“Nitrogen on tap”
Lightweight construction with fiber composites is a mega-trend in the aerospace industry. Composites already account for up to 50 per cent of the structure of the Airbus A 380 and Boeing 787. FACC is benefiting from this. on air spoke to the Chief Technology Officer of FACC, Manfred Neuböck, about the project, Messer’s nitrogen generators and new gas applications.
on air: What role does nitrogen play in the production of fiber composite components?
Manfred Neuböck: With our products, it is important to produce precisely molded parts – for example the engine cowling – that are as lightweight as possible but robust at the same time. All the parts produced in our factories are hardened in gas-tight pressure vessels. These so-called autoclaves are inerted with nitrogen for quality assurance and fire safety reasons.
on air: What are the advantages of the new nitrogen generator?
Manfred Neuböck: The supply from on-site nitrogen generators is considerably cheaper than having liquid nitrogen delivered by tanker. Even nitrogen with a purity of 96 per cent is optimal for us. That is why we have now installed the third of these units.
on air: What was the key factor in your decision?
Manfred Neuböck: Messer were very committed and thorough in dealing with the brief set out in our tender specifications. And that is why they were able to provide such an optimally designed solution for the supply of nitrogen. That is what convinced us.
on air: What stood out for you in the project’s implementation?
Manfred Neuböck: We were amazed at the comprehensive prefabrication of all of the nitrogen generator’s components. Not just the process equipment, but also the container with the compressor, process management system and analyzers were delivered complete and ready for start-up. The start-up team proved to be extremely flexible, even when faced with special requirements, such as the change to the piping layout and the positioning of the heater.
on air: Were your operational procedures adversely affected?
Manfred Neuböck: No. Deliveries were made in normal trucks and we were notified of the deliveries in good time. Messer managed well with the storage area that had been designated beforehand. The integration into our nitrogen network and operating resources supply system was completed by our people as part of their normal daily schedule.
on air: How is control and maintenance of the plant organized?
Manfred Neuböck: Very professionally. We now have nitrogen virtually “on tap”. Our Facility Manager, Christoph Jell only has to organize a daily ten-minute inspection round. The plant is continuously monitored by Messer via a remote control system. The on-site maintenance team from Messer in Austria checks our plant at regular intervals.
on air: Given all these positive experiences, would you consider purchasing any other products from Messer?
Manfred Neuböck: On the basis of our solid working relationship, we have transferred the supply of all welding and test gases required by us to Messer. And we also use dry ice blasting machines for cleaning the molds. Messer supplies the CO2 for this. The excellent growth prospects in our markets will further boost the potential for gas applications. We therefore look forward to developing our partnership in the future.
