Aerodynamic loads estimation at extremes of the flight envelope
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Objective
Field of Science
/engineering and technology/mechanical engineering/vehicle engineering/aerospace engineering/aircraft
Funding Scheme
CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research project
Coordinator
AIRBUS OPERATIONS SAS
Address
Route De Bayonne 316
31060 Toulouse
France
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
EU Contribution
€ 195 095,50
Administrative Contact
Thierry Picot (Mr.)
Participants (19)
AIRBUS OPERATIONS SL
Spain
EU Contribution
€ 48 548
AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH
Germany
EU Contribution
€ 247 448,50
ALENIA AERMACCHI SPA
Italy
EU Contribution
€ 127 625
AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE SA
Spain
EU Contribution
€ 150 300
CENTRE EUROPEEN DE RECHERCHE ET DE FORMATION AVANCEE EN CALCUL SCIENTIFIQUE
France
EU Contribution
€ 105 008
CENTRE INTERNACIONAL DE METODES NUMERICS EN ENGINYERIA
Spain
EU Contribution
€ 159 126
CENTRO ITALIANO RICERCHE AEROSPAZIALI SCPA
Italy
EU Contribution
€ 192 309
DASSAULT AVIATION
France
EU Contribution
€ 127 739
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUER LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EV
Germany
EU Contribution
€ 327 926
AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE GMBH
Germany
EU Contribution
€ 217 001
AIRBUS HELICOPTERS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH
Germany
EU Contribution
€ 96 856
TOTALFORSVARETS FORSKNINGSINSTITUT
Sweden
EU Contribution
€ 236 250
KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN
Sweden
EU Contribution
€ 185 600
STICHTING NATIONAAL LUCHT- EN RUIMTEVAARTLABORATORIUM
Netherlands
EU Contribution
€ 226 125
OFFICE NATIONAL D'ETUDES ET DE RECHERCHES AEROSPATIALES
France
EU Contribution
€ 251 295
Optimad engineering s.r.l.
Italy
EU Contribution
€ 110 100
PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES SPA
Italy
EU Contribution
€ 128 000
RUAG Schweiz AG
Switzerland
EU Contribution
€ 128 650
SAAB AKTIEBOLAG
Sweden
EU Contribution
€ 128 998
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Modelling plane stability in extreme flight conditions
Aircraft design relies heavily on mathematical modelling and simulation. These in turn rely on accurate system definition. The flight envelope consists of the range of combinations of flight parameters such as speed, altitude and angle of attack in which the aircraft remains aerodynamically stable. The EU-funded 'Aerodynamic loads estimation at extremes of the flight envelope' (ALEF) project extended current models to accurately describe behaviour at the boundaries of the flight envelope. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations of fluid-flow motion are important to the modelling of air flow. Using complex computational fluid dynamics (CFD)/RANS methods, ALEF partners were able to successfully simulate steady and unsteady conditions and aircraft behaviour under extreme conditions such as transonic speed, dive speed and high load scenarios requiring deployment of control surfaces. The latter control altitude, speed and angle when moved. In addition, by coupling advanced fluid flow models with structural models, the team made it possible to include static and aeroelastic effects. ALEF demonstrated the ability of unsteady CFD models to shift from linear to high-fidelity methods for enhanced accuracy in prediction of aeroelastic effects. A major contribution was made regarding surrogate models, also called response surface models. Scientists extended the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique to account for deployment of control surfaces and structural deformation. The resulting models were demonstrated to be a fast alternative to CFD. Researchers also highlighted the potential of another unsteady surrogate modelling tool, linear frequency domain solvers, to capture a dangerous flutter phenomenon sometimes seen with increasing air flow. Application to industrial test cases demonstrated the superiority of ALEF CFD and surrogate modelling methods compared to the current state of the art. Thus, ALEF made a significant contribution to aerodynamic modelling for aircraft design in the extreme conditions of the flight envelope. Better risk analysis and safer planes will be the likely outcomes together with an enhanced competitive edge for the European aerospace industry.
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Discover other articles in the same domain of application
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Periodic Report Summary - ALEF (Aerodynamic loads estimation at extremes of the flight envelope)
ALEF allowed extending the application range of high-fidelity RANS methods to the borders of the flight envelope including the deployment of control surfaces. The work performed provided a better picture of the capabilities and the limitations of RANS. Furthermore, thanks to the development of advanced fluid / structure coupled simulation procedures we no longer have to neglect static or aeroelastic effects. A wide range of high-fidelity simulation aspects have been addressed i.e. advanced meshing approaches (mesh deformation, Chimera meshing, ...) turbulence modelling, transition prediction methods.
In particular for unsteady aerodynamic loads, ALEF work has demonstrated the ability of unsteady CFD to shift from linear methods towards high-fidelity methods and to improve the prediction quality in aeroelastic analyses. Efforts were focused one tackling challenges for improving accuracy versus the standard practice. The research carried allowed to increase the overall confidence of methods by verification and validation thanks to test cases covering the flight envelope (including parts of the borders). Furthermore, several gust methods have been applied to complex aircraft configurations.
Further ALEF research focussed on the evaluation, enhancement and application guidelines of surrogate modelling (both for steady & unsteady purposes). In a first step, it resulted in the classification of present surrogate models and identification of potential fields of application for aero data production purposes. The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition technique was of particular interest and has been successfully applied in several fields by several partners. Research activities were carried out to enhance the technique in order to be able to account for deployed control surfaces or structural deformations. POD surrogate models proved to be a viable and fast alternative to CFD. Specific application guidelines and recommendations for further enhancement of POD techniques have been defined.
With regard to unsteady surrogate modelling a major technical achievement was the illustration of the potential of Linear Frequency Domain solvers to conduct fast flutter analysis thanks to significant time reduction versus unsteady time accurate simulations.
At the very end of the project, significant efforts were made to demonstrate the most promising steady, unsteady CFD developments and work on surrogate modelling through applications on industrially relevant and complex test cases. The methods and processes investigated in the ALEF project proved to be better than those available at the start of the project. The ability to use them in an industrial context was shown, which contributes to an improvement of the current state-of-the-art industrial aerodynamic data process. Last but not least the research conducted in ALEF clearly allowed a transfer of knowledge and methodologies from the project into industrial application.
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Deliverables
Deliverables not available
Publications
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
Project information
ALEF
Grant agreement ID: 211785
Status
Closed project
-
Start date
1 May 2009
-
End date
30 April 2012
Funded under:
FP7-TRANSPORT
-
Overall budget:
€ 5 523 439,20
-
EU contribution
€ 3 390 000
