EffiPeen

Aims of the project

As an established direct supplier to the Airbus Group, SCHOLZ MECHANIK GmbH is an integral part of the German aviation industry and aims to maintain and further expand its market position through innovative research and development projects. With decades of experience in the field of machining production, the company is involved in this project - also in consultation with the associated project partners - with the design and production of a suitable demonstrator for the application of the Laser Shock Peening (LSP) process. The design of this component and the improved possibilities offered by LSP are intended to represent added value for the production of aircraft structural components. For the subsequent processing of the surface, it is important to keep in mind the possibility of machining in addition to an application-oriented component structure. After the LSP process has been applied, a series of tests is carried out and evaluated on all the key component properties (including component deformation, surface roughness, hardness, residual stress). A final consideration of the manufacturing processes and the economic efficiency with regard to aircraft structural components brings together the results of the project.

With regard to the project objective "High-performance and efficient aviation", our project supports the implementation, analysis and validation of efficient laser shock peening using a newly developed ablation and confinement coating process. The improved process opens up new possibilities for component geometries and more efficient processing. In addition to a practical application, the evaluated demonstrator component is intended to represent a range of parts to which the findings from this project can be transferred. This is to be ensured through the investigation and definition of corresponding component properties. The planned elaborations conclude the tests carried out with a comprehensive examination and evaluation. It is expected that the extended possibilities in this form of laser shock peening will enable new component structures in the field of series-produced aircraft and that this will contribute to increasing efficiency both in the manufacturing process and in the operation of these.