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UK consortium launches I-Break Project for aerospace innovation
Industry News- Sep 04,23
Under the aegis of the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, I-Break receives funding as part of a broader United Kingdom government initiative, with £218 million earmarked for pioneering research and development endeavours in the aerospace sector.
A novel academic-industrial consortium has been unveiled with the aim of spearheading the advancement of state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendlier technology while bolstering the United Kingdom's market share in the global aerospace industry.
This £22.5 million initiative, christened I-Break (short for "Landing Gear Industrial Breakthroughs"), represents a groundbreaking partnership between a premier aircraft original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Airbus, and a consortium comprising 15 diverse stakeholders, ranging from industry giants to small-scale enterprises, educational institutions, and research bodies. Remarkably, this endeavour will pioneer the development and production of critical structural components for landing gear, traditionally forged on a large scale, using innovative methodologies such as additive manufacturing, powder hot isotactic pressing, and composite materials. The primary objectives include expediting aircraft time-to-market and curbing the industrial carbon dioxide emissions by a noteworthy 30 per cent.
Under the aegis of the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, I-Break receives funding as part of a broader United Kingdom government initiative, with £218 million earmarked for pioneering research and development endeavours in the aerospace sector, an announcement made during the prestigious Paris Airshow. This collective commitment between the government and industry leaders aims to attract a minimum of £20 billion in private investments for aerospace in the UK, safeguarding over 100,000 job opportunities.
Gary Elliott, the CEO of the Aerospace Technology Institute, recently stated, "The investment channeled through the ATI Programme, as unveiled by the Industry Minister, Nusrat Ghani, at the Paris Air Show, will bolster a spectrum of world-class research initiatives in aerospace sustainability, spanning from novel design methodologies to groundbreaking materials."
Specialising in metal additive manufacturing, WAAM3D plays a pivotal role in the project, concentrating on the industrialisation of Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) variants to boost productivity, fine-tuning microstructure and mechanical properties for high-integrity structural applications, refining online non-destructive testing methodologies, and fabricating demonstrator components of significant size and complexity using their upgraded RoboWAAM systems.
The I-Break venture encompasses various work packages, with WAAM3D's involvement featuring collaborative efforts with other partners, including Cranfield University, focused on pioneering WAAM processes and solutions, as well as validating the deposition of emerging alloys of paramount interest; The University of Strathclyde, engaged in developing innovative online non-destructive testing techniques; and Peak NDT, a specialist in high-performance conventional and phased-array ultrasonic instrumentation, contributing to the advancement of online non-destructive testing methodologies.
Presently, the I-Break project is slated for completion in 2026.
Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme
I-Break
United Kingdom government initiative
Landing Gear Industrial Breakthroughs
Airbus
Paris Airshow
Gary Elliot
Nusrat Ghani
WAAM3D
Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing
RoboWAAM
Cranfield University
University of Strathclyde
Peak NDT
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