Selected aspects of aviation equipment disposal issue

SELECTED ASPECTS OF AVIATION EQUIPMENT DISPOSAL ISSUE

∗ ∗ ∗∗ Ivan KOBLEN, Libor TALPAŠ, Ján JURČÁK

∗ Faculty of Aeronautics of Technical University, Košice, Slovak Republic , ∗∗ Cadets Company Commander, Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovak Republic

Abstract: The main aim of paper is to inform on importance and selected aspects of aviation equipment disposal issue. The first part of paper describes the system life cycle stages, including disposal stage and its specifics. The authors are focusing on the explanation of the main reasons and possibilities in the disposal aviation equipment area. The paper inform on the aim and mission of the main global producers effort and initiatives in this area - Aircraft Fleet Association (AFRA) as a Boeing initiative and PAMELA (Process for Advanced Management of End of Life of Aircraft) project as an initiative. Due to importance of composite material, which will be the main structure material of future aircraft, the author introduce selected information on aerospace composite recycling issue.

Keywords: life cycle stages, disposal, aviation equipment, dismantling, recycling, composites, projects.

1. INTRODUCTION • Production; • Utilization; The progress of air transport have brought • many advantages and also some Support; disadvantages. Every must have a plan • Disposal (Retirement). of disposal aircraft from their aircraft’s fleet. Each stage represents one essential period The age of an aircraft depends on factors of the life cycle of a system. The partitioning including the chronological age, the number of of the system life cycle into stages is based on flight cycles, and the number of flight hours. the practicality of doing the work in small, Although the aviation equipment is repaired, understandable, timely steps. Stages, in each aircraft reaches the point where further addition, help address uncertainties and risk maintenance will lead to economic losses, associated with cost, schedule, general inefficiency and unreliability of the aircraft. objectives and decisions making. Each stage has a distinct purpose and contribution to the 2. LIFE CYCLE STAGES whole life cycle. The above mentioned stages of system life Every system-of-interest, including cycle are valid also for the aviation equipment, aviation system, has a life cycle. The main but we must take into account the particular document regarding the system life cycle issue specifics towards both the upgrading is the international standard ISO/IEC 15 288 /modernization process (which would be “System Engineering-System Life Cycle started during appropriate time of operation Processes”. In accordance with this standard (utilization), not closely before end of aircraft the whole system life cycle is dividing into a technical life) and process of aircraft aging set of six stages consisting of relevant /reaching the aircraft end-of life point limit. processes and activities (ISO/IEC 15288): Very frequently the process of aircraft • Concept; modernization (with aim to meet the new requirements, to replace aging and unreliable • Development; 102 Management and Socio-Humanities equipment and components, to increase and parts assembling. After production and aircraft reliability, maintainability and testing the product is sold to airliner. Airliner sustainability, to reduce the total life cycle cost starts the Operation (Utilization) and Support a.o.) has been linked with process of technical stages. The aircraft is used for purposes for life extension. which it was designed and manufactured. The life cycle thinking from Production When the aircraft reaches the end-of life point stage is shown on Figure 1. The production limit, the Disposal stage is started. Every stage starts when the raw material is extracted assigned organization and participant is and processed to the particular material. responsible for the particular life cycle stage Manufacturer of aircraft and aviation and relevant processes and activities during equipments continues in the following this stage. activities: product design, product manufacture

Fig. 1 Life cycle stages from production stage

3. DISPOSAL OF AVIATION • Decision to replace the obsolete EQUIPMENT -THE MAIN REASONS aircraft or to replace aircraft fleet from other AND POSSIBILITIES reasons (ineffectiveness of fleet, low demand of air transport, accidents, et cetera). Each product (include aircraft) passes a life Currently over 2,000 aircraft are in storage cycle. The process of disposal of the aircraft is world-wide, and the number of military the final phase of the life cycle. Like all aircraft in storage is considerably greater. Over products, civil aircraft come to the end of their the next 20 years, approximately 5,000 useful working lives. The reasons for this may commercial are expected to be include: withdrawn or retired from service at a rate of • Increasing maintenance (operating) and approximately 250 per year (Towle, 2007). repair costs; Current technological development has • Difficulties to meet new/changed meant that there is a situation where a moral legislative and environmental requirements; depreciation is not identical to the physical • Difficulties to meet upgrading depreciation. Science and technology plays a requirements and expensive technology major role in determining the end of life value upgrades; of an aircraft. • Difficulties with the production and As with any product, an aircraft depreciates procurement of spare parts; in value with time. The reduction in value • Increasing content of time or service arises from a number of factors including the expired parts; increased cost of maintenance, repair and upgrading to comply with legislation. At some

