Conceptual Design of an Innovative Prandtlplane Freighter : Innovative ideas to improve the airfreight

This work is based on the conceptual design of a new freighter that is able to cut the existing operating costs of the airfreight. The work can be divided in three different parts. In the first part, the current features of the airfreight system are described with particular attention to the determination of the costs for both the direct operations and the fuel consumption. The second part regards the conceptual layout of the freighter: the aircraft presents an unconventional Box-Wing lifting system and the conceptual design regards in particular the definition of a fuselage properly dedicated to the transport of intermodal containers. The possible advantages deriving from the unconventional configuration for both the wing and the propulsion systems, are analyzed. In the last part, a structural preliminary analysis of the fuselage is conducted in order to evaluate the possible effects of both the box-wing constraints and the pressurization lack.