What is the Airbus ZeroE?

Airbus envisions a future of zero-emission aircraft powered by hydrogen-based fuel and electric batteries. They have unveiled three concept aircraft, including a hydrogen turboprop and a blended wing design. The cabins of the future will feature augmented reality, living spaces, and sleeping opportunities. However, there are challenges with hydrogen fuel production and range limitations. Government support and infrastructure development will be crucial for the success of these concepts.

Airbus aims to have the first of these zero emission aircraft to be released by 2035. The first prototype introduced in the ZeroE series is the Regional Turboprop aircraft that can seat up to a 100 passengers. This comes under the same category as the existing ATR-42 and other turboprop aircraft which get used daily for short regional flights. The ZeroE turboprop will have a range of 1000 nautical miles. The way the aircraft will operate is by using modified gas turbine engines.

Turboprop design

The second concept released by Airbus into the ZeroE category is the Modified Turbofan aircraft which can carry 120-200 passengers and has a range of 2000 nautical miles.This aircraft will use a modified turbofan jet engine. In this aircraft, additional hydrogen will be stored at the rear of the fuselage. 

The Modified Turbofan design

The third and final design of the ZeroE lineup is the Blended Wing design. The blended wing design has been introduced to increase the fuselage width which provides more options for hydrogen storage and distribution. It would have a capacity of up to 200 passengers but due to its design the cabin interior will be completely different to what can be seen in the modern aviation industry. 

Blended Wing design

Sustainable fuel is one of the main options that aircraft manufacturers will be looking towards. Sustainable fuel is produced from "Waste oils from biological origins" , "Agricultural Residues", "Non-fossil CO2". Airbus want to completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels for their aircraft and hence the introduction of the ZeroE. Electric power is another way to cut down on CO2 emissions created by aircraft but it will take a long time for electric power to be introduced into larger aircraft. Batteries are heavy and there needs to be a solution found in order to maximise efficiency and find a suitable design that allows the aircraft to fly long distances.  

Hydrogen on the other hand has a very high energy content by weight ratio. This makes it well suited as a potential alternative energy source. Hydrogen can be used in two ways to power aircraft. Hydrogen fuel cells is one of the methods in which hydrogen and oxygen which produces electric power and the only by products will be heat and water. This is used to then power the engines of the aircraft. The other way hydrogen can be used is directly as a fuel source in a modified engine. 

Hydrogen has been successfully implemented on smaller aircraft that complete short distances but there still needs to be plenty of technological advancements in order to integrate hydrogen power into larger aircraft and to be used for long distance trips. Airbus believe as time goes along the price of hydrogen being used as a fuel source will decrease due to an expansion in the usage of these fuel cells.  

Electric Propulsion in Aircraft

Electric cars have started to appear in many places with Tesla being the major company to sell these electric vehicles. The main reason obvious reason behind the introduction of these electric vehicles is to reduce CO2 emissions and to use a renewable source of energy. In 2018, 28% of CO2 emissions came from transportation which meant more than a quarter of the emissions came from different modes of transport. Aircrafts use jet fuel and emit a lot of greenhouse gases such as CO2, NO2, cirrus clouds etc. In 2016, 1000 million tonnes of CO2 emissions came from aircrafts and that number is expected to quadruple by 2050.  I feel that this substantial increase in the amount of CO2 emissions in our atmosphere will cause very harmful impacts on our ecosystem such as increasing the global temperature, changes in food supply, ocean acidification and many other factors. So to reduce these harmful impacts, changes need to be brought in our day to day lives such as using renewable resources, reducing e-waste and plenty of other methods in order to reduce the fast growth of CO2 emissions. 

Aviation companies have started testing electrical propulsion in aircrafts in order to reduce the value of CO2 emissions. Making the engine of an aircraft hybrid is one way of improving efficiency. An electric motor can be used at points such as take-off to provide an extra amount of forward thrust. This could make the whole system as the size of the engine can be made smaller because the power is being shared. This system is basically the ‘ Toyota Prius’ of aircraft ; with this system, the burning of fuel can take place separately and the propulsion can take place separately. This is known as distributed propulsion. 

Distributed propulsion 

With this new system, passenger experience can be improved because turbulence can be managed in a more effective way, aircraft noise can be reduced. This makes the plane a lot more efficient without changing the shape. Aircraft design can be changed with electric propulsion coming into use. With electric propulsion, there won’t be huge engines hanging under the wings. 

With these changes, 30-50% of fuel usage can be reduced which reduced CO2 emissions by a very large amount. Instead of the CO2 emission values quadrupling, it will only go up to around 1400 million tonnes. Flight tickets will be expensive because of fuel but if the amount of fuel is reduced then that would mean that flight tickets would become cheaper.

