Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NITROS (Network for Innovative Training on ROtorcraft Safety)
Berichtszeitraum: 2018-11-01 bis 2021-04-30
The goal of NITROS is to train a new generation of aerospace engineers capable of developing innovative approaches in a unique cross-disciplinary research and training program encompassing Control Engineering, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Modelling and Simulation, Structural Dynamics and Human perception cognition and action. NITROS objectives include:
1) Develop a detailed framework for rotorcraft modelling integrating rigid-body and aeroservoelastic modelling features capable of dealing with structural or propulsion/mechanical system failures in rotorcraft.
2) Understand how humans can safely and efficiently be interfaced with rotorcraft technology.
3) Enhance the understanding of the complex aerodynamic environment in which the rotorcraft are working, often in hostile conditions of wake encounter threats, interactions with obstacles, icing and brownout.
NITROS is expected to inject a fresh new safety-centred approach in the rotorcraft engineering community, aligned with the European Union endeavour to reduce the rate of aviation accidents. All these goals can be reached by exposing the young researches to a dynamic network composed by some of the most renewed European engineering schools and research centres working in the rotorcraft field along with industrial partners including manufacturers, operators and certification entities.
The first year of activity was mainly devoted to overcome administrative issues and to recruitment. In the following year, however, the action actually started to give its contribution to increase the safety awareness in the rotorcraft design community.
NITROS contributed to the creation of a new standard for rotorcraft operation to improve safety of flight like the EHOPS standard, interacting with major rotorcraft producers. Active participation to major rotorcraft events such as ERF and AHS Annual Forum enhanced NITROS impact and interaction with the rotorcraft community as a whole.
NITROS contributed to rise the interest of the scientific community of aerospace engineers for safety of rotorcraft. Since the start of NITROS it has been introduced the Safety session at ERF that is attracting more and more contributions, raising the interest for the subject and the approach followed by NITROS.