Angeline Leishman
Raytheon Technologies‘ research center and two of the company’s business units are exploring approaches to better manage heat loads for aircraft engines as the U.S. military works to define next-generation fighter requirements.
Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney partnered in an effort to develop power and thermal management systems that may have potential applications to updated or future military aircraft platforms, Raytheon said Tuesday.
“In the past, the environmental control systems and engines for military aircraft have been designed and procured separately, but future aircraft require a far more integrated approach in order to support all the desired upgrades,” said Bill Dolan, vice president of engineering and technology within Collins’ power and controls division.
“We’re working to co-optimize the thermal and engine cycles together.”
The partnership is hoping the resulting technology could support not only military planes but also commercial aircraft and ground platforms.
“We’ve only just started to scratch the surface of what our collective power and thermal management technologies are capable of,” said Dave Stagney, senior director for Pratt & Whitney’s Gatorworks organization.
Collins Aerospace, which makes heat exchangers for Pratt & Whitney F135 engines that power the F-35 fighter aircraft, is looking to use an additive manufacturing method to create new designs for heat transfer technology.
