Eco-designed wing secures Bombardier the 2019 MacRobert Award for UK engineering innovation
The Belfast team behind an innovative, resin-infused advanced composite aircraft wing that minimises the environmental impact of commercial jets, has been named the winner of the MacRobert Award 2019 by the Royal Academy of Engineering.
HRH The Princess Royal, as Royal Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, presented the MacRobert Award to the team of engineers from Bombardier in the 50th anniversary year of the UK’s most prestigious engineering prize.
The team members honoured were Mark Braniff, Head of Strategic Technology for Composites, David Patterson, Engineering Fellow for Aerostructures, Trevor Poots, former Chief Manufacturing and Tooling Engineer, David Riordan, Engineering Fellow for Engine Nacelle Design, and Sam Wilson, Senior Composites Specialist.
Bombardier’s resin-infused advanced composite wing underpins the Airbus A220 and is the first certified commercial aircraft wing made using resin transfer infusion (RTI).
The RTI process sees a complex structure created by placing dry fabric into moulds before impregnating it with liquid resin, which then sets into shape under heat and pressure.
While other processes involve pre-impregnated carbon fibre requiring intensive refrigeration before manufacture, the RTI process uses less energy, fewer parts, and results in a lighter wing.
Compared to a conventional metal wing, Bombardier’s carbon composite wing is approximately ten per cent lighter, helping to reduce fuel burn in flight, with an accompanying reduction of CO2 and NOx emissions.