The craft could save up to 66 percent in fuel and fly by 2035
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| Scale model of the “double bubble” D8 aircraft. Credit: NASA Langley David C. Bowman |
Airplane emissions are a big problem for the climate—and steadily rising. If the aviation sector were a country, it would rank seventh worldwide in carbon pollution. Experts predict that aircraft emissions, on their current trajectory, will triple by 2050 as demand for flights increases. To prevent this dire scenario, a team of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, along with government and industry collaborators, is attempting to fundamentally redesign airplanes.
Their concept, dubbed the “double-bubble” D8, could significantly reduce aviation’s carbon footprint and improve fuel efficiency if validated in full-scale tests. It entails major changes to the standard 180-passenger Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft—for example, the fuselage has a wider, more oval shape than a conventional jet. “It’s like two bubbles [joined] side by side,” explains Alejandra Uranga, an assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering now at the University of Southern California. This modification lets the fuselage itself generate some lift, says Uranga, who is a co-principal investigator for the project, alongside Edward Greitzer of M.I.T. The altered body shape allows the wings and tail to be smaller and lighter, and the aircraft’s nose is also more aerodynamic.