Performance Improvement of Piston Engine in Aeronautics by Means of Additive Manufacturing Technologies

Nowadays, greenhouse gases are a worldwide environmental issue. This is why a significant reduction of pollutant emissions inducing a considerable slowing down of climate change is a matter of primary importance. This topic is dramatically influencing the future of industrial production, and thus, also in the aeronautical field, it is becoming a very important technology driver. Advanced diesel engines are promising solutions to achieve a more fuel-efficient aircraft due to their high efficiency and ability to use widely available and low-cost jet and diesel fuels. In this work, innovative electron beam melting (EBM) additive layer manufacturing (ALM) technologies of titanium alloy were applied to the two-strokes, common rail, GF56 diesel engine, designed and developed by the CMD Company for aeronautic applications. The additive-oriented lattice configuration allowed, through a new design, a substantial saving of weight for the engine, as well as a topological optimization and fabrication of alternative connecting rods of a GF56 engine. After a preliminary investigation of EBM process parameters and mechanical characterization of titanium alloy samples, the obtained engine component prototypes were structurally investigated, topologically optimized, and three-dimensionally (3D) printed. Finally, the overall performance improvement on a typical general aviation (GA) aircraft was estimated by comparing the conventional engine with the optimized GF56 propulsion system