Aeronautics

The aeronautical industry is considered to comprise the manufacturing of propeller, turbojet, ramjet or pulsejet aircraft, used for military, commercial or merchandise purposes. Also included are engines, intermediate equipment related to aviation (equipment, avionics, aerostructures, etc.) and maintenance, repair and replacement activities.

It is a strategic sector closely linked to the socio-economic development of countries, but its strategic consideration goes beyond the turnover generated or the net employment produced:

  • It is a key sector for national security and defence.
  • It is a sector generating wealth and high added value, which promotes trade and international cooperation.
  • It carries out remarkable activity in R&D&i.
  • It has a high capacity of diffusion to other economic sectors.
  • It has a high capacity for generating highly-qualified employment.

The aeronautical industry is key to the mobility of people and international trade through the different types of aircraft, which include mainly single-aisle aircraft. Among the main drivers for the future development of aeronautics, we would highlight those issues that will have the greatest impact on industry and technologies:

  • Globalization in the market as well as in production and research.
  • Increase in the size and length of aircraft in order to reduce the cost of operations
  • Tendency to protect the environment
  • Growth in the use of composite materials due to their exceptional durability and hardness and density ratios
  • Optimised use of aircraft propulsion system
  • Alternative fuels to reduce dependence on the price of oil.
  • Unmanned aircraft (UAV/UAS)

KONIKER makes available to the aeronautical sector its knowledge in the development of processes and productive means to work with new materials such as composites and aluminium, all aligned with the application of new digital technologies within the industry 4.0 paradigm

Prominent among KONIKER’s research lines are those which are developed with raw material manufacturers to evaluate their technical-economic feasibility within different processes, as well as those whose goal is the optimisation of processes and design of new productive means and machinery:

  • The forming of high elastic limit steels and aluminium
  • Plastic or thermostable composites
  • Hot forming of special alloys
  • Forging
  • Process control
  • Textile automation and handling
  • Profiling