Altair Case Studies Airbus: Reducing Aircraft Weight by 500kg through IoT

	Airbus: Reducing Aircraft Weight by 500kg through IoT Altair

Airbus: Reducing Aircraft Weight by 500kg through IoT

Altair

Technology Category	Drones - Fixed-Wing Drones
Applicable Industries	Aerospace Life Sciences
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development
Challenge	In the aerospace industry, the overall weight of an aircraft is a critical design requirement due to the impact just a few kilograms can have on fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. Heavier aircraft use more fuel during flight which leads to increased running costs for the airline carriers. Airbus, while designing the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the A380, aimed to ensure the design was as lightweight as possible while maintaining all performance standards. The challenge was to reduce the weight of the aircraft without compromising on the performance standards. Read More
About Customer	Airbus is a global leader in the aerospace industry, known for designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art aircraft. They are committed to reducing the environmental impact of their products and have a strong focus on innovation and technology to achieve this. In this case, Airbus was designing the A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, and wanted to ensure the design was as lightweight as possible while maintaining all performance standards. They sought the assistance of Altair ProductDesign to help them achieve this goal. Read More
Solution	Altair ProductDesign was selected to assist in the development of the A380 by helping to define and implement a new optimization process to remove mass from the aircraft’s leading edge droop nose wing ribs. A two-step design process was implemented. Firstly, a set of predefined stress and buckling loads from Airbus were brought into Altair’s own optimization technology, OptiStruct. Based on these loads and the design space available within the wing assembly, OptiStruct’s topology, sizing and shape optimization technologies automatically identified the ideal material layout for the ribs. During the second phase, Altair ProductDesign engineers interpreted these topology results in order to develop a manufacturable structure. Each topology result of the 13 wing ribs was studied and a new, innovative material layout was created. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Drones - Fixed-Wing Drones

Applicable Industries

Aerospace

Life Sciences

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Challenge

In the aerospace industry, the overall weight of an aircraft is a critical design requirement due to the impact just a few kilograms can have on fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. Heavier aircraft use more fuel during flight which leads to increased running costs for the airline carriers. Airbus, while designing the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the A380, aimed to ensure the design was as lightweight as possible while maintaining all performance standards. The challenge was to reduce the weight of the aircraft without compromising on the performance standards.

About Customer

Airbus is a global leader in the aerospace industry, known for designing and manufacturing state-of-the-art aircraft. They are committed to reducing the environmental impact of their products and have a strong focus on innovation and technology to achieve this. In this case, Airbus was designing the A380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, and wanted to ensure the design was as lightweight as possible while maintaining all performance standards. They sought the assistance of Altair ProductDesign to help them achieve this goal.

Solution

Altair ProductDesign was selected to assist in the development of the A380 by helping to define and implement a new optimization process to remove mass from the aircraft’s leading edge droop nose wing ribs. A two-step design process was implemented. Firstly, a set of predefined stress and buckling loads from Airbus were brought into Altair’s own optimization technology, OptiStruct. Based on these loads and the design space available within the wing assembly, OptiStruct’s topology, sizing and shape optimization technologies automatically identified the ideal material layout for the ribs. During the second phase, Altair ProductDesign engineers interpreted these topology results in order to develop a manufacturable structure. Each topology result of the 13 wing ribs was studied and a new, innovative material layout was created.

Impact #1	Through collaborative partnerships with Altair in the UK, Airbus was able to develop an innovative rib design for the A380. This resulted in an optimized weight saving of over 500kg per aircraft. The project demonstrated exceptional teamwork and ensured the total integration of design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities. The lighter aircraft design not only reduced running costs for airline carriers but also contributed to Airbus's commitment to reducing the environmental impact of their products.

Impact #1

Through collaborative partnerships with Altair in the UK, Airbus was able to develop an innovative rib design for the A380. This resulted in an optimized weight saving of over 500kg per aircraft. The project demonstrated exceptional teamwork and ensured the total integration of design, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities. The lighter aircraft design not only reduced running costs for airline carriers but also contributed to Airbus's commitment to reducing the environmental impact of their products.

Benefit #1	Weight reduction of over 500kg per aircraft
Benefit #2	Increased fuel efficiency due to reduced aircraft weight
Benefit #3	Reduced CO2 emissions due to lighter aircraft

Benefit #1

Weight reduction of over 500kg per aircraft

Benefit #2

Increased fuel efficiency due to reduced aircraft weight

Benefit #3

Reduced CO2 emissions due to lighter aircraft

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Overview

Airbus: Reducing Aircraft Weight by 500kg through IoT

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit