Victrex Pipes selected by COMAC for new programme

To improve the overall fuel efficiency and reliability of its new commercial aircraft platform, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has selected Victrex Pipes rather than metal tubing for use in high voltage cable conduits.
The new thermoplastic solution can deliver weight savings of up to 45% and is being supplied through the partnership of BeiJing FeiHang Jida Aviation Technology Co. (Beijing Feihang) and Victrex, a leading global PAEK-based solutions provider. As COMAC continues to move towards the launch of its first commercial aircraft, it is focusing on innovation to achieve its vision of delivering safe, cost-effective, comfortable and environmentally-friendly civil aircraft. COMAC and Beijing Feihang engineers are working with Victrex to address these challenges. The Victrex PEEK-based tubing surpassed airworthiness testing in China, which included maintaining operational performance under impact, loads, temperature variations and other environmental conditions. With the technical expertise and support of Victrex, the companies were able to design a lightweight, cost-effective high-voltage cable protection system within a much shorter development cycle. Victrex Pipes are typically used in the replacement of aluminium, titanium and stainless steel tubing systems. For this specific application, the Victrex PEEK-based tubing was tested and validated by COMAC, and achieved weight savings of up to 45% when compared with titanium equivalent tubing. This weight reduction can lead to both improved fuel efficiency and a reduction in CO₂ emissions. The durable tubing system also serves as a shock absorber in the protection of the cables. “Victrex is extremely focused on delivering innovative, high performance, cost-effective solutions that can help airframers and tier suppliers achieve their goals,” stated Xue Wei, Aerospace Key Account Manager at Victrex. “It is very rewarding to partner with industry-leading companies like Beijing Feihang to achieve the best results, not only in component performance, which will contribute to COMAC's ability to deliver their lightweight, next-generation aircraft, but also in delivering improvements in manufacturing efficiencies.” Victrex collaborated with the engineering teams to design a system that is able to take advantage of a much quicker manufacturing process, one that does not require machining or anti-corrosion treatments as metals would. By improving the development cycle time, the companies were able to reduce the total system costs. www.victrex.com