Lebrun is a Walloon company developing a product for 8 years to cool or heat the aircraft when located on the ground.

In its European version, this niche product is technically and functionally superior to competitors (mainly U.S. based). It has been selected by the largest airlines in Europe.

The market for this product is in full growth, especially for environmental reasons: this product will more and more become a substitute to classical APU’s (Auxiliary Power Unit’s) that are noisy and big kerosene-burners (300 l per hour) in airports.

This project will identify and develop cooling architectures and technologies to meet the needs of future engines. Efforts will be divided into three main areas, each corresponding to a major evolution of needs and constraints:

The main objectives of the E-COM project are:

• to investigate different composite materials taking into account specific engine environments,
• to be able to select the best compromise for a specific part integrated in the architecture of tomorrow’s engines.

The selection of a material for its application to an engine component requires tests that are sufficiently representative of the forces undergone by the parts within the engine. This is a prerequisite to ensure the integration of technology in engine development.

The urge of the aviation industry for a quick conversion to composite material requires innovative solutions.

In this context, the EASIPM project aims to accelerate the development of the manufacturing process of the composite and provide better control of its production, by direct measurement of parameters observed locally within the material during its production: local temperature, local pressure, and local constraints.

The MicroLub project aims to develop an innovative technique for micro-lubrication of cutting tools for various manufacturing machines.

The following benefits are expected:

Research and developments proposed in this project « S@T » address important trends in the Aeronautic and Space sectors : 

VIRTUALCOMP project is in line with the APC project (Skywin) with a particular emphasis on the establishment of a stand alone numerical simulation platform used in all composite applications for aeronautic sector. 
 
In particular, the software platform developed will be applicable to the modeling and design of advanced composite structures obtained by foldes spreading techniques on complex geometries but also the latest technology for automated fiber placement developed for the aerospace industry.

The project aims to develop the ability to design and manufacture using computer aided engineering (CAE), and to assembly and test Low Pressure Compressor (LPC) in a    one-piece configuration called Blisk.  
 

ECOTAC project aims to gain knowledge of AFP (Automated Fiber Placement) & SQRTM/RTM technologies by making   demonstrators for each intended application. The project explores three new technological areas, which have not, or very little,  been explored: 

The project aims to develop new production’s methods and new knowledge, new services and products in the composite molds field. The research phase will be concluded with a demonstration phase. 

The first major objective is to develop innovative processes for producing composite parts dedicated to the aerospace market with the following targets :