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Saab-KTH partnership flies even higher

MoU will build on two institutions' cooperation

News

Published Feb 07, 2013

Saab and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will strengthen long-term strategic cooperation in aviation research, education and innovation.

KTH President Peter Gudmundson and rektor KTH och Saab President and CEO Håkan Buskhe at the MoU signing on January 29.

Already Saab and KTH have collaborated on development of wings that would reduce air resistance, or drag, which would result in more eco-friendly flights. The research has considerable business potential in civil aviation, where operators are struggling to reach increasingly tough environmental targets.

The MoU is expected to deepen and broaden the parties’ extensive and productive cooperation, as well as further strengthen their competitiveness internationally.

KTH’s close cooperation with Saab has produced advancements in laminar flow control over an aircraft's wing. Improved flow control can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 10 percent.

The advanced structures needed for laminar flow control are complex to manufacture in large sizes, and cooperation between KTH and Saab has been decisive for success.

The extended cooperation, based on the KTH collaboration with Saab in the areas of flight technology and composite materials/production simulation, will initially include flight mechanics, aerodynamics/fluid dynamics, aero-elasticity and composite materials.

The cooperation is expected, among other things, to lead to increased personal mobility between KTH and Saab, as well as increased cooperation in aerospace research and research applications, and increased collaboration on the Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering program.

Saab will also be more visible at KTH in the future, both in research and at the undergraduate level, partly through guest lectures and partly through adjunct professors working in both industry and academia.

For more information on KTH’s cooperation with Saab, contact Johan Blaus, 0701-900422. or johbla@kth.se.