The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has awarded BFGoodrich Aerospace a contract to supply GRID-LOCK horizontal aft box assemblies. Production will take place at the company's Aerostructures Group in Riverside, CA, while part installation on the F-15E fighter will be performed at the USAF Warner Robins Air Logistics Command in Warner Robins, GA. Deliveries of the assemblies will begin the last quarter of this year and will run until late 2003.
The horizontal aft box is a trailing edge structural aerodynamic airfoil located on the horizontal stabilizer. It is a part of the moveable unit providing in-flight stability for the aircraft as part of the overall horizontal tail section. BFGoodrich currently supplies the USAF with eight different components for the F-15 aircraft using the company's proprietary GRID-LOCK technology, a patented method of joining machined details to create structural self-draining components. The new assemblies provide the aircraft with improved life cycle cost and durability.
BFGoodrich is also involved in the development of new aircraft ice protection systems. It is currently working with Dartmouth College on the further development of a patented technology first worked on by Engineering Professor Victor Petrenko. This technology uses electric currents to reduce or prevent ice formation. According to BFGoodrich, the company has obtained the exclusive license for aerospace applications of the technology.
Pentrenko's work has demonstrated that electrodes attached directly to surfaces can break down ice and water through electrolysis. When applied to aircraft surfaces, gas bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen are formed during the electrolysis process. These bubbles generate pressure on the aircraft surface that enables it to shed ice.
Funding for the joint work with Dartmouth is being done through the BFGoodrich Breakthrough Innovation Thrust for Excellence (BRITE) program, which encourages the development of new ideas, assesses their breakthrough potential, and facilitates market introduction. "This is precisely the type of development that we seek to encourage through the BRITE program," said Jerry Lee, Senior Vice President of Technology and Innovation at BFGoodrich. "If we successfully develop the full potential of this technology, our customers and the aerospace industry worldwide will benefit from more efficient ice protection systems."
Frank Bokulich
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Aerospace Engineering September 2000
