Amazing Aerospace Engineering Technology You Did Like To Know About
It’s been nearly half a century since humans left footprints on the moon and during that time, human space exploration has largely centred on manned low-Earth orbit missions and unmanned scientific exploration. But now, high levels of personal funding, advances in technology and growing public-sector interest is renewing the decision to seem toward the celebs .
WHAT IS AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY/ENGINEERING ?
Aerospace collectively refers to atmosphere and outer space ; it’s a diverse industry with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astronautics and the research, design, production, operation, or maintenance of aircraft and space-craft involves the work of numerous organisations.
Aerospace technology, then, refers to constructions, testing, and maintenance of aircraft and space vehicles. Technicians may be involved in assembly, service, testing, operation, and repair of systems associated with dependable and reusable space launch vehicles and related ground support equipment.
CURRENT AEROSPACE INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
One of the industries mostly significantly impacted by the pandemic was that of commercial and business-related airplane travel; in fact, 2020 ranked as the worst year in history for air travel demand. However, with the widespread availability of the vaccine and COVID-19 restrictions easing up, 60% of Americans say they plan to travel more in 2021 than they did in 2019. Despite this estimated increase in global aviation, it’s likely that consumers’ behavioural patterns will have changed in light of the pandemic; for instance, there’s currently an increased focus on short-haul and domestic flights instead of longer, international flights.
On the opposite hand - and despite the continued pandemic - space launches for the primary half of 2020 were mostly at par with previous years; the 41 successful launches were only slightly below the five-year average of 43 successful launches. As funding continues to extend and costs decline, the space industry is probably going to experience increased opportunities, primarily in satellite broadband internet access. In 2020, space investments remained strong at $25.6 billion,and therefore the momentum for investments is probably going to stay solid in 2021 also.
In 2022, developments along three key areas—the launch industry, satellite trends, and new technology—could drive growth in space-based services to offer tangible value for businesses, society, and consumers.
Ongoing innovation has laid the foundation for broad-based next-gen satellite telecommunications. In 2022, the explosion of small-sat constellations could shake up how broadband internet is distributed across the world and bring connectivity to communities and locations where previously not possible. Furthermore, in the field of Earth observation, satellites can increasingly capture terabytes of granular images from all corners of the Earth on a daily basis. This data can gradually be used by sophisticated software to generate insights that inform organizational decision-making.
FEW AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS TO WATCH
1. ZERO-FUEL AIRCRAFT
Concept of these, each represent a different approach for achieving zero-emissions flight by exploring various technology pathways and aerodynamics configurations in order to support their ambitions of pioneering the decarbonization of the entire aviation industry.
Airbus recently revealed their three concepts for the world’s first zero emission hydrogen commercial aircraft. Which will enter service in 2035.
2. STRUCTURE HEALTH MONITORING (SHM)
Structure health monitoring involves the observation and analysis of a system over time using periodically sampled response measurements to monitor changes to the material and geometric properties of engineering structures such as bridges, airplanes, aeroplanes, and buildings. Aircraft accidents involving catastrophic fatigue failure have the potential for significant loss of life, which makes innovation during this branch of the aerospace industry so important.
The foundation of structure health monitoring is the ability to monitor structure using embedded or attached nondestructive evaluation(NDE)
Sensors and to utilise the data to assess the state of the structure. Over the last ten years, researchers have made significant advances in developing NDE sensors for SHM, and they have developed the hardware and the software needed for the analysis and communication of the SHM results.
The NDE SHM sensors that have reached some modest degree of maturing and are able to monitor significantly large areas of structures include fiber optics, active ultrasonics, and passive acoustics emission.
3. SMART AUTOMATION AND BLOCKCHAIN
The blockchain, which is usually related to cryptocurrency systems, uses data transparency to reinforce security. Public-key encryption for record-level data security and greater network resiliency are possible thanks to no single point of failure. In addition, access rights and entitlement management are often automated, which frees up resources to deal wih other security measures or concerns.
How does this work? Instead of significant efforts to move components, equipment, and systems along the value chain, the blockchain can arrange the interchange of internal and external supply chain participants all the way to the end customer. It offers a secure, auditable, traceable, and shareable record across a distributed population, too. A consensus between the manufacturing partner and their customer can be rapidly arrived at through a shared blockchain ledger because this leaves behind a clear and unchangeable history of the design, all changes thereto, test results, a certification record for the source of all components, and more.
4. SUPERSONIC FLIGHT
When an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound it is called super sonic flight. US airline United has announced plans to shop for 15 new supersonic airliners and “return supersonic speed to aviation”within the year 2029. Supersonic sound familiar? Such passenger flights led to 2003 when Air France and British Airways retired Concorde.
The new Overture aircraft are going to be produced by a Denver based company called Boom, which has yet to flight test a supersonic jet. United's deal is conditional on the new aircraft meeting safety standards and sound pollution concerns.
5. MORE RESILIENT AND DYNAMIC A&D SUPPLY
Lower aircraft demand and restrictions on the movement of people and goods due to pandemic led to breakdown of many essential aerospace and defence (A&D) supply chains. This has resulted in an impacted on smaller suppliers, especially those with heavy exposure to commercial aerospace and aftermarket business.
In 2021, the industry’s focus is likely to shift toward transforming supply chains into more resilient and dynamic networks, which could be done using strategies such as on-shoring, vertical integration, and increased cyber defences. To further strengthen supply chains, OEMs and suppliers should leverage digital tools, including automating internal processes and streamlining workflows, implementing smart management systems, and using data analytics. In a recent survey conducted by Deloitte, 72% of industry executives said they are investing in supply chain ecosystems to leverage external alliance partners.
6. UTILISING INTERNET OF THING(IOT) TO ANTICIPATE MAINTENANCE ISSUES
Aircraft maintenance and repair companies are widely using the internet of things for predictive maintenance of aircraft parts and equipment. An IoT-based predictive maintenance solution can help to predict potential damage for example by collecting data from ultrasonic and vibration sensors attached to the spindle of a CNC machine. Analysing the collected data helps to identify fragile spindles and tools before they break. IoT technology is used to send critical data from engines, wing flaps, bleed values, and landing gear to technicians for preventive maintenance. This data aids technicians to create maintenance schedules, procure parts, and schedule relevant workers to fix equipment.
7. AUTONOMOUS FLIGHT SYSTEMS
Implementing autonomous technologies has been a growing trend across several industries, and the aerospace industry is no exception. Much of this has been focused on increasing autonomous flights, with the end goal being to launch fully human-free flights. While this may still be several years away, investments and innovation will consistently be geared toward this in the coming years. We might see planes being cut down to just one pilot and subsequently becoming autonomously operated in the coming years. This has already occurred with drones, although this technology will obviously need to be scaled-up before it’s ready for passenger planes and longer journeys.