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Airbus Deutschland GmbH

By: Mrs Daniela Lohwasser (Materials and Processes)

Daniela LohwasserAirbus Deutschland GmbH
Hünefeldstr. 1-5
28199 Bremen, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 421 538 4825
Fax: +49 (0) 421 538 2968
E-Mail: daniela.lohwasser@airbus.dasa.de

History

Airbus Deutschland GmbH, based in Hamburg/Germany, is a subsidiary company of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus S.A.S. whose headquarters are located in Blagnac/Toulouse, France. Airbus is one of two leading manufacturers for commercial aircraft and supplies about half of the world market with jets containing more than 100 seats.

The Airbus product range covers the single-aisle aircraft A318, A319, A320 and A321 (107 to 185 seats), the wide-body aircraft A300 and A310 (220 to 266 seats) as well as the long-range aircraft A330 and A340 (253 to 380 seats). The A380, which will be the largest commercial aircraft worldwide (555 seats), has been on offer since December 2000. Furthermore, the A400M airlifter from the Airbus subsidiary Airbus Military S.A.S will provide solutions to logistical challenges for Air Forces in the 21st century.
Final Assembly Line in Hamburg

Fig.1. Final Assembly Line in Hamburg
Copyright © Airbus Deutschland GmbH 2002

In 2001 Airbus had a turnover of 20.5 billion US-Dollars and had 375 firm incoming aircraft orders leading to a backlog of 4.399 aircrafts. Airbus is currently producing more than one aircraft per working day. The aircraft manufacturer has 45.000 employees on sites all over Europe, of which more than 16.000 are working at the seven German sites.

R&D capabilities of Airbus cover all aspects of aircraft design and optimisation (aerodynamics, aeroelastics, structures, weights, performances, operating costs, environmental aspects, etc.) airframe and systems development and engine integration.

Airbus is particularly responsible for the development and production of the major part of the fuselage including systems and passenger cabins, the vertical fin, the equipment of the wings and the final assembly of single aisle aircraft A318, A319 and A321, shown in Figure 1.

Contributions to EuroStirJ Project

The main contribution will be into Task 5 - properties and also into Task 3 - productivity. Airbus will friction stir weld coupons, IMA and Barrel panels for the TANGO project using the new TWI machine, Figure 2. This project aims to improve the structural efficiency and reduce manufacturing costs. Specific industrial objectives have been set, which are 20% weight reduction in comparison to the current structures and 20% cost reduction to both current manufacturing processes and state of the art design.

Tango Test Components

Fig.2. Tango Test Components
Copyright © Airbus Deutschland GmbH 2002

Advanced technologies have been selected for the metallic fuselage barrel. The new technologies comprise new materials (e.g. GLARE, AlMgLi, AlMgSc) and new manufacturing processes (e.g. laser beam and friction stir welding, advanced bonding). In order to achieve the cost and weight targets a large number of subcomponent tests will be performed for supporting the design and evaluation of the metallic fuselage barrel test. The final validation of the new technologies will be provided by the metallic fuselage barrel, which represents a rear fuselage section of a wide-body transport aircraft under loading conditions, Figure 3.

Metallic Fuselage Test Barrel

Fig.3. Metallic Fuselage Test Barrel
Copyright © Airbus Deutschland GmbH 2002

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