Successful innovation through advanced prototyping and testing

AMETEK Hughes-Treitler is a leading provider of heat exchangers and thermal management solutions for aerospace and defense customers worldwide.

Experts in the research, development and delivery of customized solutions, Hughes-Treitler’s multi-stage design process includes on-site aerodynamics performance, thermal performance, stress, vibration, and fatigue testing. This ensures innovations can be developed and tested to the highest performance aerospace standards.

The challenge

A streamlined design flies high

Heat exchangers use bypass air generated by the engine fan stage to remove very large amounts of heat from the engine. As the bypass air is what provides engine thrust, the exchanger needed to be as thin as possible to minimize thrust blockage and increase fuel efficiency; and as heat exchangers sit in the airflow of the engine, they are subject to potentially dangerous bird strikes or hail impacts - so the product needs to be tolerant to extreme stresses.

The solution

One million reasons to celebrate

AMETEK Hughes-Treitler global engineering teams utilized various AMETEK business system tools to efficiently design this new product including VOC and stage gate processes, producing prototype heat exchangers through additive manufacturing techniques. The result was a revolutionary design that provides an optimal mix of high heat dissipation, durability, light weight and small size - each a critical element in the design of aircraft components.

The new product has delivered considerable sustainability benefits. The thinner and more efficient design of the heat exchanger is estimated to lead directly to a reduction of approximately one million tons of carbon dioxide over a 10-year period. Driving such benefits aligns with AMETEK’s core value of social responsibility by using innovative solutions to help our customers create a more sustainable future. Discover more about Hughes Treitler.