Periodic Reporting for period 4 - SEaSiDE (SEaSiDE (Smart Electro-expulsive System for SAT Aircrafts De-Icing))
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-07-01 do 2022-03-31
Aviation has become an indispensable part of European transportation system, however, the system as it exists today is reaching full capacity and beginning to limit mobility. In addition, there is a demand for more people and goods to travel faster and farther, with fewer delays” as defined by the H2050 target to complete door-to-door journey within 4 hours for 90% of travellers. One solution to increasing mobility in European transportation system is to exploit the existing small community airports across Europe and to improve safety, comfort and operability (especially in all-weather operation - Icing) of the small aircraft community aircrafts. Expand as much as possible the safe operation in all weather conditions, especially in icing conditions, of the small aircraft is a key point. Thus, an efficient and reliable aircraft de-icing system is mandatory to reach this goal. Current de-icing systems are of different types (electrical, pneumatic, hot bleed air from engines) but all are characterized by a high equivalent power required at level on engines: the aircraft De-Icing System is one of the most power demanding onboard systems. For this reason, small aircrafts are sometimes limited in icing operation. This is much actual if we consider that small aircrafts (SAT) are characterized by a limited space availability for system installations, forcing the design solutions in the employment of expansive technologies to minimize the volume of the equipment. This consideration, in combination with the low numbers characterizing the general aviation market, implies the difficulties for the SAT OEMs to find the systems supply chain ready to afford the a/c requirements at a relative low cost (there is a sort of market failure). SEASIDE Project aims at solving the above issues by developing an innovative compact and low cost “Hybrid Electro-Expulsive De-Icing System” for the Piaggio P180 aircraft complying with CS23 Appendix C. Objective of SEASIDE project is to analyse, design, develop, test in an Ice Wind Tunnel Test (IWT) and deliver to the Topic Manager a prototype of Hybrid (thermal and electro-expulsive) De-Icing system. In addition, an objective of SEASIDE Project is to revitalize the European System Supply Chain dedicated to Ice protection System for SAT community by creating suitable low power ice protection system technology at a relative low cost. SEASIDE Partners achieved the project targets designing, manufacturing and testing in the IWT a complete wing model of 2.3m span having the hybrid Ice Protection System installed in. The test was positively conducted simulating 7 different demanding flight ice conditions: the designed hybrid system was able to clean up the leading edge surface in all the tested conditions, requiring less power than the project target of 0.6W per meter of wing span. SEASIDE also performed an assessment of the effort necessary to qualify and certify, according to the CS23 Appendix C regulation, the tested solution. As conclusion, Seaside demonstrated that an affordable hybrid de-icing system combining a small thermal strip with electro-expulsive actuators, controlled by simple electronics, employing European suppliers only can be employed as de-icing system for SAT category.
The project started with an intensive exchange with the Topic Manager in order to gather all the necessary requirements for the projects in terms of performance, safety, mechanical and electrical interfaces. As soon as requirements for the systems had been finalized with the Topic Manager and a Requirements document had been issued the activities continued with a preliminary icing impingement analysis on the wing section geometry provided by the Topic Manager, this activity has been performed by Protom. In parallel GKN (the initial partner of the Project) did some preliminary testing activity on some material samples in order to understand the the best compromise of overlapping of the zones between a full electro-expulsive system and a full electrical system. Protom then worked toghter with Villinger (the Partner that repalced GKN into the project) to arrange the concept of the Hybrid Electro-Expulisve and Electrical system and to finalize the architecture of the system. Preliminary design and preliminary experimental test activities have been performed during the previous reporting periods. In this period the partners completed the detailed design, succesfully accomplishing the Critical Design Review and started the preliminary manufactuing activities for of the final project demonstrator.
With the ambition of researching, developing and demonstrating a suitable hybrid Ice Protection System to be used as reference for all small aircraft community SEASIDE project, the expected impacts are:
• To employ this system for the de-icing of the wing leading edge of a SAT class of A/C because of the positive results obtained in the Ice Wind Tunnel testing of the system in real and sever ice environmental conditions. The Seaside system required a continuous electrical power demand per meter wing span of 0.5kW less than the 0.6kW per meter defined as project target
• An Improvement in small aircraft operability in icing conditions, thus contributing to the European objective of including the SAT category in the integrated transport system by operating on commercial scheduled or non-scheduled flights within Europe. This contributes to H2050 flight path objectives of providing an accessible and affordable high-speed mode of transport on European interregional network connection with low-intensity traffic and of providing a means of transport to complete door-to-door journey within 4 hours for 90% of travellers
• An important impact on the revitalization of the European supply chain dedicated to SAT community because the results gathered with the IWT test, demonstrating the de-icing performance of the technology developed under SEASIDE project, is an invite to the European companies to invest on the manufacturing and qualification of these type of components.
Thermal anti–icing systems (to de-ice wing leading edges & propeller leading edges & engine air intakes) are also used on many general aviation aircraft, but, similar to hot air pneumatic solutions, these kind of systems require high levels of electrical power to protect aircraft surfaces from ice.Gycol based fluid (usually used to protect wing surfaces & propeller leading edges) are used as well on some small aircraft. All these systems are highly complicated and need a lot of maintenance.
SEASIDE project aims at researching, developing and testing a suitable hybrid thermal-expulsive technology,which is reliable and low cost, suitable for small aircraft community in order to overcome the drawbacks of all the above described systems.
SEASIDE ambition is to provide European small aircraft community with a low power and low cost hybrid thermal-expulsive technology allowing small aircraft to cope with “all weather operation” and more specific Icing condition in a safe way.
• To employ this system for the de-icing of the wing leading edge of a SAT class of A/C because of the positive results obtained in the Ice Wind Tunnel testing of the system in real and sever ice environmental conditions. The Seaside system required a continuous electrical power demand per meter wing span of 0.5kW less than the 0.6kW per meter defined as project target
• An Improvement in small aircraft operability in icing conditions, thus contributing to the European objective of including the SAT category in the integrated transport system by operating on commercial scheduled or non-scheduled flights within Europe. This contributes to H2050 flight path objectives of providing an accessible and affordable high-speed mode of transport on European interregional network connection with low-intensity traffic and of providing a means of transport to complete door-to-door journey within 4 hours for 90% of travellers
• An important impact on the revitalization of the European supply chain dedicated to SAT community because the results gathered with the IWT test, demonstrating the de-icing performance of the technology developed under SEASIDE project, is an invite to the European companies to invest on the manufacturing and qualification of these type of components.
Thermal anti–icing systems (to de-ice wing leading edges & propeller leading edges & engine air intakes) are also used on many general aviation aircraft, but, similar to hot air pneumatic solutions, these kind of systems require high levels of electrical power to protect aircraft surfaces from ice.Gycol based fluid (usually used to protect wing surfaces & propeller leading edges) are used as well on some small aircraft. All these systems are highly complicated and need a lot of maintenance.
SEASIDE project aims at researching, developing and testing a suitable hybrid thermal-expulsive technology,which is reliable and low cost, suitable for small aircraft community in order to overcome the drawbacks of all the above described systems.
SEASIDE ambition is to provide European small aircraft community with a low power and low cost hybrid thermal-expulsive technology allowing small aircraft to cope with “all weather operation” and more specific Icing condition in a safe way.