Adrian Popp receives award for the further development of an additive manufacturing process for flight bearings

Innovative cooling concept ensures more efficient operation

Thesis as part of the dual mechanical engineering studies at Schaeffler as basis for award

Project manager Adrian Popp from Schaeffler Aerospace in Schweinfurt is on 2nd. Adrian Popp, until recently a dual student at Schaeffler, received the award for the further development of additive manufacturing processes in flight bearings.

Adrian Popp has now been awarded the "Global AACII Award" for his work in connection with an innovative bearing concept. The flight bearing itself has already been manufactured and has successfully passed the application-oriented tests on the Schaeffler test rigs in Schweinfurt. At its core, it is a bearing type whose outer ring is manufactured using additive manufacturing processes, which allows cooling channels to be provided in the outer ring. "The lower temperature resulting from this type of cooling compared to other bearings enables more efficient operation," explains Adrian Popp.

More economical in flight operations

This cooling concept also has an impact on the design and layout of the engine. One point here is that the entire oil system for cooling all components can also be dimensioned smaller. Since size of the installation space and system weight are naturally very relevant aspects in aviation, innovations are rated very positively by the OEMs here.

"Increasing demands on the speed, efficiency and power density of aircraft engines lead to increased demands on the main shaft bearings and their materials," says Dr. Peter Gl?ckner, Managing Director of Schaeffler Aerospace.

Additive manufacturing processes are also becoming increasingly important at Schaeffler Aerospace. The advantages are obvious: they enable material savings due to close-to-contour manufacturing and at the same time give engineers greater flexibility in the design of components. Thus, new design concepts for cooling can also be implemented in the field of rolling bearings.

Dual studies provide in-depth practical knowledge

In addition to the extended possibilities for product design, additive manufacturing methods offer further advantages: Since a blank for a warehouse does not have to be forged from solid material, material can be saved – the product is manufactured layer by layer and close to the contour of the final product. Even the production of small series with special customer requirements can be implemented more easily.

Adrian Popp started his mechanical engineering studies with in-depth practice at Schaeffler and at THWS (Technical University of Würzburg-Schweinfurt) in 2020. His final thesis, supervised by Professor Dr. Alexander Versch, entitled "Optimization of Additively Manufactured Roller Bearing Outer Rings with Integrated Cooling Channels for Aviation Applications", he wrote 2023 in the Advance Development division at Schaeffler Aerospace.

"Global AACII Award"

AACII (Aerospace Aviation Congress Interdisciplinary International) sees itself as an open platform that brings together experts, politicians and companies interested in researching the technological challenges and business opportunities in the aerospace industry. The "Global AACII Award" honors "outstanding contributions and achievements in the aerospace sector", according to the AACII.