Boeing's thumbs up for new Dreamliner battery
Source: Agencies |
April 28, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BOEING Co's chief engineer for the 787 Dreamliner said yesterday that changes to the lithium-ion battery system are fully sufficient to ensure the aircraft's safety, although the company has been unable to find the cause of the original battery failures earlier this year that led to groundings of the plane worldwide since mid-January.
Michael Sinnett gave a briefing on the revamped battery to reporters in Tokyo after Japanese and United States regulators gave carriers permission to resume 787 flights once battery modifications are made.
The new battery system is designed to prevent a fire, and to contain one should it occur with an "enclosure," a casing around the battery to prevent heat from being released in the aircraft, Sinnett said.
"Even if we never know the root cause, the enclosure keeps the airplane safe, it eliminates the possibility of fire, it keeps heat out of the airplane, it keeps smoke out of the airplane, and it ensures that no matter what happens to the battery, regardless of root cause, the airplane is safe," he said.
He said Boeing has identified over 80 potential causal factors and addressed all of them in the new design.
The 50 Dreamliner jets in service worldwide were grounded in mid-January after incidents with smoldering batteries occurred aboard two different planes, leading to hundreds of cancelled flights and revenue losses.
Japan's two biggest carriers have the most 787s - All Nippon Airways owns 17 of the jets, while Japan Airlines has seven. They have begun installing the new batteries, and officials said commercial flights would resume in June.
Michael Sinnett gave a briefing on the revamped battery to reporters in Tokyo after Japanese and United States regulators gave carriers permission to resume 787 flights once battery modifications are made.
The new battery system is designed to prevent a fire, and to contain one should it occur with an "enclosure," a casing around the battery to prevent heat from being released in the aircraft, Sinnett said.
"Even if we never know the root cause, the enclosure keeps the airplane safe, it eliminates the possibility of fire, it keeps heat out of the airplane, it keeps smoke out of the airplane, and it ensures that no matter what happens to the battery, regardless of root cause, the airplane is safe," he said.
He said Boeing has identified over 80 potential causal factors and addressed all of them in the new design.
The 50 Dreamliner jets in service worldwide were grounded in mid-January after incidents with smoldering batteries occurred aboard two different planes, leading to hundreds of cancelled flights and revenue losses.
Japan's two biggest carriers have the most 787s - All Nippon Airways owns 17 of the jets, while Japan Airlines has seven. They have begun installing the new batteries, and officials said commercial flights would resume in June.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
