Bristol's CFMS joins Airbus in bid to reduce environmental impact of the aerospace industry

Published by

Nicky Godding

The Centre for Modelling & Simulation (CFMS) is bringing its expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Simulation and High Performance Computing (HPC) to the Development of Advanced Wing Solutions (DAWS) project, led by Airbus in Bristol.

The project will research novel solutions to reducing emissions associated with current aircraft architectures and will help to strengthen the UK's position as a centre of excellence for large aircraft components and associated systems.

The three-year project will develop innovative solutions to an aircraft’s wing design, addressing a range of potential aircraft applications, as well as developing elements of the design process to define and evaluate environmental impact.

The team at CFMS, which consists of Ian Risk, Chief Technology Officer, Kiran Krishnamurthy, AI domain specialist and Davide Bianchi, Head of Advanced Simulation, will carry out investigatory research into the disruptive wing and aircraft architectures to ensure the most environmentally friendly wing design is identified.

About the DAWS project, Ian Risk said: “As awareness of environmental concerns increases in the aerospace industry, it is vital for companies like Airbus to be able to deliver products that demonstrate significant improvement in environmental performance.

As fuel burn is a key factor in CO₂emissions, an aircraft wing design plays a dominant role in defining overall performance. By improving wing design, will play a role in streamlining the aircraft, therefore, providing significant environmental improvements. The project hopes to reduce fuel burn to contribute to the aerospace sector's commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.”

The CFMS team will also be involved in the ground-based demonstration of integrated Folding Wing Tips and also design space exploration & process validation when evaluating the designs.

Folding Wing Tips are part of Airbus led research into solutions for the Wing of Tomorrow.

CFMS is working with Airbus and seven other consortium partners on the DAWS project: ARA (Aircraft Research Association), CFS (Cambridge Flow Systems) ITI (International TechneGroup), the University of Bristol, the University of Liverpool and the University of Southampton.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.