Sustainable Wing Solutions (SusWingS)

With an ever increasing global commercial aircraft fleet, and considering the global emissions that result from aircraft manufacture and from aircraft in-service, it is more important than ever to focus on the design of more efficient, lighter weight, lower emission aircraft, manufactured with a process that considers, and is conscious of, the environmental impact.

The SUStainable WING Solutions (SusWingS) project is targeting the development of technologies which facilitate this ambition. High performance wings along and environmentally assessed manufacturing operations for future aircraft, supporting the reduction of emissions and driving towards Destination Zero 2050\.

SusWingS continues to develop many of the technologies from the Wing of Tomorrow Programme suite of projects, as well as newer innovations. It works alongside other running projects to help prepare the UK aerospace industry, and the UK supply chain, for the future.

In SusWingS, Airbus are partnered by the major part manufacturer GKN Aerospace as well as Cranfield University and the University of Sheffield. Each partner brings their own unique skills and innovations to the project.

This project focuses on a variety of interlinked topics across the Wing design and manufacture process including technologies such as the one way assembly enabling single sided fasteners (as opposed to 2 piece fasteners), the latest carbon fibre composite material developments, as well as state of the art numerical analysis models to predict structural behaviour. Then ultimately assessing how these and other technologies are combined in major components and assemblies, and the environmental impact monitoring of those assembly processes.

All aspects of this project are linked with the common aim of not only developing and maturing the technologies but also to understand the sustainability/environmental impacts of the technology (in terms of 'scope' emissions or the 'high5' (VOC, CO2, Waste, Water and Energy).