The main advantages from electric propelled aircraft are reduced CO2 emissions, safer and quieter skies, even more connected world, cheaper tickets, new flying options. If the aviation industry can slowly increase the number of electrically propelled aircrafts, it will reduce the CO2 emissions in our atmosphere remarkably as I mentioned earlier that the aviation industry contributes to a lot of the CO2 emissions in our atmosphere. 

Electrically propelled aircraft

Major companies like Rolls Royce, Airbus and Boeing have already started testing electrically propelled aircraft. Companies making electric planes are focusing on short-haul journeys – which produce more than 40% of aviation emissions – with the hope that a lighter battery will become available as the technology develops. Wright Electric which has a goal to help make aviation emission-free within 20 years – initially worked on electrifying two and nine-seater planes, before moving on to bigger aircraft.  Working on short haul aircrafts is ideal as there are plenty of domestic flights that fly short distances in a country. So if all those aircrafts can slowly be electrified or made hybrid, it can reduce emissions substantially. 

The partnership between Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens was announced in 2017, their aim was to develop a much cleaner aircraft. Rolls Royce will be responsible for the turbo-shaft engine, 2MW generator and power electronics, while Siemens will deliver the 2MW electric motors and their power units. Airbus will work on the integration of the electric propulsion systems into the aircraft. This partnership between the 3 heavyweights from aviation would be the ideal start to electrically propelled aircraft. The main advantage of such big companies joining together to create the perfect electrically propelled aircraft is that they can come up with designs that can be inspired from their existing aircrafts. 

The proposed design of the E-FAN X by Rolls Royce, Airbus and Siemens

Why did the Boeing 737 MAX fail?

Ever imagined what those huge spiral objects stuck under the wing of an aircraft are? Well they are the engines of the aircraft. I'll be explaining some key information and facts about the engines of an aircraft. The engines are a key element to the propulsion of an aircraft.

The engine is a machine that converts liquid fuel, full of energy, into a powerful pushing force called thrust. The thrust from the engines pushes the aircraft forward, driving air past its scientifically shaped wings to create an upward force which is called lift that powers the aircraft into the sky.

The aircraft industry has two major companies that are in tight competition of manufacturing planes. If one of these giants can offer a better quality plane, the other one could in turn lose a lot of money as more orders would be received for the plane that is higher in demand. A similar incident has happened in 2010 when Airbus decided to upgrade their popular A320 series aircraft by increasing the size of the engine; by doing this they made the plane 15% more fuel efficient than the its predecessor. As Airbus decided to make this change, the increase in sales for their aircraft was very significant. The new aircraft from Airbus would save airline companies a lot of money. Larger jet engines are more efficient because they can move much more air with the same or lesser amount of fuel. If they can move more air then they can produce more thrust which improves flight times and saves airline companies a lot money.

Boeing obviously had to come up with a new idea to get back into the market. In the picture below you can see that Boeing's existing 737-800 was lower in height in comparison with Airbus' new A320. This meant Boeing had to come up with a new idea as a bigger engine would not fit under the wing as it would touch the ground. To change things around Boeing decided to move up the engine so that a slight portion of the engine would appear above the wing. This allowed Boeing to increase the size of their engine. 

Difference between Airbus' A320 and Boeing's existing 737-800

As Boeing made this new change, their new aircraft became the hottest selling plane on the market which allowed them to get back into competition with Airbus. The new aircraft was named the Boeing 737 MAX. The change which was made did have a negative side effect; this problem occurred when the aircraft was in full thrust during takeoff. Due to new design of the engine, the plane's nose tended to point too far upwards; this could lead to the plane stalling which was a big issue as it was initially said that these planes were supposed to behave like its predecessor.

Difference between the engines of the original 737(left) and the 737 MAX(right)

Boeing had to fix this issue and came up with a way to stop the plane from stalling. They did not re-engineer the plane but instead they installed a software into the plane that would push the plane's nose down automatically if the pilot flew the plane at a very high angle. This software was called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or also known as MCAS. Boeing began selling the 737 MAX very similar to how they were selling the original 737-800; one fault they made was the fact that they did not mention the new MCAS system. New pilots who were going to operate the new aircraft were not told about MCAS in their brief training sessions. 

Due to no training given about MCAS, many pilots reported that the plane suddenly started nosing down. On October 29th 2018, the airline Lion Air's flight 610 took off from Jakarta. As usual the plane took off in full thrust and was on its way but at certain points the nose of the plane kept pushing downwards. The pilots weren't able to fight the MCAS and the plane struggled to gain altitude; 12 minutes after takeoff the plane kept dropping down towards the ground and crashed into the Java Sea. 

