AT-13 Advanced Technology Ultra-Green Airliner
The AT-13 Albatross project was completed as part of the Aerospace Vehicle Design course in Cranfield University. As a Group Design Project (GDP), the AT-13 development required the collaboration of more than 60 aerospace engineers from every corner of the world. The concept itself, aimed at the year 2030, was developed by Professor Howard Smith, who is the head of Aircraft Design at the School of Engineering in Cranfield University. This was then handed to the team who was in charge of taking the concept to detailed design, which meant the development of the whole structure, systems and avionics of the aircraft.
The whole project was supervised by several members of the school, who have an extensive background in the aerospace industry, having worked for companies such as Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems.
The aircraft involved very interesting and ground-breaking features like a high aspect ratio wing, which added a great challenge in terms of the structural design. Also, the introduction of new technologies such as novel materials, mechanisms and systems made of the project an incredible opportunity for learning.
The GDP worked as an industry environment simulator as it involved the participation of a big team, with several target points throughout the development of the project and a very tight schedule. Also, the members of the team separated into second tasks like Project Management, CAD team, and Physical Modelling team.
The market at which the AT-13 was targeted is the medium range 200 seat passenger aircraft like the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320.
I was involved in the project as a structural design engineer. Given the size of the wings, and the market at which the aircraft was aimed, it was required that the AT-13 would fold its wings to fit in Category C airports, making it a competent concept to its counterparts. The airplane was developed in two types of structures, metal and composite. I was responsible for designing the Wing Folding Mechanism for the Composite version of the structure.
The design of the folding mechanism demanded a wide research on new materials, existing mechanisms and future concepts, as the forces that had to be dealt by it were very high and a standard actuation system like the ones used by several carrier aircraft would not have been enough. This allowed me to highly enhance my research and conceptual design skills.
I participated in the CAD Team as my secondary task, which gave me a great insight into the digital concept development.
The project was presented on April 25th of 2014 to several members of the industry and academia with a very positive response from the public.
