Wing sail nominated for innovation award14/02/2023Save articleAn automated, carbon fibre composite wing sail for yachts has been selected as a finalist for the 2023 JEC Innovation Awards.SHOW FULLSCREENRondal’s automated, carbon fibre composite wing sail has been selected as a finalist for the 2023 JEC Innovation AwardsDeveloped by superyacht spars and sailing systems company Rondal with project partners Curve Works and Artemis Technologies, the new wing sail concept aims to increase the market share of wind-propelled yachts.“Rondal’s passion for innovation, along with the design, simulation and manufacturing support of our partners Curve Works and Artemis Technologies has created an extremely exciting new sailing solution,” said Hermen de Jong, innovation manager, Rondal. “We can’t wait to continue leading the way in enabling a new generation of clean, silent and highly efficient yachts powered solely by the wind.”The wing sail has been created to be a highly efficient, automated, composite solid wing sail that can be ‘ready-to-sail’ in seconds.IndividualThe wing sail created is also thought to be the world’s first large structural composite wing produced using a single adaptive mould with integrated heating to manufacture individual curved wing skin panels from pre-preg materials which are then bonded together.Rondal and Artemis Technologies used simulation technologies to evaluate the wing design before the build of a 9m tall sailing prototype.A sailing test program also allowed the project team to validate the wing’s handling characteristics versus its predicted performance, providing data for the next stage optimisation of the wing control systems.For the construction, Curve Works integrated a new mould heating system within its adaptive tooling system.The JEC Innovation Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on March 2nd.Rondal’s wing sail has been nominated in the category Maritime Transportation & Shipbuilding.TopicsArtermis Technologiescomposite wing sailCurve WorksInnovation AwardJEC GRoupMasts, spars, sails & riggingRondalSailingsparsSuperyachtWing sail
Source: Wing sail nominated for innovation award | News | Boating Business