EUREKA project develops tools for exploiting flight testing data
A EUREKA project involving French, Belgian and Polish partners aims to improve the exploitation of flight test data, to save on time and costs and improve passenger safety. In developing the new generation of aeroplanes, researchers have to explore the aero-elastic behaviour of aircraft structures and subject them to vibration tests to ensure that they meet the required standards. This is achieved through a combination of highly technical ground, laboratory and in-flight tests. Now, the EUREKA Flight Test Easy (FLITE) project will aim to bring new tools to structural engineers and aircraft designers to improve the quality and worth of the data gathered during these flight tests. Project coordinator Bernard Colomies said: 'Our overarching goal is to develop new methods for identifying and exploiting aircraft measurements and testing.' The FLITE project hopes to improve the use of flight-test data in two ways. Firstly, partners will develop techniques for testing under natural excitation conditions, such as turbulence, without resorting to artificial tail fin excitation. Secondly, they will develop algorithms, software and procedures for exploiting data online or in-flight, directly exploring the flight domain with increased confidence and at reduced costs. 'All of this goes towards improving testing efficiency, reducing flight-test costs and, ultimately, improving safety,' said Mr Colomies. The project is expected to benefit aircraft manufacturers as it will allow for better and more in-depth flight tests, reducing the number needed while improving the information collected. But Mr Colomies said the innovations developed during the project will also be of interest to other industrial sectors beyond aeronautics, particularly the space, automotive and civil engineering sectors, where the testing of structures is an important part of new product development. EUREKA is a pan-European, intergovernmental initiative that has been supporting industrial, market-oriented research since 1985. The European Union is a member of EUREKA, along with 37 European countries.
Countries
France, Poland