Airframe: what are the challenges?
Airframe and aircraft concepts are fundamental drivers of the air system performances. Clean Sky 2’s Airframe Integrated Technology Demonstrator (ITD) delivers decisive technology innovations that embrace a wide range of the European aeronautic industry’s portfolio, i.e. small transport aircraft, business aircraft, regional aircraft, large passenger aircraft and rotorcraft.
The new technologies developed apply to the entire aircraft, pushing aerodynamics across new frontiers, combining and integrating new materials, new manufacturing methods and structural techniques – and integrating innovative control and propulsion architectures with the airframe. Clean Sky 2’s Airframe ITD focuses on optimising these elements in respect of the challenges of aerodynamic performances, weight, cost, life-cycle impact and durability, contributing to the environmental high level objectives as well as increasing competitiveness and mobility. More precisely, it will reduce aviation’s environmental footprint, help to improve mobility and decrease congestion by improving time efficiency and agility, address future market needs with product differentiators, set an active collaboration with the airframers and the large aero-structure supply chain, and contribute to European growth and to the preservation of highly skilled jobs.
The Airframe ITD will in some cases lead to totally new shapes in the sky; making significant strides forward into a new era of aviation for the middle of the century.
Read more about the Airframe ITD and the Clean Sky 2 Programme here.
Overview
Clean Sky 2’s Airframe initiative will support technology de-risking at a major system level, to be further integrated in the vehicle integrated demonstrators. The scope of the Airframe ITD is to bring novel technologies up to TRL6 at airframe level (i.e. mature) to be integrated and tested at the global aircraft level, typically throughout the Innovative Architecture Demonstrator Programme (IADP) flight tests.
The ITD addresses a complex set of challenges and has been split into 10 major Technology Areas:
Innovative Aircraft Architecture
The aim is to investigate some radical transformations of the aircraft architecture and demonstrate the viability of some of the most promising advanced aircraft concepts. This will be done by identifying the key potential showstoppers and exploring relevant solutions, elaborating candidate concepts, and assessing their potential.
Advanced Laminarity
Advanced laminarity is a key technological path to make further progress on drag reduction which will be applied to major drag contributors, especially the nacelles and wings. The Technology Stream aims to increase the nacelle and wing efficiencies by means of extended laminarity technologies.
High Speed Airframe
High Speed Airframe is focused on step changes in fuselage and wing, enabling better aircraft performance and quality of delivered mobility services. The aim is to reduce fuel consumption without compromising the overall aircraft capabilities such as low speed and versatility.
Novel Control
Novel Control will introduce innovative control systems and strategies to make gains in overall aircraft efficiency. New challenges that could bring step-change gains do not lie in the optimisation of the flight control system component performing its duty of controlling the flight, but in opening the perspective of the flight control system as a system contributing to global aircraft architecture optimisation. It could contribute to sizing requirement alleviations thanks to smart control of the flight dynamics.
Novel Travel Experience
Novel Travel Experience investigates new cabin concepts including layout and passenger-oriented equipment and systems as key enablers of product differentiation. These concepts have an immediate and direct physical impact on the traveler, with potential in terms of weight saving and eco-compliance.
Next Generation Optimised Wing
Next Generation Optimised Wing will lead to progress in aero-efficiency and in better, more durable, affordable and lighter-weight wing structures through the design, build and ground testing of innovative wing structures. The challenge is to develop and demonstrate new wing concepts (including architecture) that will bring significant performance improvements (in drag and weight) while improving affordability and enforcing stringent environmental constraints.
Optimised High Lift Configurations
Optimised High Lift Configurations will make progress on the aerodynamic efficiency of wing, engine mounting and nacelle integration for aircraft that serve local and remote airports, thanks to excellent take-off and landing and field performance.
Advanced Integrated Structures
Advanced Integrated Structures will optimise the integration of systems in the airframe along with the validation of important structural advances, thereby boosting eco-production efficiency and manufacture of aircraft structures.
Advanced Fuselage
Advanced Fuselage addresses innovation in fuselage shapes and structures, including cockpit and cabins. New concepts for the fuselage that support more optimised aircraft and VTOL vehicles will be introduced. More radical aero structural optimisations and new schemes are required for further improvements in drag and weight reduction in the context of growing cost and environmental pressure, including the emergence of newcomers.
Eco-Design
Eco-Design focuses around eco-design activities embedded in Airframe ITD. These are mainly concentrated around developing environmentally sound technologies, and on performing Life Cycle Assessment activities to quantify the benefit brought about by the newly developed technologies. The Eco-Design Thematic Areas target the environmental benefits addressing lower negative impacts during the production of aircraft parts, their maintenance phase, as well as the aircraft’s end of life phase.
Demonstrators
Due to the comprehensive scope of technologies undertaken by Airframe ITD, addressing the full range of the aeronautical portfolio (Large Passenger Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, Rotorcraft, Business Jet and Small Transport Aircraft) and the diversity of technology paths and application objectives, technological developments and demonstrations for Clean Sky 2 are structured around 3 major demonstration axes focused on High Performance and Energy Efficiency (HPE), High Versatility and Cost Efficiency (HVC) and Eco-Design (ECO), respectively.
Airframe ITD encompasses a consistent set of major demonstrators, such as: ground demonstrators at a representative scale of the airframe component, flight demonstration of a modified platform incorporating the new system for demonstration in representative flight condition, and Eco-Design demonstrators.
A total of 84 demonstrators has been identified and organised around 4 areas:
Demonstrators for IADP
Large demonstrators to be integrated into large IADP ground or flight demonstrators – e.g. IADP Flight Test demonstrator.
