NEXTEAM GROUP develop the STEADIEST transmission for Next-Generation Civil Tiltrotor
November 2021 – NEXTEAM Group, and his partners Conseil & Technique and Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers, validate the definition of composite architecture for transmission drive shaft which allows to link the two nacelles of aircraft.
The 10 meter long drive shaft developed by the STEADIEST consortium has reached the Critical Design Review. NEXTEAM Group is demonstrating, through representative prototypes, performance in accordance with the Leonardo Helicopters convertible specification.
The development of the following issues since the PDR have been essential for the numerical justification of this drive transmission :
- Compliant frequency domain of the product in its environment
- Infinite life cycle of the composite product despite the numerous safety factors required by the authorities.
- 100% interchangeable definition with an aluminium configuration developed in-house by Leonardo
Figure 1 : NEXTSHAFT vibratory improvement
NEXTEAM GROUP, and his partner Conseil & Technique, manufacture transmission shaft prototypes 25% lighters.
The first qualification prototypes, manufactured by NEXTEAM Group and its partner Conseil & Technique, will allow to justify the health and performances of these new composite products.
After a successful design research period, STEADIEST is developing the means to produce and test composite driveshafts.
Figure 2 : NEXTSHAFT prototypes for qualification tests
The manufacture of full-carbon – supercritical – shafts confirms the very optimistic goals expected by the consortium and the European Commission in terms of performance and competitiveness.
This project has received funding from the European Union -Grant Agreement number: 831948-H2020-CS2-CFP08-2018-01
