Communications of the ACM
Computer Simulations For Safer Planes
Credit: GTS Aviation
European researchers are exploring the use of computer simulation in the building of aircraft. Forty-four partners from 11 countries are examining the feasibility of replacing some of the electromagnetic compatibility tests currently carried out on planes, and they are measuring aircraft parts to create a numerical simulation of a complete helicopter at the mid-point of the project. "These tests are costly in terms of space, time, and money, repetitive, and in some cases even destructive," says the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya's Ferran Silva.
Electronic devices in aircraft are growing in number and complexity, and "conducting elements are increasingly being replaced by fiberglass and carbon composites in fuselage construction, materials which are lighter but make electronic systems more vulnerable to interference," Silva says. Using computer simulations could reduce the cost of building aircraft.
The project, which is expected to be finished in early 2012, will also help improve aircraft design and safety.
From Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
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