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(LTO) noiSe and EmissioNs of supErsoniC Aircraft

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SENECA ((LTO) noiSe and EmissioNs of supErsoniC Aircraft)

Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-07-01 do 2023-12-31

In SENECA, eleven academic and industrial aerospace entities from all over Europe have teamed up to address the challenges raised in the call LC-MG-1-15-2020 titled “Towards global environmental regulation of supersonic aviation”. The focus of the consortium lies on the new generation of supersonic aircraft due to enter into service in the near future. However, it is assumed that the next generation of supersonic aircraft will not be permitted to fly over land at supersonic speeds, i.e. will not have completely solved the problem of the supersonic boom. Therefore, the project will only consider supersonic flight over water and subsonic flight over land. As a consequence, SENECA will mainly focus on noise and emissions in the vicinity of airports and the global climate impact of supersonic aircraft. The project’s goal is to develop a deep understanding and detailed modelling of emissions, LTO noise, and the global environmental impact of supersonic aircraft. Using the knowledge gained, the development of technologies beyond the current state of the art to further reduce the environmental impact of supersonic aviation will be made possible. SENECA will enter its project results into the ICAO level discussions in order to scientifically accompany and strengthen the European perspective on the necessary regulations for novel supersonic aircraft. Key milestones of the project dissemination and exploitation plan are aligned with the CAEP work program and agenda and the entire project plan is designed to work towards these milestones.
The four-year project SENECA started in January 2021. The first 18 months of the project were primarily dedicated to the specifications and design of four different civil supersonic business jets and airliners and the respective engines for different cruise Mach numbers. During the second 18-month period, aircraft systems were optimised and advanced take-off trajectories including variable noise reduction systems were assessed for LTO noise.

In WP2 “Specification of Platforms” the geometry of two business jets cruising at Mach 1.4 and 1.6 and the geometry of two different airliners cruising at Mach 1.8 and 2.2 respectively were designed and their aerodynamic characteristics determined. The mission profiles were iteratively altered to achieve a perfect match with the engines designed in WP3. Advanced take-off trajectories with variations in e.g. take-off speed, delayed rotation, Programmed Lapse Rate were generated and transferred to WP5 for noise evaluation

In WP3, the final engine designs were developed in consultation with WP2. The main challenges were the continuous thermal load due to the high thrust required in supersonic flight and the LTO noise restrictions. Special attention was paid to the perfect match between engine performance and mission profiles, especially in the transonic regimes and supersonic cruise.

In WP4 "Emissions and Environmental Impact", the expected routes and number of flights of a hypothetical civil supersonic fleet were defined in collaboration with EUROCONTROL. Based on the engine data from WP3, emission indices were calculated and mapped to the planned routes, which will allow a prediction of the global climate impact of a supersonic fleet. A first numerical sensitivity study was carried out to investigate the impact of supersonic aircraft emissions (NOx and H2O) on the atmosphere and climate as a function of altitude and the geographical distribution of routes.

In order to improve the reliability of noise emission predictions, a comprehensive benchmark study on empirical jet noise prediction was carried out as part of Work Package 5 "LTO Noise". A small scale jet noise test was also conducted. These measurements will complement the benchmark test cases by considering additional geometric variations such as the number of mixer lobes. Together with WP2, the advanced take-off trajectories were developed and first noise assessments for the four aircraft were performed.

Within the scope pf WP6 "Dissemination / Exploitation", the Advisory Board attends each bi-annual meeting of the consortium. In addition, presentations have been made at the ICAO CAEP 13 cycle WG1 and WG3 meetings to ensure that the work undertaken is in line with the ICAO CAEP work programme and the needs of the CAAs and is up to date with the latest developments. Together with the MORE&LESS project, a workshop is planned for the ICAS2024 conference.
Over the next 12 months, the final assessment of the four supersonic aircraft systems in terms of their emissions, take-off and landing noise and climate impact will be carried out. The published assessment will take into account noise reduction technologies such as PLR, and will also provide insight into some important trade-offs, such as emissions and fuel burn versus take-off and landing noise, and emissions and noise versus key design parameters of a supersonic aircraft. To ensure that the data is both comprehensive and reliable, the analyses will be carried out using robust simulation models of varying fidelity. These will be developed and improved by the industrial, academic and research partners in the consortium as part of SENECA.

SENECA is a step toward reinforcing Europe as a key player in the development of ICAO noise and emission standards and strengthening the European aviation industry in the field of sustainable civil supersonic aircraft. This will be achieved by contributions to future regulations for supersonic aircraft with project results delivered in stages along the CAEP 13 regulation setting requirements. The work in SENECA will likely be of significance to a wide range of potential users through exploitation of both knowledge generated and tools developed throughout the project, thereby increasing the competitiveness of both EU members and associated countries in this field. Overall, SENECA will contribute to maintain world-class knowledge and skills in the field of sustainable civil supersonic aviation in Europe. Noise reduction technologies as well as emissions trade-offs, which are investigated in the frame of SENECA, will not be limited to supersonic aircraft applications. In fact, as landing and take-off will be subsonic, many of the technologies developed in SENECA can be transferred to other aerospace segments and may provide disruptive innovation in civil aviation.
Supersonic business jet assesed for noise and climate impact in SENECA
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