For a design project I have to improve a passenger plane making it more enviormental, Need your help?

Question

I know you wont know how to improve their efficiency (or maybe u wil) but where could i start? any tips?

Some suggestions already are to:

Reduce the weight of the plane so it uses less fuel

Use a different type of paint on the plane to reduce friction from air

Answer 1

Use pure hydrogen fuel.

Answer 2

That's a multi-million dollar question, and the aviation industry is working hard on it, with vast resources, and not getting much improvement.

The suggestion is to go back to your teacher and explain that you don't have $400,000,000 to spend on it, and need another project to work on.

Seriously, they are about as efficient as they can be right now.  The aircraft industry has done as good a job as can be done.  That is what you should tell your teacher you found out.

On the other hand, you can make the transportation industry as a whole more efficient and more environmentally sound by persuading more people to take the train and to ride light rail and intercity services.  That is a complex social and political problem that must be solved soon, and always runs into political resistance.  Conservatives don't want to vote for those products because their golf buddies in industry make more money on cars and trucks and on wasted fossil fuels.

But that is what I would work on.  Forget making airliners more efficient--there is little that can be done, and most of them will be parked in the next 10 years anyway, as fuel prices rise.  Work on promoting rail travel and efficient power sources.

Tell your teacher a retired airline captain told you so.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Although it may be unrealistic:

Hybrid jet engines of some sort that use fuel to get the aircraft to alititude, above the clouds. Cover the top of the wings and fuselage with solar panels to create electricity to power the engines. The solar panels could also be used to turn water vapor into hydrogen, powering the engines.

Answer 4

Thats a tough task , I bet theres guys paid millions to try and solve that problem.

My suggestion is do away with meals , we can all go without food for quiet a while.

Dan www.stylelimousines.co.uk

Answer 5

There are companies that make millions a each year trying to solve that question.

Fuel is a huge cost, and if alternatives could be purchased that were cheaper, safer, and as enconical, the airlines would use it in a heartbeat.

Second, is they can make aircraft lighter, but that means replacing the fleets of aircraft. The new Dreamliner is much lighter and uses less fuel, but the cost and delivery time keeps it from replacing alot of aircraft.

The only way to make aircraft more enviromental is to replace it with high speed maglev trans that would connect all the major cities of the us, easing all to the aircraft congestion.

But at 1 million dollars a mile, not a near future reality given the US enocomy.

Answer 6

There is only one way to make aircraft more environmental and that is to park them on the ground.  The rule of thumb has always been to make them better because this saves money and is more environmental friendly.

The four factors that must be over come for aircraft are drag, thrust, lift and gravity.  I am sure your teacher is smart enough to know this or maybe not.  Anyway if you cut the weight which engineers do all the time, but within a safety factor of 1.5 it takes less thrust to keep it in the air burning less fuel making it more environmental.  However there are trade offs for this, that’s why the safety factor of 1.5 for design loads is critical.

Next is improve the engine performance which engineers are doing all the time.  Engines are 30% better now than thirty years ago, which means more environmental.  It cost about $30.000.000.00 to develop a new engine and that is a big investment.  You can only get so much out of a pound of fuel and engines manufactures are at the limit currently without some major break through.

As of right now aircraft are about as efficient or environmentally clean as can be built.  Aircraft manufactures have better engine now that is why the Boeing B-757- -767, and 777 only have two engines instead of three or four.  Less engines mean less hydrocarbons burned better for the airline to make money (saves fuel) more environmental friendly.

So one way to be more environmental is to fly slower which airlines are currently doing to save fuel.  If you want to get to some place faster it takes more fuel just like automobiles.  Ever notice how cars kind of all look a like right now?  It’s because of the wind tunnel testing just like aircraft to reduce drag (friction).  Aircraft have reach the limit do to the laws of nature.

I have to ask is your teacher an environmental wacko?  Or really doesn’t know much about the subject.