As the aerospace and shipping industry continues to grow amidst increased global trading, it raises the challenge of reinforcing operations to withstand increasing demand. Due to this, companies, such as the additive manufacturing Dehli based company, Chengli Aviation, have been exploring the use of additive technology to create a sturdier combustion chamber for their turbine engine—particularly the flame tube. The flame tube is responsible for creating the heated gas that allows the injected fuel to reach ignition temperature.
Besides high temperatures, typical operational conditions include corrosive heat-releasing gases and turbulent pulsating airflow. This exposes the flame tube to varying degrees of thermal stress, resulting in damage, such as cracks, ablation, flaking and deformation. To mitigate these, the tube is designed with hundreds of various sized features including primary air holes, secondary air holes and dilution air holes plus other complex parts, such as colanders. These parts are typically manufactured separately before joining them together through welding procedures.
Not only are these parts challenging to manufacture, but they must also be capable of withstanding sustained amounts of strain. In fact, it is this complexity in manufacturing that has resulted in flame tubes burning out before fulfilling their supposed lifespan. Research has identified that failures in precision size control and assembly have led to higher rejection rates.
Machine supplier Farsoon Technologies is addressing these challenges by offering metal additive manufacturing solutions. Chengli adopted Farsoon’s open industrial-grade metal laser melting and plastic laser sintering systems in 2017, integrating the technology into the design and manufacturing process of aerospace engine components. This made it possible to successfully take nine individual parts and produce one final product using just a single piece of material, simplifying the overall process.
Farsoon FS271M at Chengli Aviation additive manufacturing facility. (Image courtesy of Chengli Aviation.)
The production cycle was reduced by approximately 50 percent while simultaneously increasing the combustion efficiency and airflow pattern stability of the product by eliminating deficiencies in the traditional assembly process. Additionally, the product was able to shed 20 percent of its initial weight while still meeting its specific design requirements. This new lightweight design means improved combustion fuel efficiency.
The additive-optimized flame tube has passed functionality tests involving working conditions that require high-temperature reliability.
Chengli Aviation collaborated with Farsoon to develop its own parameters, allowing it to work with specialized products and applications that have specific requirements and materials. Farsoon’s open material and parameter strategy, along with its additive technology, means manufacturers can set their processing parameters as their application range expands.
The flame tube was designed and produced by the Farsoon FS271M.
For more information, visit Farsoon’s website.
For similar stories, check out the role of additive manufacturing in the next generation of aerospace here.