Absorbing energy impacts

To optimise passenger safety, aircraft structures that absorb as much energy as possible are needed. This is the main objective of a research project entitled ‘Integrated Technologies for Crashworthy Cabin Interiors’, a joint undertaking of Airbus Deutschland, EADS Forschung, iDS Hamburg and the Institute for Product Development and Design Technology at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). The aim of the part-project handled by TUHH is to develop energy-absorbing support structures for the cabin interior that serve to limit the forces acting on the cabin without adding any extra weight. The team of scientists studied a wide range of energy-absorbing materials in different shapes, from isotropic materials like aluminium foam and hollow metal spheres to anisotropic materials like carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), to identify the optimum combination of material and shape. The team then designed suitable support structures, simulating them using the finite element method, before building and testing the prototypes. Tubes and more especially panels made of carbon reinforced composites proved to be extremely promising as support structures for overhead lockers. Clever design allows these ‘pin/plate absorbers’ to be fitted directly into the overhead storage. With this method, no additional energy-absorbing material is required and there is hardly any change to the weight of the overhead locker. The support structures are currently being tested and developed further under typical loads on the institute’s own test rig.

In Hamburg, the ‘Place for Aviation’, research and development is a crucial activity because the results it produces have a direct effect on production processes. In the Finkenwerder district of Hamburg, Airbus assembles the front and rear sections of the A380’s fuselage and undertakes final assembly of the A318, A319 and A321 types. With the involvement of renowned universities and institutes, the technological and scientific standard is very high. In many cases, companies and academic institutions collaborate closely on the development of innovative products and processes. This is especially true in the case of Hamburg’s aviation research programme, which provides financial support for public-private partnerships. Research and development is application-based and has a finger on the pulse of the market, but there is room for fundamental research too. In addition to cabins and cabin systems, the focus is also on new technologies for aircraft assembly and structure. The objective is to develop standardised processes for aircraft construction that are economic, effective and future-proof and which promote Hamburg as a production site.

More information is available at www.luftfahrtstandort-hamburg.de