COMAC-Imperial Research Centre launches

The site for the COMAC-Imperial Research Centre for Wing Technology of Commercial Aircraft is now live.

Established last year, the research centre is a collaboration between Imperial College London and the COMAC Beijing Aircraft Technology Research Institute (BATRI), that aims to design innovative aircraft wing design solutions. 

Jointly supported by the Department of Aeronautics and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the research centre's new site details its research activities, with a focus on the manufacturing, performance and application of lightweight materials, including composites.

Professor Spencer Sherwin, Head of Aerodynamics at the Department of Aeronautics, is one of the co-directors of the research centre. He says “We are very excited about the opportunity of working with the BATRI centre at COMAC and pushing forward research in such a diverse range of topics related to wing technology. We believe it will give COMAC access to cutting edge research, whilst we are able to benefit from COMAC's industrial experience."

Professor Bamber Blackman, Reader in the Mechanics of Materials in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the centre's co-director adds: “We are very excited to be embarking on this new research collaboration with COMAC Beijing Aircraft Technology Research Institute (BATRI). Through this new centre, and our research into the design, manufacture and structural integrity of high performance, light-weight materials, we will extend the scientific frontiers and research solutions to important challenges in the field of wing technology.”

The ultimate aim for COMAC, and for other aircraft manufacturers, will be to pilot more effective wing design solutions for commercial manned aircraft.

Projects

The site also demonstrates the breadth of expertise drawn from across the College, as well as the centre's initial range of projects, including projects on:

• Laminar flow control
• Creep forming technology of Al-Li alloys
• Transonic flutter prediction of aircraft
• Lattice optimization for 3D printed structures
• Stamp forming of composites
• Gust alleviation
• Progressive damage analysis in Composites

If you would like to find out more about the centre, please contact comac@imperial.ac.uk