Towards a Circular Economy in the Aviation Sector Using Eco-Composites for Interior and Secondary Structures. Results and Recommendations from the EU/China Project ECO-COMPASS
Jens Bachmann,
Xiaosu Yi,
Konstantinos Tserpes,
Carmen Sguazzo,
Lucia Gratiela Barbu,
Barbara Tse,
Constantinos Soutis,
Eric Ramón,
Hector Linuesa,
Stéphane Bechtel
Affiliations
Jens Bachmann
DLR—Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (German Aerospace Center), Institute of Composite Structures and Adaptive Systems, 38108 Braunschweig, Germany
Xiaosu Yi
Faculty of Science & Engineering, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), Ningbo 315100, China
Konstantinos Tserpes
Laboratory of Technology & Strength of Materials (LTSM), Department of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics, University of Patras, 26500 Patras, Greece
Carmen Sguazzo
Laboratory of Optics and Experimental Mechanics (LOME), INEGI Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Lucia Gratiela Barbu
CIMNE, Centre Internacional de Mètodes Numèrics a l’Enginyeria, C1, Campus Nord, Gran Capità, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Barbara Tse
Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Constantinos Soutis
Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Eric Ramón
Applied Chemistry & Materials Department, Leitat Technological Center, C/de la Innovació 2, 08225 Terrassa, Spain
Hector Linuesa
Applied Chemistry & Materials Department, Leitat Technological Center, C/de la Innovació 2, 08225 Terrassa, Spain
Stéphane Bechtel
Airbus CRT (Central Research and Technology), Branch Located at Technocampus EMC², 44340 Bouguenais, France
Fiber reinforced polymers play a crucial role as enablers of lightweight and high performing structures to increase efficiency in aviation. However, the ever-increasing awareness for the environmental impacts has led to a growing interest in bio-based and recycled ‘eco-composites’ as substitutes for the conventional synthetic constituents. Recently, the international collaboration of Chinese and European partners in the ECO-COMPASS project provided an assessment of different eco-materials and technologies for their potential application in aircraft interior and secondary composite structures. This project summary reports the main findings of the ECO-COMPASS project and gives an outlook to the next steps necessary for introducing eco-composites as an alternative solution to fulfill the CLEAN SKY target.
