China launches airfoil database to support innovation in aviation technology

China

China launches airfoil database to support innovation in aviation technology

2024-10-18 14:28 Last Updated At：15:17

China launched an airfoil design system and database on Wednesday to provide key technical support for independent innovation in the aviation sector.

The airfoil database was built by the National Key Laboratory of Aircraft Configuration Design in northwest China’s Xi’an City, which was jointly run by the Northwestern Polytechnical University and the First Aircraft Institute of Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

The database integrates a customized airfoil profile system designed for eight types of advanced aircraft, creating China's first such database for industrial applications.

"The research and development team, consisting of members of three generations, has devoted over 30 years of efforts to build up the theoretical foundation of airfoil design and combine it with model development, thus creating a comprehensive airfoil system in China from scratch. Now China has developed over 1,000 airfoils with complete independent intellectual property rights. The release of China's airfoil system marks a breakthrough in its independent development of basic research and design development in this field, which has great historical significance," said Tang Changhong, director of the National Key Laboratory of Aircraft Configuration Design, during the launch event.

As airfoil design is the foundation of aircraft design and development, experts said that the establishment of the airfoil database provides technical support for China's general aviation and drone sectors, which will play an important supporting role in the development of the aerospace industry in China.

"The release of this set of system and database can greatly reduce the work in the early stage of the design department, thus speeding up the development process. In the future, people can look for the suitable [ airfoil design] in our system according to their performance requirements. If they have more specific requirement, they can use this system as a basis, and our supporting design software can quickly make customized airfoil to meet their requirements," said Gao Zhenghong, a professor from the School of Aeronautics of Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Restaurants see surge in bookings for Chinese New Year's Eve dinners

More than a month ahead of the Chinese New Year, restaurants across China have reported a booming demand for reunion dinners, with popular places already fully reserved.

The family reunion dinners on the eve of the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is the most important meal of the year for Chinese people. It has long been an essential part of celebrating the Chinese New Year. This year, the festival falls on Feb 17.

In Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi Province, one restaurant said all tables for the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner have been reserved.

"We now have 36 private rooms and 13 tables in the hall. The New Year's Eve dinner is fully booked. Many families started reserving as early as November 2025," said Han Huiyan, a restaurant manager.

To meet the demand, many restaurants start to offer takeaway banquet package that can be easily prepared at home, allowing families to enjoy a variety of festive dishes without dining out.

In Ningbo, a city in east China's Zhejiang Province, many popular restaurants said that they are approaching full reservation levels. To reduce peak demand, some restaurants now offer off-peak reunion dinners starting later at night.

"We now offer a 'second round' of New Year's Eve dinners, which start at 19:30. We also offer discount for such New Year's Eve dinners, a promotion of 20 percent off set menus," said Sun Lijuan, a restaurant manager.

In Lianyungang, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, smaller private rooms of a local restaurant have been nearly sold out, and customized menus and home-delivery services have drawn strong interest.

"This year we have specially launched the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner delivery service. Bookings are very strong and customers really like this option," said Geng Maoran, a restaurant general manager.