The main objective of NEMARCO is to select the adequate chemical composition(s) and manufacturing process parameters for obtaining sealing rings of nickel self-fluxing alloys that can offer the required performance against high-temperature (HT) wear and overcome the health potential issue regarding wear particles Cobalt alloys (current solution) in cabin air. Two manufacturing routes: Horizontal Centrifugal Casting (CC) and Laser Metal Deposition (LMD), will be studied. The achievement of this objective is based on a well-structured approach that combines (i) a preliminary selection of NiCrSiFeB commercial compositions that can favour manufacturing processability while improving wear behaviour at HT supported by simulation of phase’s formation, segregation, precipitation and diffusion phenomena to predict microstructure formation, as well as process simulation to evaluate specific conditions for solidification. (ii) Robust manufacturing study of both processing routes supported by advanced data analytics of all process and product related variables, allowing to identify those parameters with the highest influence and thus, support in the definition of the optimal manufacturing conditions. (iii) Extensive tribological studies at high temperature. This will support for the selection of the best composition and manufacturing solution of NiCrSiFeB alloys as replacement of the actual Cobalt alloys to produce aeronautic parts. (iv) A rigorous LCA/LCC and a preliminary toxicity analysis, leading to a deeper knowledge of environmental performance and economic impact of the solution. The project will contribute on a reduction of fuel consumption, healthier cabin air and a reduction of costs for a more competitive EU aircraft industry. The implementation is carried out by a multidisciplinary consortium formed by experts in LMD (LORTEK), CC (AZTERLAN), HT behaviour of materials and wear particles characterization (ECL-LTDS and CIDETEC) and LCA/LCC and toxicity analysis (CTME).

One of the main challenges on Hybrid Laminar Flow Control (HLFC) wing design, is to integrate the HLFC systems (vacuum chambers, pipes…etc.) inside the small space of the leading Edge, together with de-icing and high lift systems. Clean Sky 2 aims to reduce HLFC complexity by using variable pitch microperforations along the outer skin in order to control suctions without necessity of internal chambering. Variable microperforation entails a new challenge that must be investigated before deciding on the most suitable skin forming technology and material for new generation of HLFC demo structures, which will contribute to reduce 10% both fuel consumption and pollutant emissions in future aircrafts. To achieve this goal, MICROFORM project will develop i) a suitable forming process for the real-scale manufacturing of leading edge HLFC wing outer skins and ii) supporting simulation tools to minimize initial process development costs of large structures composed by both constant and variable microperforation patterns meeting requested quality criteria and dimensional tolerances. The achievement of these objectives will result in the following Key Exploitable Results: − Material property data of microperforated Ti Gr 2 and Ti Gr 5. − New knowledge about possibilities and limitations to form titanium microperforated sheets with variable patterns. − Hot and stretch forming process parameters and conditions for aimed materials and geometries. − Hot and stretch forming simulation tool. − New knowledge about possibilities and limitations to reduce manufacturing costs of large forming tools. The implementation of MICROFORM is carried out by a multidisciplinary consortium, formed by research and industrial entities who are experts in the development of simulation tools (LORTEK, HZG) and forming technologies (SOFITEC, FORMTECH) to manufacture small and large-scale demonstrators of microperforated titanium sheets for leading

The objective of HiperTURB is to improve the weldability and castability of high temperature capable superalloy castings. The expected impact will be linked to weight, manufacturing and maintenance cost reduction of TRF components. This objective will be achieved due to a combination of innovative chemistry adjustments, tailored casting solidification strategies, specific heat treatment and innovative welding techniques to control grain size, phases formation, segregation and residual stresses. Two new superalloy castings with enhanced weldability will be developed. At casting level mould design to control cooling gradient together with the use of inoculants, chillers and shell design will allow to tailor casting solidification. Heat treatment stage will be adjusted in terms of pre and post welding operation sequence (HIP + solution annealing), processing parameters and the introduction of cryogenic heat treatment. Weldability assessment of two new alloy castings will be assessed by standard hot cracking tests and simulated repair and structural welds on simple parts and real geometry-like components. Both TIG and laser based welding processes will be investigated. Development process will be supported by advanced simulation techniques based on Thermocalc, Dictra, Procast that will enable a more precise approach on final alloy microstructural and castability results. The castability of the alloys will be validated by the design of specific test samples that will be checked to detect casting defects such as shrinkage, hot tearing sensitivity.... Evaluation of internal and external defects will be carried out by non-destructive tests. Mechanical properties of alloys under development such as creep and tensile test at low and high temperature will be performed. Component like geometry cast parts will be manufactured at the end of the project, testing their final properties in terms of castability and weldability.

The AIRISE project will support European SMEs in the uptake of Artificial Intelligence applied to manufacturing, with a specific focus on the use of AI-enabled applications at the edge. The key objective for applications is a reduction of waste and carbon footprint while ensuring the resilient operation of manufacturing. The consortium will create an eco-system where the project’s AI experts will support experimenting SMEs and connect them to Digital Innovation Hubs and commercial companies to achieve real-world applications. Open Calls will allow SMEs to easily access AI expert competence through first-stage assessments that identify the status and potential and through further proposals that support them in running pilot applications and validation experiments. The ambition of AIRISE is to support more than 500 cases from SMEs and mid-caps on key AI applications at the edge. Support from the consortium will be complemented on security and connectivity by involving external resources in cybersecurity and IoT and on smart working environments by offerings on operator interfaces and collaborative robots.

Thanks to the implementation of advanced CAD and topology optimisation, lighter and more efficient component designs can be conceived nowadays. However, current design tools and methodologies do not account for part distortions in manufacturing. Distortions are critical during prototyping and ramp up stages and they increase developing costs, times and generate wastes and scraps. Design against Distortion topic is focused on the development of numerical modelling strategies which can anticipate distortions even from the design stage. In this context, DISTRACTION project copes with the development and application of rapid distortion prediction numerical methodologies applicable to machining and additive layer manufacturing (ALM) of metallic parts and the development of concurrent topology optimisation codes capable of accounting for part distortion. Integration will be based on efficient adjoint sensitivities for simplified distortion prediction models. This will enable for first time to have optimised designs which are “ready-for-production” and robust against distortions. Developments will be applied to relevant use cases and will be based both on open source and commercial software. The following specific objectives are targeted: •A 30% weight reduction of fuselage component’s weight •Reduction of manufacturing costs of new fuselage parts by 20% •Reduction of time-to-market of new fuselage parts by 25% •Reduction of computational times by 30% for predicting distortions •Reducing scrap ratio of fuselage parts during prototyping and ramp up phases by 50% Consortium (IK4-LORTEK & TU-DELFT) of DISTRACTION proposal will have as reference internal know-how related to all previous developments in simplified Finite Element methodologies. The working group will be composed by skilled researchers and technicians with extensive knowledge and expertise in numerical modelling, residual stresses and distortion engineering, additive manufacturing and topology optimisation.