Pushing the boundaries of engines

The Challenge

Our customer, a large commercial airframer, challenged themselves to produce a next-generation aircraft concept that would deliver significantly lower total life cycle costs—including dramatically reduced-maintenance requirements. A critical part of their strategy became component reliability. Their proposed cycle life requirements would set new benchmarks for the industry.

One area targeted for improvement was the historical need for replacing thermal valves—often multiple times—over the life of an aircraft. The problem was inherent in the design: conventional thermal valves encapsulate the thermal expansion media using elastomers, which break down over time allowing media leaks into the hydraulic system.

The Solution

The Senior team welcomed the opportunity to re-think old concepts and supply a maintenance-free component that would last a lifetime. We developed an all-metal, welded thermal valve to eliminate altogether the risks and shortfalls of the elastomer approach. The new thermal valve design spanned a range of products including poppet, spool, and cartridge configuration. These innovative valves accommodate higher temperature ranges, are compatible with virtually all fluids, and provide repeatable performance for every cycle.