POWERTRAIN EcoPulse render (Airbus)
OPTIONS FOR AIRCRAFT
T
he past two years have thrown up a host of new challenges for the aerospace industry – from
the pandemic grounding planes and grinding production to a halt, to the increasing number of cyberattacks being targeted at operators, manufacturers, and the wider supply chain. As the industry looks forward
to a post-pandemic world, two key challenges are top of mind: the need to decrease time to market for new aircraft without compromising quality, and the need to reach zero carbon emissions by 2050.
INCREASING BUILD EFFICIENCY The manufacturing process is changing. As the digital transformation accelerates and high- tech startups disrupt the status quo, aeronautics manufacturers must continue to innovate and modernise to secure business and keep pace. At the same time, they need to adhere to the stringent quality checks and
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How can the aerospace industry tackle climate challenges and become more sustainable? Jeff Hoyle has some answers
regulations designed to ensure safety for passengers. The design and manufacture of
aircraft is understandably highly regulated, and the certification process is still driven by physical testing to demonstrate compliance. As such, the estimated timeframe for an aeroplane (both civil and military) to be developed and certified has barely changed in 40 years. However, new solutions powered
by new digital tools – such as new simulation methods and use of artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate simulations – are enabling the number of physical tests to be reduced. Consequently, these innovations are shrinking the time scales and costs associated with the development of new products. Furthermore, technologies such as
3D printing and virtual twins – an executable virtual model of a physical system or part, which brings in learning and experiences taken from real-world processes to simulate and test performance – are potentially game-changing innovations that will
lead the way in the future of aircraft design and manufacture. However, to fully embrace the
mission to build better aircraft in a shorter time, aero manufacturers need to go beyond these techniques. Lessons should be sought from other industries where technology such as AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) are already being used efficiently as part of the engineering process. Development of new materials is already using AI to reduce the number of tests needed, particularly in certification. Yet there is still work to be done in developing AI to safely follow the processes associated with aeroplane development. The final goal is to use AI to perform all the iterative processes and reduce the ‘human touch’ required to check the work the AI is doing – and redirect it if necessary. As a golden rule to develop this
specific AI, we cannot allow for the work to be done in isolation, in a ‘black box’. Engineers will need to be able to follow all the processes to allow traceability of every action
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