Fraunhofer Institute for Electron BeamIn the aviation industry, material innovations and efforts to conserve resources serve to ensure safety for global mobility and to remain competitive on the international stage, while also taking environmental impacts into account. Thermal barrier coatings, non-toxic corrosion protection, and materials with specifically adjustable absorption and reflection characteristics across the electromagnetic spectrum are examples of how Fraunhofer FEP contributes to the overarching goal of safe and resource-efficient aviation through its coatings.
Aviation is a key driver of our globally interconnected economy and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, enabling and supporting achievements such as the global flow of goods and the expansion of air travel. To help shape these developments in an environmentally responsible manner, a wide range of efforts are underway in Fraunhofer’s research fields. These range from studies on alternative fuels and concepts for securing new, additional transportation networks, to technical developments such as ultra-lightweight materials, miniaturized sensors, or high-energy-density storage systems, to name just a few examples.
At Fraunhofer FEP, we develop coating technologies and coating structures, some of which are specifically designed for aviation applications. These include thermal barrier coatings applied to turbine blades using electron beam technology. New challenges in this area stem from the requirements posed by new fuels such as hydrogen or synthetic fuels (e. g., Sustainable Aviation Fuels, SAF).
Another area of focus is the development of new solutions for non-toxic corrosion protection for high-strength aerospace steels and aluminum alloys. As part of the German Federal Aviation Research Program »LuFo«, corrosion protection coatings based on aluminum with suitable alloying elements have been investigated in the »ProAlu« project; these coatings can ensure effective corrosion protection for the base material even if the coating is damaged, thanks to self-healing effects. The goal for industrial implementation is to eliminate cadmium as a corrosion protection agent on high-strength steels in aircraft construction.
We also apply high-rate deposition of aluminum layers to microglass beads using a bulk processing method. The challenge of handling particle batches increases as particle size decreases. While technological studies are currently still being conducted with glass beads of at least 200 μm in diameter, we plan to expand the scope of application to smaller and even lighter, free-flowing particle batches. Their embedding in matrix materials to achieve an EMC shielding effect in filled plastic components for ultralight construction appears to be an attractive prospect given increasing electrification and simultaneously high requirements for immunity to interference. Even in coatings that, in addition to providing color, must meet specific absorption characteristics in the electromagnetic spectrum, metallized lightweight particles could save weight compared to solid metal particles or flakes as a conductive component.
To ensure that existing research findings are incorporated into industrial manufacturing and that visionary ideas can be tested, we are always interested in collaborative projects with industry partners.
