New Adaptive and BUCkling-driven COmposite aerospace structures

Introduction

The NABUCCO project aims to develop radically new concepts of adaptive and buckling-driven composite structures for next generation aircraft. In aeronautics, buckling is generally avoided because it causes stiffness reduction, large deformations, and can result in a catastrophic collapse.

Design Opportunity

Instead, NABUCCO considers buckling no longer as a phenomenon to be avoided, but as a design opportunity to be explored for its ground-breaking potentialities. The idea is to use buckling drawbacks in a positive way, to conceive, design, and realize adaptive structures and aircraft morphing wings.

Innovative Structures

These new, lighter, flexible structures will be designed considering all the potentialities offered by composite materials, thanks also to novel manufacturing processes. The project will focus on modifying the boundary conditions to govern when buckling occurs and to tune multiple non-traditional post-buckling stable configurations.

Adaptability in Flight

These structures will be able to adapt their shape during different flight conditions, acting on two of the biggest levers for the future of clean aviation:

• Reduced weight
• Increased efficiency

Methodological Advancements

The concepts proposed in NABUCCO will require a step change concerning the design, analysis, and optimization methodologies. The design space will be significantly enlarged, and the designer will need the ability to identify, manage, and control the buckling phenomena.

Integrated Design Approach

These solutions can be obtained by adopting an integrated design approach established on multi-disciplinary thinking. A strongly coupled computational-experimental framework will be developed based on:

1. Novel analytical formulations
2. Artificial intelligence techniques for large multi-objective optimizations
3. High-fidelity simulation methodologies
4. Advanced test techniques