New Aircraft Aluminum Set To Compete With Composites

Aluminum producer Alcoa says they have a new aluminum alloy that can can save weight over composites in new airplane designs. The company claims an airplane built with the new metal is up to 10 percent lighter than ?composite-intensive planes? which it points out translates to a fuel savings for the airlines.

The new aluminum lithium alloy is not currently being used in any aircraft designs, but Alcoa says it offers advantages over composites because of the already wide spread use of aluminum in the manufacturing of most airplanes. In addition to the weight savings, Alcoa says the new aluminum follows the lead of composites in providing better passenger comfort.

The mostly composite Boeing 787 Dreamliner will have several passenger comfort benefits over traditional aluminum airliners including higher humidity in the cabin, larger windows and a lower cabin altitude during the flight.

And of course once the airliner puts in its and is sent to the desert for retirement, the aluminum airplane will be much easier to recycle into a new airplane than its composite cousins.

Both Boeing and Airbus have composite aircraft in the pipeline. Boeing?s 787 is expected to be delivered later this year, and Airbus is beginning work on its A350. But no announcement has been made by either company on replacements for their popular smaller aircraft, the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 series.

The use of aluminum in a new design could reduce many of the headaches Boeing has experienced in the development of the 787. But the new metal has yet to be evaluated by the airplane makers.

Photo: Aluminum Boeing 747-8s on the assembly line ? Jason Paur/Wired.com

Source: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/06/new-aircraft-aluminum-set-to-compete-with-composites/

28 weeks later kelly brook swat body mass index citigroup paula abdul giro d italia