PhD students from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Composites Science, Engineering and Manufacturing (CoSEM CDT) recently enjoyed a visit to Airbus Filton where they were shown the Aerospace Integrated Research & Test Centre (AIRTeC), a £40 million state of the art facility designed specifically to provide the most advanced working environment and tools for Airbus, suppliers, partners, and academia.

The students were introduced to Airbus and AIRTeC by Rhiannon Rumfitt (Senior Test Leader) and to The Wing of Tomorrow / Composite Technology by Guy Tothill (Expert in Adhesive Bonding).

They were then treated to a tour of the test facilities. They saw the Wing of Tomorrow and A321wing, currently undergoing commissioning/testing, from a gantry giving them a birds eye view. The tour also included the DIC/NDT lab, the failure analysis/SEM lab and the ZEROe Cryogenic test facility.

The students then had the opportunity to network with Airbus staff over lunch.

Jula Schroeder, first year CDT student, said “Our visit to Airbus was a fantastic experience, and we gained insights into the cutting-edge research and development in composites for the aviation industry. As PhD students, it was exciting to see that our research is essential on an industrial scale and that our studies contribute to achieving sustainable goals, such as the Wing of Tomorrow programme and ZEROe, the first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft”

Harina Amer Hamzah, ZEROe Structures Test Programme Lead said "It was a pleasure to host the CoSEM CDT students. We hope the students now have the insight of the real-world research and testing challenges that we are trying to solve in Airbus. We look forward to future collaborations on many exciting projects!"