Pioneering technology in the struggle against climate change: tecsis will contribute towards reducing the ecological footprint of flights. Within the European ?Clean Sky? programme, the force specialists within the WIKA Group are collaborating with Liebherr Aerospace to develop a force transducer ideal for aerospace applications.
EU project: Force transducer for electric drives
The project presents a special challenge. Products for aviation should be stated in accordance with extremely strict requirements. The DO254 (guidelines for the development of electronic hardware in the air) and DO160G (environmental conditions and test procedures for aviation equipment) standards, for instance, are applicable here.
Force transducers will play an extremely important role in aircraft manufacturing down the road. Machines are increasingly being controlled by electric drives. They are replacing the hydraulic and pneumatic on-board systems that are common today. Future aircraft designs will be based on the ?More-Electric and All-Electric Aircraft? concept. This will contribute towards reduced weight and better energy management through the reduced amount of CO2 and NOX emissions. Force transducers are a significant component of these electric drives. They perform a key function in the control and monitoring of the systems, e.g. on the landing gear and flaps.
Absolute innovation in aviation
In the implementation of this project, tecsis can draw upon its a long time of experience and its comprehensive expertise in neuro-scientific force sensor technology. The core of the new product is a reliable sensor technology together with application-specific electronics. In the field of measurement technology, this solution is an absolute innovation, and constitutes an alternative to comparable products out there.
In collaboration with Liebherr Aerospace, tecsis is assuming full responsibility for developing this new sensor. An iterative process, i.e. a continuous sequence of improvement steps and validations around the finished product, should lead to the goal. In this manner, tecsis aims to provide a force transducer by 2021 that is able to deliver Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5-6 and that provides a robust platform for further developments.
Note
More info on our force measurement products are available on the WIKA website. When you have any questions, your contact will gladly help you.
Disclaimer: The content of the article reflects only the writer?s view. The Clean Sky Joint Undertaken is not in charge of any use that may be made of the info it contains.
This project has received funding from the Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 821135. pressure gauge receives support from the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and the Clean Sky 2 JU members apart from the Union.