How the albatross is inspiring next
generation of aircraft wings
@Airbus #AlbatrossOne @AirbusintheUK
Filton, 13 June 2019 – Airbus engineers have developed a scale-model
aeroplane with the first in-flight, flapping wing-tips that could revolutionise
aircraft wing-design.
The aerospace giant has drawn on nature to
develop its ‘semi-aeroelastic hinge’ concept to reduce drag and overall wing
weight, while combating the effects of turbulence and wind gusts.
Known as AlbatrossOne, the remote-controlled
aircraft has already taken its first flights to prove the concept and the team
will now conduct further testing before the demonstrator, based on the
manufacturer’s A321 plane, is scaled-up further.
“While hinged wing-tips are not new –
military jets employ them to allow greater storage capacity on aircraft
carriers – the Airbus demonstrator is the first aircraft to trial in-flight, freely-flapping
wing-tips to relieve the effects of wind gusts and turbulence,” explained
Airbus engineer Tom Wilson, based in Filton, north Bristol, UK.
“We drew inspiration from nature – the
albatross marine bird locks its wings at the shoulder for long-distance soaring
but unlocks them when wind-gusts occur or manoeuvering is required.
“The AlbatrossOne model will explore the
benefits of unlockable, freely-flapping wing-tips – accounting for a up to a
third of the length of the wing – to react autonomously during in-flight
turbulence and lessen the load on the wing at its base, so reducing the need
for heavily reinforced wing boxes.”
Jean-Brice Dumont, Airbus’ Executive
Vice-President of Engineering, said the project showed “how nature can inspire
us”. He said: “When there is a wind gust or turbulence, the wing of a
conventional aircraft transmits huge loads to the fuselage, so the base of the
wing must be heavily strengthened, adding weight to the aircraft.
“Allowing the wing-tips to react and flex to
gusts reduces the loads and allows us to make lighter and longer wings – the
longer the wing, the less drag it creates up to an optimum, so there are
potentially more fuel efficiencies to exploit.”
The first test flights of the AlbatrossOne
demonstrator, developed by Airbus engineers in Filton, were
concluded in February after a 20-month development programme. Speaking in
Toulouse, Dumont said AlbatrossOne was the “first Filton aircraft since Concorde”.
It has been constructed from carbonfibre and
glassfibre-reinforced polymers, as well as components from additive-layer
manufacturing.
Initial testing of AlbatrossOne has examined
the demonstrator’s stability with the wing-tips locked and completely unlocked,
says fellow Filton engineer James Kirk.
“The next step is to conduct further tests to
combine the two modes, allowing the wing-tips to unlock during flight and to
examine the transition,” he added.
The team presented their research at the
International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics conference in the
United States this week.
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torsdag 13. juni 2019
Airbus eksperimenterer med nye vingeprofiler - Airbus
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