Airbus A380

Presented by: Joel Alex Roy

Connections
Eagle
Ancient Mongolian bow
19th-century rocket
Bicycle pump
Airbus A380
World's largest passenger
airliner
Provides seating for up to
853 people in all-economy
class configurations
Max. range of 15,400
kilometres, sufficient to fly
from New York to Hong Kong
non-stop
Cruising speed of Mach 0.85
I. Aerodynamic Efficiency
Max. Take-Off Weight over 650 tonnes.
Wings must be short enough to fit within the
International regulations on the maximum size
of aircrafts. Yet, they must generate enough
lift force.
From Bernoulli's principle, the pressure on the upper surface
where the flow is moving faster is lower than the pressure on
the lower surface. The pressure difference thus creates a net
aerodynamic force, pointing upward and downstream to the
flow direction.
Fluids are forced to flow from high to low pressure, and the air
below the wing tends to migrate toward the top of the wing via
the wingtips. The air does not escape around the leading edge of
the wing due to airspeed, but it can flow around the tip.
As a consequence, air flows from below the wing and out
around the tip to the top of the wing in a circular fashion. This
leakage will raise the pressure on top of the wing and reduce the
lift that the wing can generate.
Eagles glide high above the ground by utilizing updrafts, such as
thermals - warm air that rises and can carry the bird along with it.
Eagle wings cannot be too long. Otherwise the turning circle
would take it outside the thermal zones.
So the wings are adapted for max. lift with min. length.
Eagles curl their tip feathers upwards to get max. lift, until they are
almost vertical.
This natural adaptation reduces the strength of the vortices
produced by blocking the path of air that circulates from
underneath the wing.
Winglets block the path of the
vortex trying to curl around the
wingtip. The entire surface of the
wing hence generates lift,
effectively doing the same job as
a longer wing.
Winglets can be made almost
vertical to keep the total
wingspan to an absolute
minimum.
It reduces induced drag,
increasing fuel efficiency and
performance.
Without the winglets, the A380s
wings would have to be 3m
longer to achieve the same lift.
II. Saving Weight
To keep the running costs of the A380 to a
minimum, the weight of the aircraft should be
kept to a bare minimum.
The outer skin of the A380 should be kept as
light as possible, without making it too fragile.
A punctured fuselage can cause cabin
depressurization, asphyxiating the passengers.
Damage to the wings could send the aircraft
out of control
In 1200 AD, the Mongols
invented the first composite
bow.
A bow has to handle two
different forces at the same
time. When a bow is drawn,
the outside stretches, while
the inside squeezes
Using a combination of sinew
(tensile forces), bone
(compressive), and animal
glue, bows were pressed and
wrapped with birch bark.
Composite Mongolian bows
provided Genghis Khan with
military dominance.
Carbon-fibre reinforced plastic,
glass-fibre reinforced plastic and
quartz-fibre reinforced plastic
are used extensively in wings,
fuselage sections, tail surfaces,
and doors.
The composite material GLARE
(GLAss-REinforced fibre metal
laminate) is used in the upper
fuselage and on the stabilisers'
leading edges.
Unlike earlier composite
materials, GLARE can be repaired
using conventional aluminium
repair techniques.
Its major advantages over conventional aluminium are:
a) Better "damage tolerance" behaviour (especially impact
and metal fatigue, as the elastic strain is larger than other
metal material it can consume more impact energy. It is
dented easier but has a higher penetration resistance )
b) Better corrosion resistance
c) Better fire resistance
d) Lower specific weight

III. Evacuation & Safety
The upper exits of the A380 stand nearly 8m from
the ground, which is a long way for an
evacuation.
To satisfy International regulations, all 853
passengers must evacuate the plane using only
half the no. of exits.
The evacuation slides on the A380 are the biggest
in the world. But regulations require the slides to
inflate within 6 seconds.
Pressurized gases inflate at a slow speed and will
not be able to take the weight of passengers.

19
th
century rockets utilize gunpowder as their key ingredient
and produce a large amount of gaseous byproduct.
Rocket gases, acting as a booster in combination with
compressed gases along with aspirators can be used to quickly
inflate the slides.
An aspirator is a device that produces vacuum by means of the
Venturi effect. As the funnel gets narrower, the gas flow speeds up,
causing the pressure to drop. This creates a vacuum effect, which
sucks in air from the surrounding to inflate the evacuation slide.
With this device, the A380s slides can inflate within 4 seconds.
iv. Landing
Landing impacts are absorbed by the landing
gear. For an aircraft like the A380, it should be
strong enough to bear the immense weight
Each set of wheels are cushioned by shock
absorbers, bringing the passengers safely to
the ground.
The shock absorber is a piston
that moves inside a cylinder just
similar to a cycle pump. As the air
inside the cylinder is compressed,
the shock is absorbed.
In the A380's landing gear, instead of just air, oil is used.
As greater energy is required to compress the highly viscous oil
into a chamber, greater shock is absorbed and the landing is
smoother.
Thank You