2023 JEC Composites Innovation Awards Winner - Fraunhofer-ICT
Fraunhofer ICT 's Hybrid seating structure was created in partnership with Alpex Technology GmbH, Austria – AMADE-UdG, Spain – Leitat, Spain
Aircraft hybrid seating structure designed and demonstrated under sustainability criteria, based on easy to recycle light weight composite material and produced with efficient automated processes.
Commercial aircraft seats consist of many materials and individual parts, mostly a mix of polymers and metals, so very complex to recycle. The seats must also be lightweight to increase the overall efficiency of the aircraft. To achieve both goals (lightweight and recyclability), an aircraft seat series was developed based on the following sustainability criteria:
Ease of recycling using one polymer type for all polymer parts for which recycling process is available.
Reduction of number of seat components and weight through function-integrated lightweight design.
Effective production of the plastic components through processes suitable for series production
Elimination of toxic primers to improve the adhesion of metal inserts to the polymers (…).
Key benefits
• Fuel Sustainable PU based light weight CFRP to reduce CO2 emissions and waste.
• Radically reduction of numbers of seat parts for low maintenance.
• Automated high volume production technologies (SMC/WCM) to reduce costs
• Reduce the economic cost for carbon fiber aircraft seats
• Carbon Fiber attractive design