Technology Demonstrators
Self-sufficient hardware demonstrators for technology maturation – e.g. Wing Root Box Demonstrator.
Demonstrations
A complete set of activities or virtual demonstrators for technology maturation – e.g. vibration control demonstration from control law definition, flight test and analysis.
Eco-Design Demonstrations
Ground demonstrations that aim to mature green technologies in the field of materials, manufacturing processes, green repair and End-of-Life.
Read more about CS2 Demonstrators here
Latest Progress and Results
An assessment of noise reduction due to an optimised scarfed nozzle concept has been carried out, as well as additional testing activities for cabin thermal modelling. Natural laminar flow progressed well following a wind tunnel test (WTT) carried out in 2019 on a business jet (BJ) mock-up and the continuation of BLADE Flight Test data analysis. Manufacturing activities including tooling have started for the composite flaperon demonstrator, and assembly of structural door demonstrators performed. Electrical Wing Icing Protection System’s BJ slats have been manufactured for testing in the icing wind tunnel. The manufacturing of BJ office cabin demonstrator items has started.
In 2020, several critical design reviews (CDRs) were completed, allowing for the commencement of manufacturing and assembly phases: RACER’s wing, SAT-optimised composite small scale integral demonstrators, Next Generation Civil Tilt Rotor subsystems and V-Tail, etc. Additionally, the icing wind tunnel test was completed for loop heat pipe ice protection systems and the lower skin with integrated spars and stringers was manufactured in liquid resin infusion. An embedded satellite communications antenna was delivered to the Regional Aircraft demonstrator Flying Test Bed #2 and for small air transport (SAT), the first four flight nacelle component trials on M28 aircraft were conducted. Manufacturing of automated fibre placement technologies of side-shells for RACER was completed. Eco-Design progressed well with the definition of the five flagship demonstrators, completion of 25 eco-statements, and the start of technologies down-selection. Collaborative Robot (COBOT) for cockpit technology TRL6 assessment has been achieved.
Read more in the latest CS2 Annual Activity Report (3.28 MB) "pdf" and Highlight Report.
CS2 MEMBERS IN AIRFRAME ITD
Leaders AIRFRAME
- Airbus
- Dassault Aviation SA
- Deutsches Zentrum Fuer Luft - Und Raumfahrt Ev (DLR)
- Evektor, spol. s.r.o
- Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V (FhG)
- LEONARDO - SOCIETA PER AZIONI
- Piaggio Aero Industries Spa
- SAAB
Core Partners AIRFRAME
- Acumen Design Associates Ltd
- Aernnova Aerospace SAU
- AERO-MAGNESIUM LIMITED (A.C.S)
- AEROTEX UK LLP
- AERTEC solutions SL (ex AERTEC INGENIERIA Y DESARROLLOS SLU)
- Akzo Noble Car Refinishes BV
- ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - Universita Di Bologna
- ALTRAN Deutschland SAS & Co KG
- ARTUS SAS
- ASCO Industries N.V.
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional De Supercomputacion
- CAETANO AERONAUTIC SA
- Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali SCPA
- CORIOLIS COMPOSITES
- DANOBAT S
- Dariusz Dabkowski
- DEMA SPA - Design Manufacturing SPA
- Element Materials Technology Seville S.L.U (ex Testing and Engineering of Aeronautical Materials and Structures SL - TEAMS)
- Eurotech Sp. z o.o.
- Fokker Aerostructures B.V.
- Fokker Technologies Holding B.V.
- Fundación Andaluza para el Desarrollo Aeroespacial (CATEC)
- Fundación Centro de Tecnologías Aeronáuticas (CTA)
- Fundacion para la Investigacion, Desarrollo y Aplicacion de Materiales Compuestos
- Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation (TECNALIA)
- GE Aviation Systems Limited
- Geven Spa
- GMVIS SKYSOFT SA
- GMVIS SKYSOFT SA (GMV)
- Hellenic Aerospace Industry SA
- Imperial College Of Science, Technology And Medicine
- Inasco Hellas Etaireia Efarmosmenon Aerodiastimikon Epistimon EE
- INEGI - Instituto De Ciencia E Inovacao Em Engenharia Mecanica E Engenharia Industrial
- Institut National Des Sciences Appliquées De Toulouse
- Instituto De Soldadura E Qualidade
- INVENT Innovative Verbundwerkstofferealisation Und Vermarktung Neuertechnologien GMBH
- Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.
- LORTEK S.COOP
- Meggitt A/S
- Meggitt Aerospace Limited - MPC Ltd
- Noesis Solutions NV
- Office National D'etudes Et De Recherches Aerospatiales - ONERA
- Panepistimio Patron (University of Patras)
- PGA Electronic SA
- Politecnico di Torino
- Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp zoo
- Ramal srl
- Siec Badawcza Lukasiewicz- Siec Badawcza Lukasiewicz Instytut Lotnictwa (ex INSTYTUT LOTNICTWA)
- SIEMENS Industry Software NV
- Stichting Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium (NLR)
- SZELIGA GREGORZ (ex SZEL-TECH)
- TECHNI-MODUL ENGINEERING SA
- Technische Universiteit Delft
- The University Of Sheffield
- ULTRATECH Sp zoo
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
- Universitaet Stuttgart
- University of Nottingham
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Zaklady Lotnicze Marganski & Myslowski SA
For full details on the list of participants (including their participating affiliates), see here (941.16 KB) "pdf"
CS2 GAPs in Airframe ITD
In total, 130 Grant Agreements for Partners were awarded in the Airframe ITD, representing a total EU contribution of €97.26m.
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