The Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ) is pleased to launch the official cooperative research and development program launched in collaboration with the Hamburg ZAL Applied Aeronautics Research Centre, located in Germany. The project aims to combine the skills of both continents in the development of new innovative products. This initiative is in line with CRIAQ’s international strategy of guiding principles 2016-2021.
Over the next three years, partners on both sides of the Atlantic will conduct joint research on quieter aircraft cabins and new fire-resistant composite fibre components. Plans are also underway for another joint research project. A total of 20 partners are involved in transatlantic cooperation, including companies of various sizes, universities and research institutes in both countries.
The Montreal-Hamburg partnership, which includes Hamburg Aviation, ZAL, CRIAQ, AéroMontréal and the Quebec Aerospace Manpower Sectoral Committee (CAMAQ), submitted the R&D component of the agreement in August 2016 with the objective of initiating the development of three joint projects between companies and research and educational institutions in Montreal and the Hamburg metropolitan region.
Quieter aircraft cabins for tomorrow’s travel
Today, the noise level in an aircraft cabin is similar to that of a busy highway. The engines themselves are becoming quieter, but noise and vibration continue to be transferred inside the aircraft by the outer skin of the fuselage, particularly during take-off. The performance limits of conventional insulators such as glass wool and foam have long since been reached. German and Canadian researchers now want to study the potential of new sound insulation – known as acoustic metamaterials – as a standard approach to reducing in-flight noise. The test sites will include the acoustics laboratory at the ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research in Hamburg, the research infrastructure of this facility, which is among the largest in Europe. The project is led by ZAL and Mecanum. Other partners are 3M Canada, Airbus, the School of Advanced Technology, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hutchinson Aerospace GmbH, the National Research Council of Canada and the Université de Sherbrooke.
New fireproof composite components for the cabin
Modern aircraft are not only quieter than their predecessors, but they are also lighter and therefore much more economical. One of the main reasons for this is the increased deployment of lightweight fibre composite materials to replace the much heavier metals used in aircraft construction. As part of the second German-Canadian research project, the composite materials already in use today must be optimized for the aircraft cabin. The transatlantic partners wish to test new combinations of materials to check their production suitability and flammability. The objective: to make composite materials used in aircraft even safer, more environmentally friendly and lighter. The project is led by Comprisetec in Hamburg and Kruger Biomaterials Canada. Other partners are Exakt Advanced Technologies, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg University of Technology, Pultrusion Technique, Polytechnique Montréal and École de Technologie Supérieure Montréal.
