Saab Delivers Rivetless, Jointless Composite Wing Panel

Saab engineers have developed and manufactured a jointless, rivetless composite airplane wing panel that the company says reduces drag and fuel consumption.

A team of stress engineers, design engineers, composite engineers and aerodynamics experts designed and manufactured an integrated wing leading edge and upper wing cover, which form part of the port wing. The attachment points that fix the panel to the wing box itself are made of composite materials and integrated into the underside of the wing shell.

All of the components are cured in a single piece, resulting in a surface that is smooth and glossy. The smooth outer surface and wing leading edge reduce drag, facilitating natural laminar airflow over the wing.

Components will now be shipped to Aernnova, in Spain, for the assembly phase of the laminar wing, which eventually will be installed by Airbus on its A340-300 MSN001 test aircraft.

The work was carried out as part of the Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft (SFWA) project, which is led by Saab and Airbus. SFWA is a sub-project within Europe’s Clean Sky program, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and noise emissions from European air traffic by 20-40% by 2020.