BOPA: Biosourced Omega Panels for Aeronautics

This project is the winner of the BIP (Bioressources Industries Performances) 2015 call and is co-financed by ADEME.

In a regulatory context tending to impose a reduction in greenhouse effect emissions in various sectors, including aeronautics, this project aims to substitute mineral fibres with technical flax fibres in interior cabin panels for civil aircraft.

The overall objective of the project is the production of innovative structural honeycomb panels that would allow weight and cost savings as well as environmental gains while meeting the industrial specifications for this type of product.

In more detail, this will involve :

• Substitute the materials used for the interior design panels (fibreglass, aluminium) with flax fibre
• Identify one or more bio-based matrix(es), if possible the most suitable for the flax reinforcement, the process and the established specifications
• Optimise the adhesion between the reinforcement and the matrix in order to limit the need for pre-treatments
• Develop a new honeycomb panel architecture (patent pending)
• Develop an innovative panel assembly process that can be easily transposed to an industrial scale and that allows a reduction in the toxicity of implementation for the operator (by limiting VOCs in particular).
• To have a more environmentally friendly product.
• To have a final product that meets the specifications of the aeronautical sector (mechanical strength, impact behaviour, fire resistance, weight, etc.)

Partners of the project

his project is also supported by the Aerospace Valley cluster and Airbus.