Sonaca (Belgium)

The High Lift devices development for small aircrafts has started in a first Clean Sky 2 research phase by selecting several innovative high-lift devices for two different types of SAT aircraft architectures. At the end of the optimization of the aerodynamic and integration design, the different high-lift devices will be classified based upon the benefits of the high lift architectures, and the most suitable design will be selected. From this input, the current proposal will perform Wind Tunnel validation testing of a selected SAT Aircraft High Lift devices System. This validation objective includes the construction of an instrumented model with a segment of wing box including the leading/trailing edge high lift devices, and their aerodynamic characterization by performing tests in a large wind tunnel. An experimental assessment will provide a comparison of the performance and recommendations on the tested High Lift solutions. The research will implement a specific wind tunnel model, designed and manufactured to provide variable positions of flap with respect to the main wing body. Different angles of attack will be tested. Manufactured with the required aerodynamic quality, the model will be installed in the large VKI subsonic wind tunnel and tested at the required Reynolds number. A concept of flap separation control jet blowing system installed at the main wing box trailing edge will also be tested. The tests will be performed with the support specifically designed and manufactured high lift devices models positioning brackets, existing turn table and load balance equipment, and specific interface plates and side walls. Wind tunnel measurements (pressure, force) will be implemented and these measurements will be complemented with PIV measurements for flow field visualization and detailed flow characterization (mean and unsteady behavior). Finally, the performance of the leading & trailing edge high lift solution will be analyzed.

Today, most aircraft still use Halon-based fire suppression systems for cargo compartment inertisation following a fire event. Halon 1301 is a very effective fire extinguishing agent. However, it is also a harmful substance with high ozone depletion potential. The use of halon for critical applications including aviation is being phased out, and will be completely banned by 2040 as set out in the Montreal Protocol. There is a need for innovative, lightweight and more environmentally-friendly fire suppression solutions for the aerospace sector. O2FREE proposes the development of an innovative and lightweight solution for fire suppression based on primary Al-air battery technology. Metal-air batteries consume oxygen during discharge and thus have the capability to suppress fires in closed compartments such as aircraft cargo bays by reducing oxygen concentration. O2FREE will demonstrate the feasibility of such technology. Battery gravimetric power capacity is considered the critical factor for reaching high oxygen absorption capability. O2FREE proposes the development of Al alloys (anode) and nanofibers with optimum porosity (cathode) to enhance Al-air cell power capability. Moreover, 1S12P module configuration will be developed to maximize power output of the battery module and thereby oxygen absorption rate per kg of battery. Battery prototypes containing single battery modules will be developed for testing and validation. Modules will be placed in aluminium casings designed for protection and to allow air to reach cells, meeting the standards of aeronautics sector including RTCA DO160 Rev G. O2FREE will demonstrate the feasibility of Al-air technology as a fire suppression solution for aeronautics; delivering a lightweight, safe and reliable technology free of critical raw materials. Results will directly contribute to EU competitiveness in aircraft systems and technologies.

Thanks to the confidence gained in the numerical simulation methods through correlation with a wide range of tests, nonlinear “realistic simulations” are taking more and more place in the design and sizing of aeronautical components during development and Certification phases. Airworthiness Authorities agree more and more to use the “virtual testing” or “realistic simulations” as means of compliance for all the items for which an acceptable level of validation of methodologies has been demonstrated. The main objective of the TIOC-Wing project is the development and the validation of criteria and a virtual testing methodology that will allow to predict the resistance of a representative stiffened composite wing panel subjected to the impact of tyre debris and the residual strength capability of the damaged structure. This will be reached by means of a test program focused on tyre debris impact events on composite aircraft structures and using the acquired experimental data to develop and validate numerical computational tools. The Consortium of TIOC-Wing project joins expertise in composite material knowledge, testing and manufacturing, in tyre tread impact testing and numerical simulations from 3 partners: SONACA, DGA-TA and CENAERO coming from Aeronautical Industry, referenced Test Laboratory in foreign objects impact capabilities and Research and Technology Center in advanced numerical simulations. TIOC-Wing will give the opportunity for the partners of the Consortium to enhance the level of expertise in the field of foreign objects impact aircraft vulnerability. For the industrial partners, the anticipation of such particular risks in the early stage of the development of an aircraft will reduce inherent costs due to possible modifications in a more advanced phase of the program, needed to satisfy the Certification requirements. This also enables to increase the competitiveness through innovation by integration of advanced computational tools in the sizing loop. Decrease of development tests will have as consequence the decrease of non recurrent costs. Finally, during future development of the next generation of aircraft thanks to less conservative approaches, TIOC-Wing offers the means for possible optimization of design concepts and weight savings strategies with reducing the CO2 emissions.

PSIDESC (Predictive Simulation of Defects in Structural Composites) will aim at bringing new methodologies and deployable toolkits for robust design of composite parts and structures with respect to tolerances and defects that are related to the manufacturing process. The objective is to push acceptable means of compliance based on simulation capable of predicting the range of response that a part may have under uncertainty. Predictive virtual testing including factors of variability coming from the manufacturing phase will: - reduce the scrapping of parts (through virtual assessment); - reduce the need for full inspection of parts; - enhance design and enable further weight savings with a better understanding of effect of variability on the behavior and defect tolerance of different areas of a part.