German Research Foundation (DFG) – Project Number 498601949
Subproject of: TRR364: Synergies of Highly Integrated Transport Aircraft
Website of the Transregio: TRR364
Abstract B03
Shape-variable or morphing technologies with significantly stronger functional integration could provide a clear technological boost. However, for a morphing engine outlet, the morphing structure must be double curved to form a closed cross-section. The project pursues a biomimetic approach of shape morphing based on pressure-actuated cellular structures (PACS). The PACS approach will be applied to double curved morphing structures with closed cross sections to enable thrust vectoring and a variable nozzle area.
Abstract SynTrac
Climate-neutral mobility, in particular climate-neutral air transport, is required to meet Sustainable Development Goals. A substantial increase of the overall aircraft efficiency is a prerequisite to achieve the vision of a future climate-neutral air transport system. Consistently continued development of aircraft and propulsion technologies will contribute significantly to this target. The synergies associated with a highly increased integration of the propulsion systems into future transport aircraft contribute to this target to a similar degree with a potential of 10 to 20 % additional energy savings. Main pillars of this integration are Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI), Distributed Propulsion (DP), the combination of thrust generation and aircraft control as well as the manifold aspects of integration of the propulsion systems into the airframe.
The comprehensive assessment of the synergies and the optimally balanced application of the main pillars require a truly cross-disciplinary, cross-system view of the entire aircraft and its systems. The synergies arise from physical processes and phenomena at the manifold interfaces between aircraft and propulsion systems. These make the interfaces between the associated disciplines as well as their physical models and methods fluent to an unprecedented extent. This raises the main research question of SynTrac: Which means of interaction and integration of physical models as well as experimental and numerical methods beyond the current state of the art are successful in realizing the synergies and potentials of highly integrated transport aircraft, and how large are these potentials?
For more Information go to Abstract SynTrac