Ar-Rehman

Sunday, June 14, 2026

New turbo-electric passenger aircraft concept

Advanced turbo-electric passenger airliner concept might deliver 17% more range efficiency

A new turboelectric airliner concept, capable of delivering 17% better efficiency over 2050 projections for standard airliners, was unveiled at the AIAA AVIATION Forum, and a University of Michigan Engineering team played a central role in its development. A technical talk on the project, including work from the U-M team, was delivered at the Forum. The wide body provides additional lift while electric fans at the rear reduce drag. University of Michigan Engineering researchers enabled the industry-academic team to explore a larger range of possible designs. The concept is designed to fit within existing airport gates and airline operations. The configuration also supports a twin-aisle cabin layout.

A hybrid-electric aviation company has unveiled a new conceptual aircraft design for next-generation airliners. Electra’s conceptual aircraft uses a wide “double-bubble” fuselage which allows the body of the aircraft to contribute more lift, while two underwing turbofan engines produce thrust as well as electricity to power electric tail fans that ingest and re-energize slower-moving air over the fuselage. The aircraft design project, led by the hybrid-electric aviation company Electra, is part of NASA's Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES 2050) program. Ph.D. student Sinan Abdulhak received the Neil Y. Chen Memorial Best Student Paper Award for his market-modeling research. The collaboration also included partners from across academia and industry, including American Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Hinetics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of California, Irvine.

The chief contribution by the U-M Aerospace Engineering team, led by Gökçin Çınar, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, was expanding the design space that the team could explore. Both she and Joaquim Martins, the Pauline M. Sherman Collegiate Professor of aerospace engineering, focus on multidisciplinary design and optimization, considering multiple aspects of the aircraft at once. The technique is known as boundary layer ingestion. Electra’s analysis found that the configuration could deliver up to a 17% efficiency improvement beyond gains expected by 2050 from advanced structures, engine technologies and aerodynamic improvements. “The value of electrification in this concept is that it lets us put the propulsion where it couldn’t go before but does the most good,” said Dr. Parker Vascik, Director of Product Strategy. “We can radically improve how the airframe and propulsion system work together while keeping the aircraft grounded in real airline and airport operations. The goal is not just efficiency on paper, but concepts that we can actually build, certify, and use.”

The aerodynamics and structure of the aircraft, as well as its propulsion and heat management systems, are deeply dependent on one another. For instance, changing the shape of the aircraft, or its weight distribution, affects where the engines should be placed and how much thrust they need to generate. Çınar and Martins coded extensions to NASA's open-source Aviary aircraft design framework, supporting the simultaneous optimization of all three of these aspects of airplanes. Using this approach, the team evaluated 20 different aircraft architectures and optimized these designs for over 100,000 scenarios. They found low-fidelity simulations preferred highly distributed propulsion, basically, many electric propellers along the wings and in the tail. However, their more advanced high-fidelity simulations demonstrated that the weight, drag and challenges dissipating heat tipped the scales to favor a different design. "This was one of the findings we scrutinized most carefully, because it challenges some of the assumptions that have shaped parts of the electrified aircraft design literature," Çınar said.

The company also revealed that the concept is designed to use standard jet fuel or sustainable aviation fuel, and avoid reliance on airport charging infrastructure or untested fuel types. The configuration also supports a twin-aisle cabin layout within a narrow body aircraft class, unlocking improved passenger comfort and more efficient boarding and deplaning. The concept is developed as part of NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 program. “This concept builds on years of research into how airframe shape and propulsion placement can work together to improve aircraft efficiency,” said Dr. Alejandra Uranga. “What is different now is the ability to use electrification and distributed propulsion to more deeply integrate those systems. Designing the aircraft as a whole system is essential to realizing the full potential of future commercial aircraft.”

"Low-fidelity models and first-principles analysis remain essential for exploring large design spaces and down-selecting promising concepts early. But once the expected benefits are narrow and the modeling uncertainty is high, you need multi-fidelity analysis with greater subsystem granularity. That is what we were able to achieve together with Electra: we could move from broad concept exploration to a much more detailed understanding of when electrification actually buys its way onto the aircraft." In addition to the concept, Electra developed 11 technical papers documenting the models, methods and findings behind the study. The company also adopted NASA’s open-source Aviary multidisciplinary design and optimization tool and developed an electrified aircraft design suite intended for public use. Together, these contributions are intended to help advance the broader aviation research community, not just push forward a single aircraft concept. Electra’s AACES 2050 team brought together leaders across industry and academia, including American Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Hinetics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the University of Michigan Department of Aerospace Engineering, and the University of California, Irvine’s Aircraft Systems Laboratory.

