Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corp. is showing its range of expertise in the aerospace field here in Paris, highlighting its recent developments in the civil realm, such as a 5,000-psi hydraulic power generation and fluid conveyance system used in the Airbus A380.

Before the A380, all subsonic passenger aircraft used a 3,000-psi system to power their primary flight control and utility systems. Concorde, which used a 4,000-psi system, was the one exception.

Another A380 contract involves an electric motor pump package that also generates 5,000 psi of auxiliary power to the aircraft’s hydraulic systems during ground operations and maintenance. The package consists of three major elements–the electric motor and pump, the motor control and protection unit and the motor switching unit. To meet the system’s requirement for two 17.5-kilowatt electric motor pumps per circuit, the motor uses a unique design of windings and laminations, coupled with a controller that does not exceed 200 amps under all operating conditions.

The A380 hydraulics system also uses Eaton’s Rynglok tube fitting system. The Rynglok line consists of a complete collection of aerospace fittings featuring permanent, separable, hybrid and special configurations. The fittings accept any combination of tubing materials and wall thicknesses, up to an 8,000-psi pressure rating.  

Eaton’s quantitative debris monitoring system for the GP7200 turbofan engine accounts for another high-tech A380 development. The system warns of impending gear and bearing failures by detecting and classifying ferromagnetic wear debris particles. The diagnostic tool already appears in the GE 90 engine, which powers the Boeing 777.

More advanced engine technology from Eaton takes the form of an engine buildup (EBU) systems integrator for the next generation of Gulfstream’s G350 and G450 business aircraft. The Gulfstream EBU system consists of all the fluid and electrical subsystems that connect the powerplant to the airframe, including engine bleed air, hydraulics, fuel fire detection and suppression, oil and electrical harnesses.

The recent growth of the business aircraft industry has also kept Eaton busy developing a hydraulic system integrator for Raytheon’s Hawker Horizon. The program involved the design, development, manufacture and total integration of the Horizon’s hydraulics system.

Eaton supplies the system’s DC motor-driven hydraulic power package, the power transfer unit, Vickers brand engine-driven pumps, various valves, main system accumulators and Aeroquip disconnect couplings. It also supplies Sterer boot-strap hydraulic reservoirs, hydraulic filter modules, pressure maintaining valves and priority valves.

Other Eaton specialties include oil sensors for helicopters. The unique product works with a helicopter’s existing chip detection system to determine oil levels in intermediate, tail rotor and main gearboxes. It consists of a miniature transducer designed to serve as an exact replacement for a helicopter’s oil sight glass, chip detector, switching circuit module and wiring connections.