufacturing process. To obtain the composite helicopter blade, the following phases were carried out: the starting design of the mould, 3D printing and assembly of the mould sections, and blade manufacturing. The economic analysis of the two mould manufacturing methods shows an approximately equal ratio between the manufacturing costs of the 3D-printed mould and the manufacturing costs of the blade, whereas in the conventional processes, the costs for mould manufacturing represent 75% of the total cost and the rest (25%) of the cost is spent on blade manufacturing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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16 pages, 21703 KiB  
Article
Mechanical and Tribological Performance of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced PETG for FFF Applications
by Moises Batista, Jose Miguel Lagomazzini, Magdalena Ramirez-Peña and Juan Manuel Vazquez-Martinez
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12701; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312701 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1682
Abstract
With the increasing adoption of Additive Manufacturing in the industry, driven by its efficiency, productivity, and project profitability, materials have undergone significant evolution to enhance process performance and part properties. One of the processes employed to enhance these properties involves the incorporation of [...] Read more.
With the increasing adoption of Additive Manufacturing in the industry, driven by its efficiency, productivity, and project profitability, materials have undergone significant evolution to enhance process performance and part properties. One of the processes employed to enhance these properties involves the incorporation of various types of reinforcements. This aims to ensure that the material acquires a proportion of the properties of the added reinforcement. Consequently, the options for material selection expand depending on the application. Hence, there is a need to understand how specific reinforcements modify the properties of these materials. For this reason, this study investigates the modification of mechanical properties in a PETG matrix through the incorporation of short carbon fiber (CF) reinforcements, driven by their industrial relevance. To achieve this, the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) process will be utilized to produce a series of standardized specimens made of both PETG and CF-reinforced PETG, with variations in layer height and extrusion temperature. Subsequently, these specimens will undergo mechanical evaluation in tension and compression, following the relevant standards for each case. Finally, distinctions between both materials will be analyzed, based on the data obtained from tensile and compression tests. The incorporation of carbon fiber reinforcement shows a detrimental effect, leading to a decrease in the material’s stress (39.23 N/mm2 vs. 48.41 N/mm2 for the conventional material). As expected, due to the nature of the reinforcement (short fibers), the deformation of the material also decreases (2.13% compared to 2.9%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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18 pages, 4114 KiB  
Article
A Study on the Normalized Delineation of Airspace Sectors Based on Flight Conflict Dynamics
by Yating Peng, Xiangxi Wen, Jiabin Kong, Yanling Meng and Minggong Wu
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(21), 12070; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132112070 - 6 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1057
Abstract
The study of airspace sector demarcation can help controllers to deal with complex air situations, provide reference for air traffic control services, reduce the workload of controllers, and ensure safe and efficient airspace operation. Based on complex network theory, this paper proposes a [...] Read more.
The study of airspace sector demarcation can help controllers to deal with complex air situations, provide reference for air traffic control services, reduce the workload of controllers, and ensure safe and efficient airspace operation. Based on complex network theory, this paper proposes a sector division method based on a mean shift clustering algorithm and a Voronoi diagram. Firstly, a flight conflict network is constructed based on the structural characteristics of the airborne flight situation, combined with the three-dimensional velocity barrier method and the aircraft protected area model. Secondly, six network topology indexes, such as the total node degree, average point strength and network density, are selected to construct the flight-situation-assessment index system, and the busy and idle time segments of the airspace are divided according to the comprehensive network indexes; finally, based on the historical flight data, the airborne aircraft in the busy and idle time segments are clustered using the mean shift clustering algorithm and the Voronoi diagram method, respectively, so as to obtain a sector division scheme. The simulation results show that this method can equalize the network topology indexes and provide a reference for the scientific allocation of controllers’ energy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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13 pages, 13689 KiB  
Article
3D-Printed Bio-Inspired Mechanisms for Bird-like Morphing Drones
by Peter L. Bishay, Matthew Brody, David Podell, Francisco Corte Garcia, Erik Munoz, Evette Minassian and Kevin Bradley
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(21), 11814; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132111814 - 29 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2559
Abstract
Birds have unique flight characteristics unrivaled by even the most advanced drones due in part to their lightweight morphable wings and tail. Advancements in 3D-printing, servomotors, and composite materials are enabling more innovative airplane designs inspired by avian flight that could lead to [...] Read more.
Birds have unique flight characteristics unrivaled by even the most advanced drones due in part to their lightweight morphable wings and tail. Advancements in 3D-printing, servomotors, and composite materials are enabling more innovative airplane designs inspired by avian flight that could lead to optimized flight characteristics compared to traditional designs. Morphing technology aims to improve the aerodynamic and power efficiencies of aircraft by eliminating traditional control surfaces and implementing wings with significant shape-changing ability. This work proposes designs of 3D-printed, bio-inspired, non-flapping, morphing wing and tail mechanisms for unmanned aerial vehicles. The proposed wing design features a corrugated flexible 3D-printed structure to facilitate sweep morphing with expansion and contraction of the attached artificial feathers. The proposed tail feather expansion mechanism features a 3D-printed flexible structure with circumferential corrugation. The various available 3D-printing materials and the capability to print geometrically complex components have enabled the realization of the proposed morphing deformations without demanding relatively large actuation forces. Proof-of-concept models were manufactured and tested to demonstrate the effectiveness of the selected materials and actuators in achieving the desired morphing deformations that resemble those of seagulls. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Additive Manufacturing Technology and Applications for Aerospace)
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