Laminar Flow Control (LFC) technology offers up to five percent lower CO2 emissions, corresponding to 3,000 tons of CO2 saved per aircraft each year.
New technologies for a sustainable future
According to latest forecasts by industry experts the total number of air passengers will double over the next 20 years, leading to an enormous demand for additional aircraft. Unfortunately, this expected growth is not consistent with our net-zero climate goal, so governments and the aviation industry must look to new technologies to provide a sustainable future.
One important technology is the successful application of Laminar Flow Control (LFC) in the aerospace industry, aimed at improving the fuel and noise efficiency of next generation aircraft (military, civilian and unmanned), irrespective of future propulsion systems. LFC technology offers up to five percent lower CO2 emissions, corresponding to 3,000 tons of CO2 saved per aircraft each year.
Big numbers
Boeing 747 uses approximately 110,000 litres of fuel on a single eight-hour flight. To put this into perspective, this translates to 70 years of car journeys for the average motorist driving 12,000 miles per year. Thus, a technology that offers less fuel usage for every flight contributes significantly to improving the impact on the environment and economy.
What's maths got to do with LFC technology?
Mathematical and flow-physics modelling, scientific and numerical computation, and devising techniques to solve very complex Partial Differential Equations describing real world phenomena - these are all key elements of Imperial's mathematics undergraduate course.
Researchers from the Department of Mathematics have produced state-of-the-art modelling tools for geometrical shape optimisation of laminar wings to accurately predict and thus delay the transition of laminar airstreams to turbulent forms. Turbulence on an aircraft's wing leads to drag; if the onset to turbulence can be delayed, a reduction in drag follows, and reduced drag means using less fuel to push the aircraft through the air.
These tools are being used by Airbus, for example, to analyse and interpret data from their €200 million project, Breakthrough Laminar Aircraft Demonstrator in Europe (BLADE). In September 2017, BLADE flew as part of the €4 billion EU Clean Skies II initiative and showed that the laminar-flow transonic wing could reduce drag by 10% and reduce fuel burn by 5%. Imperial’s software has provided Airbus with key LFC design analysis tools for their product development.
Our researchers developed key breakthroughs in computational flow physics models that enable harnessing LFC technologies for the design of aircraft wings. These addressed crucial uncertainties of how to model and incorporate: flow receptivity; surface imperfections; and fully three-dimensional (3D) wing geometry variations in the wing-design optimisation process. Engagement with Airbus engineers and access to proprietary Airbus data has created an internationally unrivalled LFC modelling capability. Research work continues to further advance our understanding of a highly complex multidisciplinary flow phenomenon.
The process of developing and building a new aircraft is long, complex and costly. For example, the Airbus A380 “superjumbo”, announced in 1990, was delivered in 2005 with a cost of €25 billion. The design and manufacturing pipeline relies on fundamental knowledge and new technologies to provide a crucial competitive edge, and that is exactly what the research from Imperial has delivered and will continue to do as part of Airbus' plan to include LFC as a defining technology of a potential next-generation aircraft from the late 2020s.
View other impact case studies
Find out more about some of the research happening in the Department of Mathematics and how our academics are having real-world impact.
