Helium - Sustainable Airline Seat

Add Lightness

Helium is a lightweight airline seat designed to reduce the carbon emissions of commercial flights. A standard airline seat weighs 45kg while a Helium seat weighs just 15kg. This reduction is achieved by utilizing MCAM KyronMAX construction, topology optimized geometry and zero metal parts. This results in a mass reduction of 2360kg per plane (Airbus A321). Fitting a single airliner with Helium seating would reduce its fuel costs by $285,560 per year and its CO2 emissions by 1,387,680kg per year, the equivalent of planting 66,000 trees!

Optimized to reduce emissions

Helium seating is designed for short haul jets with a large number of seats such as an Airbus A321 or Boeing 737. The idea is to minimize the mass of components that the plane must carry regardless of the number of passengers. Every kilo that can be removed represents a decrease in the fuel burn required for a given flight, decreasing the carbon emissions of the plane and the fuel cost to the airline. The goal of this project is to use KyronMAX to significantly reduce this mass in order to reduce the environmental impact of the airline industry.

Massive co2 and fuel burn reductions

A reduction of 1kg (2.2lbs) of mass from an airliner at take off reduces CO2 emissions by 588kg per year and the cost to the airline by about $121 per year*. A typical three seat row has a mass of 45kg. The goal of the Helium project was to develop a seat that weighs 15kg per row, or 5kg per passenger. A short haul outfitted Airbus A321 has 236 seats, the KyronMAX seat represents a weight saving of 10kg per passenger which translates into a mass saving of 2360kg for the entire plane. This represents an emissions decrease of (588 x 2360) = 1,387,680kg of CO2 per year and a fuel cost saving of (121 x 2360) = $285,560 per year. A typical tree absorbs about 21kg of CO2 per year, so retrofitting a single plane with Helium seating is the equivalent of planting over 66,000 trees! Airliner components require stringent inspection and replacement which is where KyronMAX’s sustainability comes into play. Seats are not a flight hour limited component. They are inspected periodically for damage and have a typical service life of 10 - 18 years. When the end of service life is reached, a KyronMAX seat can simply be recycled into a new product using circular economy principles for a closed loop life cycle. This is quite a rare advantage over traditional composite materials. Assuming a mean service life of 14 years, retrofitting an airliner with KyronMAX seats will prevent (1,387,680 x 14) = 19,427,520kg of CO2 being released into the atmosphere and will save an airline (285,560 x 14) = $34,552,760 per plane. *[Berglund, T. Sweden, 2008]

Topology Optimized geometry

The most innovative aspect of this project is the subframe design, which must withstand considerable forces in the case of a crash. This restricts the manufacturing processes that can be used and hence the geometry of the final product. Helium was designed from a clean sheet to maximize strength to weight ratio above all else. Finite element analysis was used to simulate a 9G crash / hard landing. Three 75 kg passengers would produce a total force of 19.86kN or about 2 metric tonnes (4,455 lbs) at 30° to the ground plane in a crash. The topology optimization simulation generated the geometry shown above that demonstrates a minimum safety factor of 2.8. The resulting structure is very organic and monolithic so its geometry would be impractical to manufacture as it is. It had to be broken down into multiple discrete components to facilitate mass production.

epoxy bonded spaceframe construction

The subframe consists of KyronMAX injection molded nodes joined by roll wrapped carbon fiber reinforced plastic struts. In order to make the organic form generated by the topology analysis practical to manufacture, the subframe is made from 30 separate nodes linked by 30 struts. Half of one subframe is shown above. The KyronMAX nodes are strategically inlaid with woven carbon sheet material to produce a hybrid construction. This gives the KyronMAX parts the strength and toughness required in a crash. The nodes and struts are bonded using epoxy resin for a durable joint. The seat is a CFRP monocoque reinforced with aramid honeycomb. The seat and subframe are of entirely carbon/plastic composite construction with no metal parts whatsoever, a world first for airliners.

Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Material KyronMAX Challenge Finalist

Helium seating uses Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Material’s KyronMAX injection moldable carbon fiber reinforced polymer for the majority of its components. It is currently a finalist in the MCAM KyronMAX challenge.

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