This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at CTA promociona actividades la I+D para el sector industrial en el campo de la Aeronáutica

Ver más artículos sobre: New desarrollo:automoción, aerospace and energy

CTA promotes r & d activities for the industrial sector in the field of Aeronautics

15/12/2003

The Aerosfin - CTA-, began its activities in October 1997 in the form of Foundation non-profit, for the promotion of technological activities in the aerospace sector. The initial capital left both private of public bodies, feature maintained throughout its five years of existence together with the economic goal of self-financing; the activities of the CTA are capable of withstanding activity costs. This way of working has lasted since its first plan of feasibility (late 1997).

Over five years, the Centre has designed and developed various technological capabilities in support of the aviation industry. In two business units - Miñano and Zamudio-, with more than three thousand square meters of laboratories and offices, has contributed to the theoretical and practical training of high technological level of more than 50 engineers to reap success in the industry, not only aircraft but also in the automotive and renewable energy industry.

CTA has received the trials of Brazil and United States aircraft technology; innovations and new testing methods have been developed by the CTA throughout its existence and are implemented, mostly in the aerospace field.

CTA is a non-profit specializing in testing for development and certification of aeronautical and aerospace components and materials as well as structures and components with a high burden of r & d. Its mission is the promotion of activities of research and technological development that may be of interest for your industrial environment in the field of aeronautics. Over these five years, since the beginning of the project of Miñano in 1997, the Center has gained experience and test capabilities for testing critical components of aviation, belonging to the most advanced aircraft programmessuch as the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter and Embrear ERJ170 and Airbus A-340 aircraft.

Miñano facilities is the testing laboratory of aerostructures, where carried out static trials and fatigue of materials and components of aircraft. The laboratory of fires, qualified for the trials of behavior to the fire for the certification of materials and components that want to be installed in an aircraft is. In addition to these capabilities of test, in the Centre of Miñano working on the development of new test methods; research, development and innovation projects; technology transfer and technological services are offered to our clients, such as advice on E-9100 certification, development of products and feasibility studies.

Located in the parque tecnológico de Zamudio, CTA has a large Bank of test fluid, prepared for the experimental development of components of turbine and nozzle, for aerodynamic testing of turbine components and testing high-altitude small engines. In this installation the Centre is working on the most advanced aircraft engines.

Advanced instrumentation: hot anemometry, probes of pressure, intrusive actuators radial and surface and measure of space of the art of pala, with 200 channels of temperature and pressure 800 make this Bank of streaming a really flexible laboratory for thermal testing and fluid of modules of aircraft engines. Over the past two years, CTA-Zamudio has been developing capabilities of test aeroacústico in the field of the turbine, ducts and noise of reactors.

R & D

The research lines of the CTA are as follows: combustion, further tests aeroacústicos, Advanced instrumentation, new non-destructive testing, systems of satellite control and development of new structures aeronautical.

Within the work of combustion, is currently working in microgravity and simulation of the combustion, simulation of fire in interiors of aircraft, improved material par flammability testing of thermal insulation / acoustic and connections of aircraft engines.

Noteworthy work in microgravity, whose purpose is the research and simulation of the behavior to the fire of spacecraft materials and the development of standards of test methods.

The objectives of this programme are:

To know in detail the behaviour of materials used in space applications.
Develop testing methods, analyzing the parameters to simulas combustion of materials in space.
Develop standards for tests for flammability of materials used in space applications.

In the lines of aeroacoustics and Advanced instrumentation must look at the participation den Silincer of the fifth framework programme of European research and the development of a system of intrusive measure radio program that allows the realization of a map of the flow of air around a specimen of essay in the fluid Bank.

With regard to the development of new non-destructive testing methods, the CTA is developing a methodology for infrared thermography to detection of defects in aircraft components made of composite material. The excellent results obtained show that the infrared thermography will be in a technique known in the detection of defects in this type of components, not only in the processes of development and manufacturing, but also in quality control inspections and maintenance activities.

In the development of new aeronautical structures, the Center develops structures with advanced mechanical features (more resistant and light). This work is supported by design, calculations and tests of the CTA.

Aeronautical testing

The participation of the CTA in aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing programs of first level has been the following:

Embraer ERJ 145.

The development of the aircraft ERJ 145 by part of Embrear supposed the outsourcing to Spanish companies of the manufacture of the wings, with more than a thousand of units flying. Although the participation of the CTA in the program of certification was not direct, some structural improvements in the wings were developed and it was necessary to realise the essays for his certification, where the Centre participated in the works of definition of essay, design and manufacture of the bank of essays and the execution of the same.

The essays realised were on the structure of the guide of the Flap and the improvements on the structure of the Flap internal – external, this, of certification for the FAA (North American aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing authority)

Sikorsky S-92, Helibus.

CTA llevar the static essays and of fatigue for the certification (FAA) of the horizontal stabilizer, in fulfillment of the norms FAR 29, AMAT 40 and JAR 29.

Also, for this helicopter, the CTA realised the essays of certification by behaviour to the fire of carenas of engine and materials of inner elements.

Embraer ERJ 170

East has been the program of certification (FAA) more complete that the CTA has realised to date. They did the essays of structural integrity and durability of the rear stabilizer, the rudder of derive and the elevadores.

Airbus To-340

Inside the program of the Airbus To-340, the Centre has realised static essays and of fatigue of the actuators of retracción of the trains of main landing and of muzzle, in addition to the essays of a no metallic pipe in shape of pertaining elbow to the circuit of air conditioned.

Airbus To-380

The Airbus To-380, in full design and development is a program in which the CTA goes to participate with the execution of essays of development and certification of mechanical components such as the rear section of the fuselaje, panels of union of the rear stabilizer, the anchorages of the vertical stabilizer, the support of engine, the actuators of the train of muzzle and the mechanism of variation of the angle of attack of the horizontal stabilizer.

Testing of engine components

The aim of the trial of the DT-21 of Rolls Royce was the verification of the capacity of the installation of Zamudio, in comparison with the results obtained by RR at its facility in Derby in 1986. The same specimen of turbine low pressure that 40 hours of measures were taken in three stages. These measures made it possible to obtain the operational range of the test bench.

Once validated, is he has worked on the characterisation of the efficiency of turbine modules, prototypes of ITP.

Programmes of technology transfer

The CTA has not locked only in aeronautics programmes but that banks test for the wind power industry has developed: mechanical parts such as housings of machinery, moto-reductoras or brakes and blades of wind turbines have been tests carried out at the premises of Miñano.

The combination of the know-how of the CTA with the pace of development of new products in the wind industry has led to the Centre to a design of a test bench capable of simulating the behavior in flight of the ala-motor of the convertible aircraft "tilt-rotor" set.

This double transfer of test methods applied similarly to components of large aspect ratio with the design of a test method based on the excitation of the component near its natural frequency, getting some frequency of test unknown in aviation. This method is being developed in collaboration with the Chair of the school of engineers of Madrid aeroelasticity. At this time the method is validated in blades of helicopter and plans of the Centre is the test with a wing of a sailboat.