Project description
Designing future-generation aircraft
The volume of passengers travelling by plane is constantly increasing. To address this phenomenon, the air travel sector needs to adopt sustainable technologies. The EU-funded RHEA project within the framework of the CS-Joint Undertaking, a public-private partnership set up to strengthen European aero-industry collaboration, global leadership and competitiveness, proposes to design future-generation aircraft with ultra-high aspect ratio wings. For this purpose, it will develop a methodology based on forward-looking technologies, physics-based multidisciplinary analysis and optimisation approaches. The project will also focus on selected technologies for the aero-structural design process of novel aircraft configurations. Eventually, RHEA will address short-, medium- and long-range missions and introduce a paradigm shift towards robust design methods.
Objective
The efficiency gains offered by ultra-high aspect ratio wings are key to increase the sustainability of air travel as the volume of passengers continues to grow. However, a fully viable and deployable solution has not yet been proposed due to technological, certification and operational limits, which are mainly due to complex aeroelastic behaviour and constraints from both manufacturing methods and airport infrastructure. This project is centred around the idea that future-generation aircraft with ultra-high-aspect-ratio wings is conceivable with forward-looking technologies and physics-based multidisciplinary analysis and optimization approaches. Critically, RHEA will introduce a paradigm shift towards robust design methods, inherently built with a quantitative management of uncertainties in both operating conditions as well as model predictive capabilities. The project will also introduce a number of carefully selected technologies into the aero-structural design process of novel aircraft configurations. Multidisciplinary designs optimization of representative aircraft will address short-range, medium range and long-range missions.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
38106 Braunschweig
Germany