Another incident that occurred with the 737 MAX was when the Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed. During this flight the pilots managed to deactivate the MCAS system but by the time they were able to do this, it was too late to overcome the malfunctioning MCAS sensors. 

At the moment, nearly every single 737 MAX aircraft has been grounded. In response to these events, Boeing have said that they will make a software update and try to make the MCAS system less aggressive. They have also mentioned that they will give pilots the required training on how to operate with MCAS and how to turn it off. 

Finally I would like to say that the main reason behind such activities taking place was because of Boeing getting into a race with its rival company Airbus. They were in a way pushed towards improving their current aircraft in any manner just to get back into the market. This lead to Boeing rushing the manufacturing and operation of the 737 MAX. 

How have Nike created a game changing ball?

Nike have produced plenty of different types of footballs over a long period of time. They are one of the best-selling companies for footballs. Every year they come up with a new design and each year there are improvements to the design to improve the movement and flight of the ball. This year the ball that they have launched is called the 'Nike Flight Ball'. Nike have said that this new ball has been designed in such a way that it will produce '30% truer flight than its Nike predecessor'.

Nike have deemed the research behind this ball is an eight year investigation into improving the consistency of the flight produced by the football flight. There were three stages behind the development of this ball. The stages were 'Explore, Recreate and Innovate. Nike have changed the design by introducing the new 'Aerowsculpt Technology' ; this has been designed by creating grooves around the ball. This was done in order to improve its speed and flight whilst in mid-air.

The 'Explore' phase involved using various types of tracking systems which measured the flight of the ball during different styles of kicking the ball. The tests involved bringing professional footballers and testing their styles of kicking the ball. 

The 'Recreate' phase involved replicating kicking styles observed on the pitch with a robotic leg. This way of testing allowed them to repeat it plenty of times. With this way of testing, Nike could compare a large set of different balls and see what was required to make the new 'Nike Flight Ball' better than its predecessors. 

The 'Innovate' phase involved testing the ball with 68 different iterations. This process took over thousands of hours in the lab. This shows how keen Nike were to create a ball that was far superior with its aerodynamics than its predecessors. Nike also brought in 800 professionals to test these different iterations; this allowed them to create a final version. 

The main difference that was clearly visible which was the introduction of the grooves in the ball. This was to reduce the wobble and enabled it to provide more consistent and predictable flight. The design of the grooves were improved over the 68 different iterations. The main intention was to promote a more stable flight. In my opinion, the final design with the grooves in the ball is a very remarkable thought as it provides the ball better aerodynamics and allows the ball to have a stable trajectory towards its target. 

Another benefit of this new ball is that it will be easier to get curl on a shot. With previous balls, the flight of the ball wasn’t always too stable and wouldn’t curl to its maximum ability. Whereas with this new ball, due to the more stable flight, the ball is able to curl into positions where the player kicks it. This enhanced feature is very useful while taking free kicks as players have to curl the ball around the wall of defenders. 

Free kick technique

In the picture above it shows the technique of how to take a free kick. With the new ball, this technique can be performed more easily. The new ball features moulded grooves to prevent inconsistencies in flight which as I mentioned earlier improves shot accuracy. 

How do the wings generate lift ?

Have you ever wondered when you look through the window of an aircraft about how the wings work? What they're made out of? What makes them suitable for providing a lift?

Aeroplane wings are made out of a specific type of aluminium, an alloy that offers a combination of lightness and strength comparable to steel that makes for easy flying. Wings are a critical part of aeroplanes because they are used for lifting, turning, landing, and controlling the aeroplane. Without wings, aeroplanes simply could not fly. For a plane or bird to fly, its wings must produce enough lift to equal its weight. Most wings used in flight are of a special shape – called aerofoils (or airfoils). This shape allows them to generate lift.

Newton’s third law of motion states that, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is said that wings follow the same principle. Following the principles of this law, the wings are forced upwards because they are in a tilted position, pushing air downwards so the wings get pushed upwards. This is the angle of attack or the angle at which the wing meets the airflow.

It can be represented more like this - The action of the wing on the air is to force the air downwards while the reaction is the air pushing the wing upwards. A wing's edge must be sharp, and it must be aimed diagonally downwards to create lift.

The amount of lift depends on the speed of the air around the wing and the density of the air. To produce more lift, the object must speed up or increase the angle of attack of the wing which can be done by pushing the aircraft’s tail downwards. The angle of attack has a limit; if it is too large, the flow of air over the top of the wing would no longer be smooth and the lift suddenly decreases.

What are the principles behind aerodynamics of Formula One (F1 cars)?

