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14 October 2022, 13:39: Swiss flight LX 064 departed from Zurich-Kloten to Miami. From a sustainable perspective, aviation history unfolds on this mild autumn day: For the first time in the world, AeroSHARK technology, which reduces fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions, is used as standard on a passenger flight.
It is a new technology that will be used in all twelve Boeing 777-300ER models from Switzerland in the future. Thus, the airline adds one more piece to its comprehensive suite of sustainability measures. With ambitious targets: The airline’s strategy envisions halving its net CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and achieving a CO₂-neutral balance by 2050. This is with the belief that every big and small savings count.
Less drag, more lift
So how exactly does AeroSHARK work? Specifically, it is a film developed by Lufthansa Technik and the chemical company BASF. Highlight: the film is based on the skin of a shark and significantly reduces frictional resistance. “The surface structure of its skin allows the shark to swim quickly and with less energy,” explains Patrick Scherrer, Head of Continuing Airworthiness Engineering at Swiss.
The secret of the special structure is the tiny flakes (known as riblets) only 50 micrometers in size, corresponding to the diameter of a human hair. “The ribs have a double effect on the shark,” says Scherrer. “They create a buoyancy effect while reducing flow resistance underwater.”
Both effects can be transferred from water to air. As the expert says, it’s an innovation with a long development phase before it. “Since the mid-eighties, aircraft manufacturers and airlines have been working and testing to develop a shark skin-based film. However, the material requirements for this film were so high that it took time to develop before it could be used in mass production.”
Installing the film is manual
Initial considerations in the biological field were necessary to understand the nature of the skin. After that, physical aspects were focused on to clarify the problem of hydrodynamic effects. And finally, materials science was brought in to develop the perfect material for it. “Instead of a film, it would also be quite reasonable to use a laser to mill the flake structure directly onto the corresponding surface,” says Scherrer. “But it’s easier right now to implement the film solution.”
This is a true superfoil: AeroSHARK technology has to withstand the most extreme external influences, such as large temperature differences: In midsummer, an airplane takes off at plus 40 degrees and climbs to cruising altitude where minus 60 degrees reigns. . In addition, the finest air particles are constantly raining on the material, which causes the surface to wear over the years. Also, sunlight and strong UV radiation can cause the transparent film to discolor over time.
AeroSHARK is attached to the fuselage and bonnets, affixing a total of 950 square meters of foil to each aircraft, roughly the area of 6 volleyball courts – all by hand. “It’s a very complex process that requires 1,000 man-hours per plane,” says Patrick Scherrer. “After all, the plane is idle for a full week of work.” Ten of the twelve Boeing 777-300ERs have been converted and, according to current plans, AeroSHARK work should be completed by summer.
Ideal for long distance
In its efforts to achieve greater sustainability, Swiss is allowing this piece of the puzzle to cost the mid-single-digit million. An investment that pays off: 4,800 tons of kerosene or 15,200 tons of CO₂ can be saved per year with AeroSHARK. Expert Scherrer: “This corresponds to approximately 87 flights from Zurich to Mumbai.”
Are there any plans to expand this successful model to other sub-fleets? “Here we focus on our long-haul aircraft, because the shark-skin effect is particularly effective on very long flights at cruising altitude,” Scherrer says. Therefore, it can be considered that this technology can also be used in the Airbus A330-300 fleet, which is also used on long-distance routes.
AeroSHARK is a pioneer model that has not gone unnoticed by its competitors: Lufthansa Technik and Swiss have already received the first requests from other airlines. No wonder: The Swiss fleet is already one of the most modern and CO₂ efficient in Europe – thanks to AeroSHARK this balance sheet has been further improved.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