103 Selected aspects of aviation equipment disposal issue stage, maintenance, repair and upgrading will decrease over these years, parking fees become uneconomic and at this point the and maintenance costs have to be paid and the owner will consider taking the aircraft out of condition of the aircraft worsens. The biggest service. The term „End of Life Management cost factor, however, is the cost of ownership. Framework“ has been used and applicable in The longer an aircraft is parked, the harder this specific issue. it will be to obtain a good price. Especially When the aircraft reaches the end of when more and more of that type of aircraft technological life, the owner of aircraft in are withdrawn from service and are offered on cooperation with aircraft producers has the the market. Storing an aircraft is expensive and following possibilities: will often result in selling the aircraft for a • the aircraft is stored at the special value lower than could be reached when parking areas or at the boneyard; disassembled directly after the last flight, • the aircraft is stored, the usable parts especially when the cost of parking, until the are taken out and then will create a wreck; aircraft is sold, is incorporated in the financial • the aircraft is disposal and usable parts balance. The largest boneyards are in deserts are recycling. (Figure 2), because the progress of corrosion Many aircraft owners are trying after in hot and dry places is slighter than the places reaching the end of aircraft technological life with normal or wet climate. The other benefit to find a new operator or new owner. If no or reason why the aircraft are storaged at the new operator is found before the aircraft's last boneyards is a visual pollution. These service flight, the aircraft will often be stored boneyards are usually too far from the cities. somewhere waiting for a new user, sometimes The boneyards have been in operation from for years. Fact is that the value of the aircraft 1950s.

Fig. 2 Boneyard in Mojave desert, California

The better solution of disposal is salvaging owner's supervision, directly after aircraft last of aircraft. The ecological disposal, flight. It might very well be possible that the dismantling, recycling and re-using of component value of the (parked) aircraft aircraft´s parts from global view started in first exceeds its market value as a flyer. The years of this century. decision between selling and dismantling the In the case of dismantling of aircraft it is aircraft should be primary made on possible to sell the components under the economical drivers. 104 Management and Socio-Humanities

4. MAJOR GLOBAL AIRCRAFT Assemblies. This document is a guide for the PRODUCERS PROJECTS IN AVIATION AFRA members. EQUIPMENT DISPOSAL ISSUE 4.2 PAMELA Project. PAMELA (Process for Advanced Management of End of Life of Major global aircraft producers created a Aircraft) is an Airbus -initiated project to test special projects focused on aviation equipment environmentally-friendly recycling procedures disposal issue and take the initiative to with retired airliners. This initiative is establish international organization for supported by the European Union’s LIFE dismantling aircraft in an efficient and (l'Instrument Financier pour l'Environnement) environmentally-sound manners. programme. The objective of the PAMELA 4.1 AFRA. AFRA (Aircraft Fleet project is to ensure that end-of life aircraft do Recycling Association) is a Boeing initiative. not end up visibly corroding and polluting AFRA comprises a voluntary group of airfields, degrading the environment and brand companies and individuals that have agreed to image. The project aim is to demonstrate that work in a cooperative fashion to provide full between 85 and 95 percent of airframe aircraft product life cycle capability. AFRA is components can be easily recycled, reused or recognized as the leading global industry recovered. association (members of this Association are Equipment and products such as the the global leaders of aircraft recycling, electronics system, tyres, batteries, CFC dismantling and reusing) dedicated to pursuing (chlorofluorocarbon) and hydraulic fluids from and promoting environmental best practice, aircraft have to go through a controlled regulatory excellence and sustainable processing channel. Also serviceable, working developments in aircraft disassembly, as well spares and components recovered from end of as the salvaging and recycling of aircraft parts life aircraft will be catalogued and tracked as and materials. In this regard the AFRA´s aim they are put back into the second hand parts is to demonstrate that the 90 to 95 percent of supply chain. PAMELA will also help launch aircraft components are recycled. The AFRA a European network to disseminate main goal and mission is the sustainable information about commercial airframe management of end-of-life airframes and dismantling at their end of life. engines and to create the conditions for co- Airbus and its partners had built a operations with industries and governments. dedicated dismantling facility at Tarbes airport This Association collates, consolidates, in France to undertake the project and plan for promotes and publishes the collective this facility to become a centre of excellence experience of its members in its Best for commercial aircraft dismantling and Management Practice (BMP) Guides for recycling. Figure 3 shows the aircraft disposal Management of Used Aircraft Parts and process map.

