media releases

Rivalta di Torino, December 7, 2017 – A new, joint laboratory created by Avio Aero and the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Florence (UniFI) was opened today.

The new facility, which is called ComHeat-Lab (Combustion & Heat Transfer Laboratory) is intended to support technological development in the fields of combustion, heat exchange and fluid systems applied to combustors and turbines in aeronautical engines.

The opening ceremony was attended by UniFI representatives including the vice president for technology transfer, Andrea Arnone, the scientific supervisor of the laboratory, Bruno Facchini, and operations manager Antonio Andreini. Avio Aero representatives in attendance included the head of Research Programs, Franco Tortarolo, contact person for fluid-thermal disciplines and management of the laboratory, Daniele Coutandin, the head of aero-thermal combustor design, Antonio Peschiulli, and cooling systems expert Luca Giacobone.

"The University of Florence and Avio Aero have been collaborating for over 20 years," commented Andrea Arnone. "Today's event is part of this fruitful partnership, which was recently strengthened by the signing of an agreement, under which the University’s Department of Industrial Engineering has joined with Avio Aero and other Italian organizations into teams relating to the technological development of aviation gas turbines, called Technology Development Communities. In these meetings, UniFI plays a key role in the sectors of Aero-dynamics and Aero-acoustics, Structural Dynamics and Integrity, Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow, and Combustion System. It is these last two fields that are supported by the joint laboratory that we are inaugurating today. But the entire history of the partnership with Avio Aero fully reflects the way in which we perceive the University's third mission, in a sector with a high rate of innovation."

"Our partnership with the University of Florence is a success story that deserves to be told," said Franco Tortarolo, head of Research Programs at Avio Aero. "As our partner in the research field since 1995, in all these years the University has been an excellent reference point for Avio Aero in the technological development of our aviation turbines. The ComHeat-Lab being presented today was created as part of the Technology Development Communities initiative, which was launched one year ago to ‘connect and share,’ thereby fostering ‘network’ cooperation between various national education institutes and the company itself. We expect a lot from this laboratory which, we are sure, will be another winning step on the path of innovation that we have undertaken together."

INFORMATION about Avio Aero

Avio Aero is a GE Aviation business that designs, manufactures and maintains propulsion systems for civil and military aviation. It is the center of excellence for the entire General Electric group in the field of mechanical transmissions and low-pressure turbines. It employs more than 4,200 people at its headquarters at Rivalta di Torino, where its largest production plant is also located, and at its other major plants in Brindisi and Pomigliano d'Arco (Naples). Abroad, it has a plant and a test center in Poland. Founded in 1908, the company has overcome many technological challenges in over a century of history. Continuous investments in research and development and an established network of relationships with leading universities and international research centers have enabled Avio Aero to develop technological and manufacturing excellence recognized across the globe: an achievement borne out by a range of collaborative partnerships with key operators in the global aviation industry.

Avio Aero Contacts

Michele Laterza

Head of Media Relations

+39 011 0084412

+39 334 6942913

[email protected] 

www.avioaero.com