Icon Aerospace Technology (www.iconaerotech.com), a specialist aerospace engineering company with manufacturing sites in Retford and Burton-on-Trent, has formulated a new material for safety-critical jet-engine fire seals that pass every industry-standard fire test.

These include ISO/TR 2685 and AC20-125, which see seals exposed to a flame at 1,100ºC for 15min, while being subjected to vibration, air-flow and pressure changes.

Dan Bailey, Icon’s commercial director, said: “We have spent a lot of time working with our customers and network of fire-testing facilities, to really understand in detail the application of fire seals, and thereby ensure that we design products that are highly effective in use.

“By understanding everything from the external forces affecting seals to the air-flow interacting with them, we have designed products that have a very high success rate in fire tests.”

These products play a vital role on aircraft, containing fire within localised areas to prevent flame spread. This is particularly important when applied to engines and auxiliary power units, where the seal acts as a barrier between the flame and the rest of the aircraft.

Icon’s fire-seal components are also used in the main fans of aircraft, as well as inside fuel systems.

Steve Rubery, Icon’s head of sales, said: “Developing engine technologies present greater challenges for seal manufacturers.

“We have invested a lot of time and resource to create the expertise in formulating the most effective material structure for our aircraft seals, to provide the high levels of performance and reliability demanded by our customers.”