Replacing stainless steel with a titanium alloy can significantly decrease weight and associated fuel consumption and emissions for aircraft. Scientists are producing lightweight parts with advanced additive manufacturing for a further decrease in environmental impact.
The EU and the aerospace industry are focused on minimising environmental impact all along the life cycle of an airframe. Within this context, the project TIFAN (Manufacturing by SLM of titanium fan wheels. Comparison with a conventional manufacturing process) is comparing conventional manufacturing of a stainless steel component to additive manufacturing of a lightweight titanium alloy version.
Further details: Eco-friendly fan wheels for aircraft