Advanced Structural Product Integrated Airframe (ASPIRE)

New sustainable innovations are necessary to meet the evolving and critical needs of Co2e reduction targets for the aerospace sector and to deliver costs that remain competitive, maintain and grow capability and onshore work to the UK.

Manufacturing carbon composite airframe structure today demands a high level of manual labour involving many separate components with numerous steps based upon traditional laminate design theory. ASPIRE will develop the next step in composite airframe performance which will require a special focus on quality assurance throughout the process flow and supply chain and deliver lower weight airframe to support increased weight electric and hydrogen propulsion systems.

As a leading tier 1 supplier of current state of the art wing and movable structures GKN Aerospace provides airframe products, such as flaps and leading & trailing edge devices and has a strong presence in the UK on a range of aircraft, from large civil aircraft to business jets and UAM airframes.

The ASPIRE project addresses two key GKN Aerospace products which require sustainable approaches; **single aisle control surface** and a **high aspect wing ratio wing tip** for next generation large civil airframe.

**Optimisation of composite products** with feasibility studies and demonstration of aero elastic tailored products and light weighting development through the use of non-standard fibre orientations with an assessment on post buckling performance. Targeting light weighting and sustainable manufacturing technologies and in service cost reduction in collaboration with Bath University which extends the GKN Bath Chair relationship.

Key innovation opportunities are in representative and quantifiable airframe product validation of **tow shearing deposition technologies** aimed at reduced weight airframes with the ICOMAT team.

Sustainable manufacture will be driven and quantified with the inclusion of Pentaxia **JOULETOOL** capability to deliver significant energy...