Trelleborg : Reaching new heights

Reaching new heights

Date: 20.05.24

As the leading supplier of seals to the aerospace industry Globally, Trelleborg is using its expertise to develop new materials and components that make aircraft safer, lighter and more energy efficient.

Trelleborg's seals have enhanced the performance of planes since the golden age of the jet engine began in the early 1950s. The company was fully involved in the revolution of passenger transport heralded by the development of the Boeing 707 and continues to contribute to sealing technology on virtually all new aircraft platforms in the world.

One of the stalwarts behind Trelleborg's success is Torben Andersen, Director of the aerospace segment.

"In my 40 years in the field, I have seen continuous growth in aerospace, with people flying more and more," he says. "We have a five to eight percent growth year-on-year in air traffic, except for some dips in activity, such as after 9/11 and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the industry is recovering quickly back to pre-COVID levels."

Along with the rise in air travel, Andersen points out a need for airlines to replace older aircraft with new, more fuel-efficient planes to cut emissions and meet tougher environmental regulations.

"As an airline, you want to offer the most modern fleet among the competition," he says. "Newer planes burn around 25 percent less fuel, for example, and that means lower emissions." This reduction is partly due to Trelleborg's solutions.

"Our products help aerospace customers streamline their designs and transition from metal to composites for lighter, more energy-efficient aircraft and equipment," says Andersen. "A polymer part can save 30 percent in weight when compared to a metallic part. Every kilo lowers fuel costs by thousands of dollars over the lifetime of an aircraft."

With one-third of the operating cost for airlines going to fuel, this is a substantial saving, even if the weight reduction is just a few kilograms.

Trelleborg not only supplies products within the aerospace industry; it also supports it with services. For example, it provides training and help with installation at customer facilities, including recommending suitable installation tools. "This is important, as a seal will rarely fail within its recommended lifetime," Andersen says. "Most of the premature failures that happen are due to improper installation."

Specialty kits also help to ensure a correct assembly.

"The important thing is that the person assembling a component has exactly what they need at the workstation or on the assembly line," Andersen explains. "This makes it easier for them. All the seals within our kits come individually packed and marked with a barcode or RFID tag for scanning and traceability. This also ensures that the parts remain clean and dust- or sand-free for installation."

Perhaps the most essential service Trelleborg offers is its testing. The company has five full-scale testing facilities for aircraft and landing gear in China, Denmark, Germany, the UK and the US.

"We take on testing for customers to make sure our seals or materials will perform in a particular application," Andersen says. "For example, we can test the performance of aseal, the movements of a cylinder or the length of time a seal will work. We have tests that mimic the landing gear of aircraft, and we do seal qualification tests that have to work for 25,000 landings."

Amrita Bhogal is an application engineer at the Trelleborg aerospace hub in Europe. The company's expertise, ability to test physical properties of materials and evaluate the performance of seals give customers peace of mind, she says.

"We can, for example, do tests for customers on materials and products to demonstrate physical properties and endurance," Bhogal explains. "This shows how effective our seals are in different environments."

Sustainability is a key factor for all industries today; it is particularly important for the future of the aerospace industry. The search for more sustainable fuels for aircraft is one area where testing is highly valued, for example, in hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) applications. "With newer types of fuel, testing must be done to ensure that materials are compatible to provide the best sealing solution, or we rule them out," Bhogal says.

Trelleborg shares its test results with customers. "The more we know about a material, the better for our customers, and material testing is key," she says. "Material testing and application conditions can influence the design of seals.

All Trelleborg products meet tough industry standards. Proper documentation is important to ensure traceability, and Andersen says this is critical for Trelleborg's customers. "We have a quality system with everything documented, from proof of airworthy parts to where the parts came from and how they were produced," he says. "We offer the assurance, security and safety that a smaller supplier may find difficult to provide."

As a major player, Trelleborg continues to expand and enhance its product range in the aerospace industry. It also offers a dual supply for every part through multiple manufacturing sites in different countries. "This ensures that there is no disruption for the customer should supply from a site unexpectedly be interrupted," says Andersen. "We operate with the same high quality in all of our manufacturing locations to ensure consistency for our customers."

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This is an article has been reproduced from Trelleborg's T-Time magazine. To download the latest edition, go to: www.trelleborg.com/t-time