Thinking Inside the Box: An Investigation into the Aerodynamic Efficiency of Box-Wings

Overview

Commercial aircraft design has remained relatively unchanged for decades, and the conventional design has been optimized to the point where large gains in efficiency are unlikely. Aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions in the transportation sector. If the goal is to maximize efficiency to reduce emissions, non-conventional alternative designs should be seriously considered. This is where the idea to investigate the box-wing originated. The box-wing was conceptualized in 1924 by Prandtl and has recently become a feasible alternative due to significant advances in materials. A box-wing consists of two wings in a biplane configuration that are staggered and joined at the wingtips, leading to lower induced drag. This investigation examined how this configuration can be optimized through wind-tunnel testing and simulations. A force gauge was fabricated to automate wind-tunnel trials and measure lift/drag, providing 4200 measurements per trial. Results proved that box-wings are indeed more efficient.

Awards (2)

• Silver Medal
• Selected for CWSF 2026

Competition history

• CWSF 2026 Aerospace

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.