Life cycle assessment comparing manufacturing and repair operations of aerospace fan blades with conventional and additive manufacturing
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Publicerad
2022
Författare
Magnusson, Cecilia
Einarsson, Linus
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
The aviation sector has made it possible for people to explore the world in just a matter of hours
but the industry is facing large challenges. To prevent further environmental changes, actions
must be taken. This report investigates the sustainability impacts of new manufacturing Fan
blade, compared to two repair methods, one based on conventional manufacturing and one
based on Additive Manufacturing (AM) with Laser Metal Deposition with powder (LMD-p).
Literature search and interviews were performed to understand and map the different processes.
A Life cycle assessment (LCA) was made to assess the environmental impacts associated with
the three cases to validate potential hotspots. Lastly a social assessment was made to understand
the social impacts. The LCA showed that the AM repair significantly reduces the environmental
impacts, resulting in 6 kg CO2 equivalents, compared to new manufacturing, 184 kg CO2
equivalents, and conventional repair, 80 kg CO2 equivalents. The social assessment displays
several positive aspects, firstly less toxic exposure to workers and less impact on natural capital.
This study concludes that the AM repair significantly reduces the environmental and social
impacts compared to both new manufacturing and conventional repair.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
sustainability, aerospace, life cycle assessment, environment, repair, circular economy, additive manufacturing, conventional manufacturing