Fused deposition modelling for aeronautics: techno-economic and environmental assessment for overhead locker supports replacement

This work proposes the assessment of the economic and environmental impacts for the replacement of conventional aluminium-made brackets for overhead locker within commercial aircrafts. To this end, a 3D printed support made of carbon reinforced polyether ether ketone (PEEK) was fabricated through the fused deposition modelling (FDM) technique by using the Roboze ARGO 35010 3D printer. After verifying the mechanical performance in terms of quasi-static and fatigue life response through a finite element analysis and the technological feasibility in reproducing such a geometry, the economic assessment highlighted the benefits of using FDM. This can be directly related to the reduction of the annual fuel consumption, which per single aircraft on the Italian route Rome-Milan is estimated at approximately 1740 ton/year, leading to a saving of approximately 320,000 €/year, thanks to the reduction of the brackets’ weight of around 50%. The environmental analysis has shown that the proposed solution is highly eco-sustainable, allowing the reduction of around 550 ton/year of CO 2 per aircraft, thanks to a lower consumption of jet fuel during flight, as well as of the overall environmental impact associated with air transport, for each damage class. These results showed how the innovative strategy described offers a concrete possibility to reduce the costs and environmental impacts associated with aviation in order to promote greater sustainability of the entire sector.