Tue, Jun 23, 2009
University Of Queensland Team Working On Renewable
Composites
A team of students from the
University of Queensland (Australia) won the inaugural Airbus "Fly
Your Ideas" challenge at the Paris-Le Bourget Air Show. The "COz"
team won for its project into the use of the castor plant to
develop the first ever single plant-based high performance
composite materials for aircraft cabin components.
The goal is to reduce dependency on non renewable sources and
improve end of life disposal thus contributing to a reduction of
aviation carbon footprint. They conducted a comprehensive
feasibility analysis entailing fibre production and testing,
demonstrating very encouraging mechanical and environmental
properties.
The multinational "COz" team comprises team leader, 27-year-old
Michael Heitzmann from Switzerland and 25-year-old Alex Ng,
originally from Hong Kong. Both are PhD students in Mechanical
Engineering. A third team member, 26-year-old German Benjamin
Lindenberger is an Aerospace Engineering student who is undertaking
his University of Stuttgart diploma thesis at the University of
Queensland.
"We wanted to demonstrate that composite materials made entirely
with Castor plant fibre can reduce the aircraft carbon footprint
and enhance environmental protection. We are extremely proud to
have convinced the jury with our project and we hope it will have a
future in aviation." said Michael Heitzmann, Coz team leader.
The students were congratulated at the ceremony, at Le Bourget,
by Tom Enders, President and Chief Executive Officer of Airbus, who
awarded the nearly $42,000 prize to the winning team. The second
place team from National University of Singapore, "Solaire
Voyager", received a prize of just over $20,000 for its proposal to
use solar cell technology integrating photovoltaic cells aboard
aircraft to generate electricity.
More than 2,350 students from 82 countries around the world
entered the competition, which started nine months ago. The
students' objective was to come up with innovative and
eco-efficient ideas to shape the future of aviation, and deliver a
further reduction in the industry's impact on the environment. The
competition was also designed to attract more young people to this
crucial industry.
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