Airbus flappy wings

[anonymous-user]

Airbus doing some interesting technology demonstrations in the U.K. with AlbatrossONE testing flapping wing tips potential reducing weight and drag increasing lift through longer wings and damping turbulence.

“Semi-aeroelastic hinged wing-tips enable an aircraft to “surf” through wind gusts without transferring the bending loads (i.e. external load that produces bending stresses within a body) to the main wing.

This means we require less material, such as carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers, to make the wing strong enough to withstand the gust loads, thus reducing the weight of the aircraft. Also, the length of the wing-tip can be extended without adding weight to the wing because the extra loads from the longer wing-tip are not passed to the main wing.”


https://simpleflying.com/airbus-flapping-wings/?ut...

[cb31]

Looks a bit weird with them folded up at the gate but very cool. The article does state there is no chance of them being on aeroplanes any time soon though.

[bitchstewie]

In all seriousness I wonder what research they're also doing into passenger reactions to looking out the window and seeing that going on?

[anonymous-user]

Interesting hearing the article talk about testing shark type skin surfaces on fuselages, I remember testing on wings with this almost 20 years ago.

Obviously technology develops and fuel costs plus co2 targets and taxes change, possibly making certain technology viable where before it wasn’t worth it?

[hidetheelephants]

bhstewie said:

In all seriousness I wonder what research they're also doing into passenger reactions to looking out the window and seeing that going on?

You can see the wings flap now in gusts and turbulence; it's all a matter of degree.

[RizzoTheRat]

"Windtunnel" tests by strapping a model to the side of a van? Is this a student project rather than a core Airbus team?

[louiebaby]

I think all the "easy" improvements in fuel efficiency have been done, based on the current design of aircraft, so to continue the fuel efficiency drive the methods start to get very interesting. I find all this quite fascinating really.

Long haul travel needs plenty of research, the environmental impact of using fossil fuels is getting more understood now. If the planes are more energy efficient, and the fuels are become more environmentally sound, long haul travel will be a thing again.

Finnair were starting to use fuels derived from waste fats and oils about 18 months ago, so if we get the stage where no fossil fuels are burned, and CO2 from burning waste fats and oils is being accounted for, combined with more efficient airframes, then the airline industry will be able to get moving again.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Flappy wings... <shudder>. One of my profs was a fatigue specialist. I blame him for me not liking flying.

[anonymous-user]

louiebaby said:

I think all the "easy" improvements in fuel efficiency have been done, based on the current design of aircraft, so to continue the fuel efficiency drive the methods start to get very interesting. I find all this quite fascinating really.

Long haul travel needs plenty of research, the environmental impact of using fossil fuels is getting more understood now. If the planes are more energy efficient, and the fuels are become more environmentally sound, long haul travel will be a thing again.

Finnair were starting to use fuels derived from waste fats and oils about 18 months ago, so if we get the stage where no fossil fuels are burned, and CO2 from burning waste fats and oils is being accounted for, combined with more efficient airframes, then the airline industry will be able to get moving again.

Long haul travel is already a thing. The problem for long haul (or any) travel is covid restrictions not CO2 emissions. That may change in the future of course and CO2 may become the main limiter but it’s certainly not at the moment.

[louiebaby]

El stovey said:

Long haul travel is already a thing. The problem for long haul (or any) travel is covid restrictions not CO2 emissions. That may change in the future of course and CO2 may become the main limiter but it’s certainly not at the moment.

Agreed, perhaps I didn't make myself clear I meant in the future, sort of.

I think that as Covid restrictions are lifted, business long haul travel will be a lot less than it was 5 years ago, for example.

Businesses have got used to doing business without business travel, so when it becomes possible, they'll be thinking twice about it. They will make it out to be an environmental play, but cost will probably be the main reason.

When it comes to leisure long-haul, I think people are probably more environmentally conscious than they were, so will also think twice about it.

[GliderRider]

Airbus have been using gust alleviation technology to reduce wing fatigue since the A320 was introduced in 1987. Sensors on the nose detect gusts, and immediately adjust both outboard ailerons to reduce the lift that part of the wing generates when the gust reaches it. An added benefit is that the ride is much smoother for the passengers.

There is nothing wrong with using a wheeled vehicle for gathering test data on a wing portion. Large wind tunnels are expensive and often booked up a long way ahead. Also wall effects limit the size of test pieces focussed on wingtip work. A 'quick and dirty' test on a vehicle rig may save a lot of time and money building and approving a wind tunnel model which is ultimately fruitless.

[RizzoTheRat]

GliderRider said:

There is nothing wrong with using a wheeled vehicle for gathering test data on a wing portion. Large wind tunnels are expensive and often booked up a long way ahead. Also wall effects limit the size of test pieces focussed on wingtip work. A 'quick and dirty' test on a vehicle rig may save a lot of time and money building and approving a wind tunnel model which is ultimately fruitless.

Fair point. I was just thinking that a combination of gusts and a Reynolds number that's way out would make measuring anything useful tricky, but I suppose you can get some general information on how it behaves before moving to more expensive tests.

[Krikkit]

RizzoTheRat said:

GliderRider said:

There is nothing wrong with using a wheeled vehicle for gathering test data on a wing portion. Large wind tunnels are expensive and often booked up a long way ahead. Also wall effects limit the size of test pieces focussed on wingtip work. A 'quick and dirty' test on a vehicle rig may save a lot of time and money building and approving a wind tunnel model which is ultimately fruitless.

Fair point. I was just thinking that a combination of gusts and a Reynolds number that's way out would make measuring anything useful tricky, but I suppose you can get some general information on how it behaves before moving to more expensive tests.

Exactly - test out your wing tip locking and control mechanisms with a transit rather than £££/hour in a wind tunnel for example, bit of string testing etc. Seems like a sensible use of resources to me.