The work performed within the Project and the main results achieved up to this reporting period, with reference to the established objectives can be summarized as follows:
1) Conceptual design of different supersonic aircraft is performed and a first set of reference vehicles configurations, ranging from Mach 1.5 to Mach 5 has been identified. Exploitation of sustainable fuels such as bio-fuels and liquid hydrogen has been taken into account and comparisons with potential subsonic competitors have been performed in terms of main key performance and environmental indicators;
2) Analytical estimations, coupled with high-fidelity simulations and test campaigns, are at basis of an integrated multi-fidelity approach. Tests have been performed in the following domains: small scale flight experiments to measure sonic boom (Mach 5), combustion and emissions tests (LH2, ramjet conditions) jet noise (Mach 2 conditions). Impact of supersonic aviation has also been studied in terms of global climate impact.
3) A comprehensive analysis of environmental regulations and standards for supersonic aircraft, both existing and under development, has been done, identifying where an evolution of rulemaking process is needed, including adaptation of subsonic standards to the supersonic regime. MORE&LESS aircraft performance data have been used to describe reference flight profiles of supersonic aircraft, allowing to develop recommendations for adaptation of the CO2-metric value formulation (in close collaboration with EASA) and noise standards to supersonic aircraft, with synergies with the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO);
4) Enhancements on the understanding of the phenomena associated to sonic boom, jet noise, pollutant emissions from new fuels combustion as well as related environmental impact have been achieved and the work is in progress to complete relevant analyses in the different scientific fields. Improvements to the modelling accuracy within aerodynamics and propulsion systems analyses, as well as a wider comprehension of atmosphere mechanisms have been achieved. Examples include, but are not limited to, the development of new models for the evaluation of kinetic mechanisms able to describe combustion of new fuels (including liquid hydrogen and biofuels), as well as algorithms for the sensitivity analysis of ozone response to supersonic emissions of several chemical species at different altitudes.
5) Initial comparison of EU and US rulemaking processes and contents was performed in the field of supersonic aviation. The involvement of international partners coming both from the European and American contexts allowed for a fruitful cooperation and discussions with reference to key environmental and societal aspects of supersonic aviation, with promising outcomes envisaged for the end of the Project;
6) Dissemination actions, including summer schools, new doctoral courses, the MORE&LESS Academy, dedicated sessions to main technical conferences and relevant open access publications
7) Communication actions, including the development and periodic update of Project profiles on social networks and creation of videos of storytelling for our project.