F1 cars are required to move much faster than ordinary cars. To do this, changes are made to the structures of F1 cars. This also applies to other racing cars but here we’ll talk more about F1 cars as their structures are unique. The whole game is all up to how we can improve the aerodynamics of the car.

Two key components that play a big role in aerodynamics are drag and downforce. Drag is the amount of air resistance and airflow, and how it affects car performance. Downforce is how the car sticks to the floor, and the gravity acting on it.

If you reduce the drag of the car, it will go faster on the straights of the circuit. F1 cars are designed with the smallest possible frontal area to minimise drag (friction). This makes the body of the car more streamlined and allows it to cut through air faster. If you can use the shape of the car to generate some downward pressure (downforce) onto the tires, then the car will go faster around the corners of the circuit. Every F1 car is fitted with a variety of wings, splitters and diffusers, which direct air over and around the car in a controlled and uniform manner. They work on fundamentally the same principles as an aeroplane wing, except in reverse, pushing the car down on to the track to maximise tyre traction, particularly when cornering. Formula 1 cars use wing elements to generate down-force, however Aircrafts use their wing elements to generate lift. By flipping the front and rear wings upside down, it will apply pressure downwards keeping the car pushed towards the ground. The faster the wind moving over the wings, the more downforce pressure gets applied.

Each season, the motorsport governing body, the FIA, issues technical regulations with intricate details on car design, from width and height to thickness and weight. This means all racing teams have to design a new car each year to match the rules. This also means that the teams have to come up with new ideas for improving aerodynamics. Even the slightest of changes can improve lap times and allow the car to go faster than the other cars. Examples include car width, tire size, wing dimensions etc.

F1 teams use two main tools for aerodynamic research and development - wind tunnels and a computer analysis system known as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). CFDs allow teams to render virtual models of the actual car. With these virtual models they can test how fast the car can go and how to optimise each and every part of the car so that it improves the overall aerodynamics of the car. A wind tunnel is a tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects. It consists of a closed tubular passage with the car to be tested mounted in the middle. A powerful fan system moves air past the car. In CFD, the same experiment ( wind tunnel ) may be conducted in the form of a computer simulation. 

F1 Car in the Wind Tunnel                                       CFD simulation      

Some Interesting Facts About Aeronautics

Sir George Cayley is considered to be one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. As an English engineer, inventor and aviator he is viewed as the first scientific aerial investigator. He was one of the first people to understand the principals of flight. Even back in 1799 he founded the concepts of a modern aeroplane in that it needed separate systems for lift, propulsion and control. Regarded as the ‘father of aviation’ his impact is long-lasting and telling. 

[Ref: https://www.mnbprecision.com/greatest-aerospace-engineers/]

This is the astronaut Tim Peake. Tim was the first British ESA astronaut to visit the International Space Station, launching on a Soyuz rocket on 15 December 2015 with crewmates Tim Kopra and Yuri Malenchenko. His Principia mission was an eventful and busy six months in space. In the first month, Tim conducted a spacewalk to repair the Station's power supply. Other highlights of his mission saw him drive a rover across a simulated Mars terrain from space and he helped dock two spacecraft. [Ref: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Timothy_Tim_Peake]

BAE Systems (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company. Its headquarters are in London and Farnborough in the United Kingdom with operations worldwide. The company is the largest defence contractor in Europe and among the world's largest defence companies; it was ranked as the third-largest based on applicable 2017 revenues. 

BAE Systems' first annual report identified Airbus, support services to militaries and integrated systems for air, land and naval applications as key areas of growth. It also stated the company's desire to both expand in the US and participate in further consolidation in Europe. BAE Systems described 2001 as an "important year" for its European joint ventures, which were reorganised considerably. The company has described the rationale for expansion in the US; it is by far the largest defence market with spend running close to twice that of the Western European nations combined.

[Ref: BAE Systems - Wikipedia]

British Army Dirigible No 1, christened Nulli Secundus was a Semi-rigid airship. First flown on 10 September 1907, it was Britain's first powered military aircraft. Two flights were made: during the first, the airship was flown for around three miles at a height of about 200 ft. The flight being terminated by an engine fault. A second flight was made later in the day, the propeller blades having been reduced in area in order to increase their speed of revolution.

A more public appearance was made on 5 October, when it was flown from Farnborough to London. Taking off at 11:00 pm and crewed by Capper, Cody and Lieutenant Waterlow, they made a tour over the city, taking in Whitehall and Buckingham Palace, and after circling St Paul's Cathedral, they attempted to return to Farnborough, but 18 mph (29 km/h) headwinds forced them to land at the Crystal Palace, Sydenham. The flight had lasted for 3 hours and 25 minutes and covered 50 miles (80 km) overland.

[Ref: British Army Dirigible No 1 - Wikipedia]