Fig. 3 Aircraft disposal process map

105 Selected aspects of aviation equipment disposal issue

5. COMPOSITE RECYCLING GLARE (a glass fibre and aluminium composite) material (for the upper fuselage The importance of aerospace composite section and horizontal tail section) and widely recycling is increasingly owing to the rapidly has been used fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) increasing use of these materials in the composite (for the central wing box and in commercial aerospace sector. Future products parts of the fuselage). One of the major from Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, etc are reasons that GLARE was chosen is its announced to use up to 50 % unladen weight resistance to fatigue crack growth and a of polymeric based composites in their density reduction of 10% compared to primary structures. These type of materials conventional aluminium alloys. currently pose very significant recycling and Figure 4 shows the increasing of using of recovery challenges. composites in Airbus aircraft. When the A300 The end of life problems concerned with model had less than 5 % composits on total composites are set to increase and new weight, the A380 model has 22 % composits approaches and technologies to resolve on total weight of aircraft. composite end of life problems must start to be The Boeing 787 materials design is based developed now. The increased use of substantially on carbon fibres in an epoxy composites is driven by weight reduction, resin matrix for the fuselage and a composite reduction in the number of components, wing. New production techniques have been reduced maintenance costs and potential developed to produce the composite fuselage, improvements in fatigue behaviour. It has been including composite fuselage sections 6.7m suggested [3] that by 2020, the use of long and nearly 6m wide, carbon fibres. composites will give production aircraft of that Approximately 50 % of total weight are date a fuel burn advantage of between 10% composits. Figure 5 shows the material design and 15 % over their year 2000 counterparts. of Boeing 787. The A 380 has been manufactured from the

Fig. 4 Increasing use of composites in Airbus aircraft

106 Management and Socio-Humanities

Fig. 5 Composite use in the Boeing 787

The main advantages of composite provides relatively high quality of recycled materials are high strength, resistance, composites. Economic efficiency of recycling excellent fatigue properties, low modulus of will increase because the implementation of elasticity and good chemical resistance. composits in aviation industry will increase. Composite materials also offer economic Carbon fiber used in the aviation industry benefits for long-term using. The most has achieved higher quality level in advantage for airliners is less resistance to comparison with carbon fiber used in the airflow, which means a lower specific fuel automotive industry. The processing of 1000 t consumption. These materials are important of per year can recycle up to 600 t of not only for manufacturers or airliners, but carbon fibers. The quality of recycled carbon they are very important for companies, which fiber from aircraft is higher than the new provide dismantling, disposal and recycling carbon fiber used in the mobile phones, procedures. It is necessary to support computers or sports equipments´s production development of the composits recycling. The and recycled carbon fiber is cheaper. composit´s storaging in a landfill is not a optimal solution. 6. COMPOSITE RECYCLING There are now a lot of European funded research projects, which are looking for The process of disposal of the aviation develop commercially viable routes to equipment as the final phase of its life cycle is recovering carbon fibres from thermoset very important due to several factors and composites such as the work undertaken at reasons. These factors must be take into INASMET Tecnalia in Spain. This work account not only during the processes and investigated three potential recycling activities as part of disposal phase, but techniques (Towle, 2007): especially during the concept, development, • a nitric acid treatment to testing and production phases. dissolve/remove the thermoset resin; Major global aircraft producers created a • thermal pyrolysis; special projects focused on aviation equipment • disposal issue and take the initiative to an incineration process. establish international organization for The best technique for composites dismantling aircraft in an efficient and recycling was determined pyrolysis which 107 Selected aspects of aviation equipment disposal issue environmentally-sound manners. Main aim of 4. Horwitz, Daniela. (2007). The end of the both AFRA Association and PAMELA line – aircraft recycling initiatives. In: project, which are the most reputable in this Aircraft Technology Engineering & area, is to increase an efficiency of recycling Maintenance. 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It is very important to Conference on Industrial Engineering and solve recycling of composite materials used in Operation Management, Challenges and the airframe of aircraft and it systems and Maturity of Production Engineering: components. competitiveness of enterprises, working In conjunction with the technological part conditions, environment. São Carlos, SP, of disposal is needed to pay attention also to Brazil, 12 to 15 October – 2010. [online] legislative issue and procedures of aircraft´s URL:http://www.abepro.org.br/biblioteca/ disposal on the international and national enegep2010_TI_ST_113_740_17486.pdf levels (this issue is not a part of paper). Civil [consulted on March, 2012]. Aviation Authorities has been established the 7. Schóber, T., Nečas, P., Grega, M., procedures for dismantling and disposal of Kelemen, M. (2011). Present and future of aircraft. 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