Overview
Since ever, transportation and traffic were indispensable prerequisites for prosperity and cultural development of mankind. Nowadays mobility, information, communication, (environmental) sustainability and safety are the key elements of the modern industrial society.
The expected growth rates in the aviation sector remain high: About 5% p.a. in the passenger traffic and about 7% p.a. in freight transport are predicted for the next 20 years.
These significant growth rates require enormous efforts in research, development, production and management of aircrafts.
The KABTEC project follows the objective to create innovations and develop new technologies for cabin design for passenger and freight transport applications, as a first step to integrate them into a new generation of (Airbus-) airplanes.
An additional goal is to build up a network of knowledge with universities and research institutions. The project’s objectives are in line with the political objectives for funding (“förderpolitische Ziele des Bundes”) in Germany. It contributes solutions for:
- Improvement of transport performance
- Environmentally friendly air transportation
- Safety and passenger comfort
- Optimized maintenance and repair
In the planning phase, Airbus defined the requirements for the KABTEC project. In a second step, the partners were chosen due to their technical skills. Doing so, a cooperating network was installed. In this project, a uniform working approach was chosen: The overall process was divided into 5 steps:
- Description of the requirements
- Concept definition
- Creation of specifications
- Implementation of the definitions
- Verification of the results
Funding
Results
The project was divided into 2 subprojects: INKA (integrated cabin architectures) and INSA (integrated cabin system structures).
The INKA subproject delivers results (from studies, simulations, experiments,…) for the following components:
- Modular interior platform (modular construction to reduce costs)
- Modular Lavatory (standardized interfaces, improved comfort and hygiene)
- Modular Galley (for higher reliability, improved cooling technology)
- Modular Seat (integration of cabin systems like air condition, oxygen, video, light and communication into the seat)
- LED lighting
- Sound- and lightproof partitions (for flexible cabin design)
- Modular electrical door
- Multifunctional cargo hold
- Modular freight loading system
- Modular cargo hold interior
- Modular fire detection
- Modular industrialization
- Production methods
- Materials
- Acoustic
- Airplane integration (faster installation of the components in the fuselage)
The INSA subproject delivers results (from studies, simulations, experiments,…) for the following components:
- Overall service platform
- Wireless Technology for cabin communication
- Optical Technology for cabin communication
- Security System
- Multifunctional supply channel
- Water supply system
- Air condition
- Electric power supply
- Oxygen supply system
Findings of the study are published by a final report (German only), which is available online via the Technical Information Library (TIB) of the Hannover University: http://edok01.tib.uni-hannover.de/edoks/e01fb11/680050434.pdf