P. E. Smith, J. Fields, F. DiCocco, Alcoa inc., Alcoa Center, PA; J. F. Ornato, E. Barnes, Northrop Grumman Corporation, El Segundo, CA; R. P. Keele, Affordable MANTECH Solutions, Brea, CA; M. Falugi, Airforce Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH
Summary: Alcoa and Northrop Grumman teamed together under the auspices of the Advanced Aluminum Aerostructures Initiative (A3I), a DoD contract administered by the US Air Force. The main goal of this program is to demonstrate that close cooperation between material producers and airframers through all stages of product development could significantly reduce the cost of installed aerostructure while maintaining or improving performance. This presentation will provide a summary of the design and manufacturing of an aluminum prototype aft inlet duct assembly. The aluminum design provides an alternative to the incumbent composite structure. The part and fastener count of the current composite aft duct structure was significantly reduced while decreasing the recurring unit cost. The new monolithic forged duct and cast superstructure utilizes high speed machined, stress relieved forged and cast aluminum technology for maximized part consolidation. Structural qualification was achieved by analysis and by comparison to the original built-up structure.
