Using an integrated workflow to achieve sustainability in aerospace design

Sustainability in aerospace and defense (A&D) is playing an increasingly critical role in shaping early design decisions and helping them evolve to meet customer expectations.

Both commercial and defense customers continue to demand innovative solutions that are delivered on a reliable schedule and within budget. Decarbonization is now an additional driver of A&D innovation and long-term business growth, rather than seen as a liability as it might have in the past.

Key factors that drive sustainability trends in the A&D industry include:

• Companies making net zero commitments
• Product specific regulations to reduce energy consumption and negative environmental impacts
• Resource scarcity and the transition to the circular economy
• Funds are flowing toward sustainable companies and solutions
• Customer demands and expectations

Integrating sustainability factors into the design process

In the early stages of product design, engineers can incorporate sustainability metrics & key performance indicators (KPIs) into their designs to reduce waste and use less toxic and CO2 intense materials.

As electric systems increase in complexity, having a strong product lifecycle management (PLM) system can help to manage the many requirements and provide integration between different domains.

Using cohesive management software

Siemens Teamcenter PLM software provides an enterprise that can define, capture, manage and leverage sustainability requirements at every stage in the product life cycle. It allows engineers to continuously verify conformance to these requirements throughout the product life cycle, therefore facilitating a requirements driven design approach.

When using Teamcenter as digital backbone it is easy to:

• Gain better control over industry requirements
• Efficiently manage data across various types of materials
• Precisely track different configurations and their impact on KPIs
• Secure, accurate and up to date product information sharing across the supply chains

Teamcenter also lets you define sustainability targets and perform life cycle assessments to understand the CO2 footprint which enables optimization for weight, cost and sustainability though the digital thread.This integration throughout the design process is essential for a quick continuous innovation cycle.

Siemens’ Teamcenter Carbon Footprint Calculator then enables you to measure, simulate and track the product carbon footprint very early in the design phase. It allows companies to calculate product carbon footprints in the same detailed way as they do their cost. They can then set strategies of designing for resource efficiency or a low carbon footprint, while keeping track of the cost targets.

Capital electrical and electronics (E/E) Insight can then be used to manage and display the impact of design changes in the engineer’s interface, depending on the metrics that are important to the engineer. Capital E/E Insight can visualize different metrics, such as cost, weight and sustainability, and compare different materials to identify which version meets sustainability requirements best.

Figure 1 spider chart of sustainability impact

The integration and extensive data exchange between these different tools allows for quick and efficient design decisions.

Figure 2 definitions:
DMU = digital mockup, MBSE = model-based systems engineering, E/E = electrical / electronics, EBOM = engineering BOM, MBOM = manufacturing BOM, SBOM = service BOM, BOP = bill of process,
BOE = bill of equipment, APQP = advanced product quality planning, PPAP = production part approval process, FAI = first article inspection

Early changes make all the difference

The biggest impact on sustainability can be made during the early design stages, where engineers can use Siemens Capital design and development tools to make better trade off decisions as they innovate faster and more reliably.

Customers already successfully utilizing Siemens Capital to innovate for sustainability:

• Airbus’ ZEROe program uses Siemens’ Capital software to drive progress and proof of concept projects, as they develop new generation propulsion systems
• Wisk, a company that specializes in air mobility continues to push the limits of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft

Learn more

The shift to sustainability is impacting all areas of the A&D industry, making sustainable design and business concepts a catalyst for innovation and business growth. Watch our on demand webinar, “Achieving sustainability in the aerospace & defense industry,” to learn more about current industry trends and how companies can use Siemens’ software to enhance product sustainability and innovation.