Design of a lightweight & sustainable economy seat for short haul flights

Master thesis (2021)

Authors

O.S.D. De Jonghe Industrial Design Engineering

Contributors

P. Vink Materials and Manufacturing - IDE (supervisor 1)
Y. Song Mechatronic Design - IDE (supervisor 1)
Faculty
Industrial Design Engineering
Copyright: © 2021 Orelio De Jonghe
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Published Date

20-07-2021

Language

English

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Abstract


Short-haul flights are currently one of the most carbon-intensive modes of travel. Weight and fuel economy are closely linked. Therefore, weight reduction in the aviation industry is one of the critical factors in making commercial aviation more sustainable.
 This project focuses on aircraft efficiency by developing a lightweight aircraft seat for the economy segment during short-haul flights. 

The result of this project is a concept proposal for a 3-seater bench with a per-seat weight of approximately 6.5 kg. 
The low weight is achieved, on one side, by addressing the structure of the seat, where the core element of the concept is a single-piece compression-moulded shell made of CFRTP that consolidates conventional multi-component assemblies. On the other hand, comfort is provided by replacing traditional and heavy PU foams with a lightweight fabric suspension system.