Aviation & Aerospace Applications

MD-Kinney's vacuum booster systems are actively in use at a variety of aerospace facilities responsible for performing development and certification tests for altitude simulation. Simulations are typically performed in test chambers equipped with element heaters that can imitate launch pressure decay, on orbit cold-soak, and re-entry heating and pressure elements to assess the performance of an aircraft before being qualified to take flight. A booster system is utilized in the test chamber in order to simulate the near outer space atmosphere during the heat test. 

MD-Kinney is proud to design and manufacture the vacuum systems that are used in the production of aircraft carbon brake pads. Utilized on commercial and military aircraft, brake pads are essential to function and need to be able to sustain the high temperatures that come from the conversion of the plane’s kinetic energy into heat. Carbon brake pad production begins with carbon fiber that goes through a carbonization process at high temperatures in an inert gas atmosphere to eliminate excess gases. The fibers are then placed in a vacuum furnace using chemical vapor disposition and chemical vapor infiltration to repair any voids and add density to the material. Vacuum systems are essential in this process because of their ability to handle the various hydrocarbons, carbon dusts, and tar carryover that results.

Vacuum heat-treating furnaces are essential in the production of aluminum alloys used in the structure of aircrafts and jet engine blade coatings. Because aircrafts need to function at optimum levels dependent on the environmental conditions, a plane’s life relies on the structure of its alloy that is produced in the vacuum furnace. In the aerospace industry, heat treatment is performed to improve the overall life and functionality of components and enhance their resistance to wear and corrosion. The vacuum furnace is used to heat metals to extremely high temperatures while achieving high consistency and low contamination of gases, blocking oxygen and reducing rapid oxidation.