A4.1 - SUMAFly II – SUstainability Modeling and Analysis of Future aircraft systems II

Project description

The project "SUstainability Modeling and Analysis of Future Aircraft Systems II" (SUMAFly II) focuses on advancing the field of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Life Cycle Engineering methods for future aircraft concepts. The project is based on the original SUMAFly project, primarily concentrating on novel powertrain concepts. In SUMAFly II, a scope extension to the entire aircraft along all life cycle phases is carried out, considering new materials, energy carriers, and aircraft designs. The systematic modeling of material, energy, and resource flows within the life cycle of an aircraft lays the foundations for assessing environmental, economic, and social impacts.

Objective and approach

The project aims to develop life cycle-oriented sustainability assessment methods for future aircraft concepts. For this purpose, a systematic modeling of material, energy, and resource flows in all life cycle phases is carried out. On this basis, detailed life cycle inventories for future aircraft concepts are created, and the Life Cycle Sustainability method is applied to determine environmental, economic, and social impacts along the aircraft life cycle.

Within SUMAFly II, existing system architectures from the original SUMAFly project will be enriched with data from the SE²A to extend the scope to the entire aircraft. Furthermore, multi-level assessment models and new metrics will be developed to evaluate aircraft based on high-level goals such as the planetary boundaries and the Sustainable Development Goals.

SUMAFly II contributes valuable insights to SE²A and supports early-stage decision-making concerning future aircraft configurations by presenting trade-offs between technical properties and sustainability aspects.