“Through AACES, NASA is pushing the industry to think boldly, to use our novel propulsion technologies to unconstrain design thinking for the next generation of commercial aviation,” said Marc Allen. “The third era of aviation will bring radical change to how people and places connect, whether applied to aircraft entering service this decade, future regional platforms, or commercial transport by mid-century. Electra’s focus as the hybrid electric leader is to keep American aviation, and NASA, leading the way.” Max Li, U-M assistant professor of aerospace engineering, modeled likely future markets for aircraft, answering questions like, "When and for what routes will airline operators be looking to buy next-generation aircraft?" and "What are their requirements likely to be?" Optimization pointed the team toward a partially electrified design, with a conventional turbofan engine on each wing and electric fans near the rear of the fuselage. The concept proposed by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-led team, so the aircraft body itself contributes lift rather than simply carrying passengers. The electric fans accelerate the slower-moving air over the top of the aircraft, providing thrust while reducing the energy lost in the aircraft's wake. Known as fuselage boundary-layer ingestion, this advanced design reduces the thrust that the under wing engines must generate.

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Name

ALLAH Names

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Silver producing countries

Countries with Silver production around the world

Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag and atomic number 47. It has the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. Silver is a relatively soft, white, shiny metal which can be found in Earth’s crust in its pure elemental form, as an alloy with gold and other metals, and in minerals like argentite. It is mostly extracted from lead-zinc, copper, gold and copper-nickel ores and a by-product of mining for these metals. Mexico produces the most silver in the world, mining 173 million ounces, or about 20% of global supply. Mexico produces one-fifth of global supply. This scale gives the country an outsized role in a market already facing a fifth straight annual deficit. Peru and China are the key runners up, and their combined scale highlights how supply depends on a small group of major mining countries.

Silver is a precious metal and has several uses. Sterling silver, which is 92.5% silver, is used for jewelry and silver tableware. Thanks to its reflectivity, silver is also used to make mirrors. The metal also has uses in photography and x-ray films, as silver bromide and iodide have a high sensitivity to light. Silver salts are still used in digital photography to produce high-quality images. Other uses include solar panels, water filtration, ornaments, electrical contacts and conductors, and as a colorant in stained glass. For investors, silver offers exposure to both industrial growth and precious-metal demand. In addition, production concentration can support prices when supply disruptions hit major mining regions. The Silver Institute contributes to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by responsibly producing silver, which can be used in renewable energy and electric vehicles. The metal also has anti-bacterial properties which can be used in water treatment, medical applications and textiles.

Global production spans every major region, yet output remains clustered in a few mining economies. This puts major producers in focus for investors tracking opportunities and supply risks. At the same time, markets have tightened as demand has outpaced supply. For the fifth straight year, global supply has run a deficit. Existing producers are under pressure while new sources of supply may present opportunities for early investment. Silver is also used in currency many bullion coins, sometimes with gold. It has also been regarded as a store of value for more than 4,000 years. The silver standard is a monetary system in which the national currency is backed by physical silver. The silver standard allows units of the national currency to be converted into units of silver at a fixed exchange rate. The purpose of the silver standard is to ensure a national currency’s purchasing power is maintained. The silver standard has been abandoned by all countries that used it, ending with China and Hong Kong who rid of the system in 1935. All countries switched to the gold standard, which was later abandoned by most countries later in the 20th century.

In 2025, Mexico mined 173 million ounces, or about 20% of global output, making it the world’s top producer. Following are the country wise details:-

Country Region Million ounces

Mexico North America 173

Peru South America 131

China Asia 113

Russia Europe 56

Bolivia South America 50

Chile South America 43

Poland Europe 43

United States North America 36

Australia Oceania 33

Argentina South America 22

India Asia 20

Kazakhstan Asia 17

Sweden Europe 14

Morocco Africa 12

Uzbekistan Asia 11

Canada North America 10

Indonesia Asia 9

Iran Middle East 4

Spain Europe 4

Papua New Guinea Asia 4

Others - 45

Global Total - 847

Source: The Silver Institute: World Silver Survey 2026

Peru ranked second with 131 million ounces, followed by China with 113 million ounces. Taken together, North and South America lead the world with 219 and 246 million ounces, respectively. The estimated global silver production in 2019 was about 27,000 metric tons. According to the Silver Institute, the global mine production fell for the fourth year in a row in 2019 by 1.3% and primary silver production declined by 3.8%. The largest declines were in Peru, followed by Mexico and Indonesia. Some countries, however, saw increases in production, such as Argentina, Australia and the US. Year wise production of different countries is given below:-

Country 2024 2023 2022 2021

United States 1.1K 1K 1K 1K

Sweden 400 404

Russia 1.2K 1.2K 1.3K 1.3K

Poland 1.3K 1.3K 1.3K 1.3K

Peru 3.1K 3.2K 3.1K 3.3K

Mexico 6.3K 6.3K 6.2K 6.1K

Kazakhstan 1K 985 1.1K

India 800 813 694 610

China 3.3K 3.4K 3.5K 3.5K

Chile 1.2K 1.3K 1.3K 1.3K

Canada 300 306