Annual Report 2011 - Summary
Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft (SFWA)
Introduction
Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft Integrated Technology Demonstrator (SFWA-ITD) is based on the
generic work break down structure along the three major work packages WP1 “Smart Wing
Technology”, WP 2 “New Configuration” and WP 3 “Flight Demonstration”.
The planning of all work packages is aligned to the technical objectives of SFWA – the smart
laminar wing - and the integration of innovative engines through the technology roadmaps of the
SFWA Technology Streams. The full work breakdown structure is shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1 Structure of SFWA-ITD
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Technology Streams and Aircraft Concepts
SFWA defined nine Technology Streams with the objective to reach for each of them a
Technology Readiness Level of TRL 6, in some cases TRL 5 within the life time of Clean Sky:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Natural Laminar Flow Smart Wing (NLF SW)
Hybrid Laminar Flow Smart Wing (HLF SW)
(Innovative Control Surfaces (ICS) – dormant in 2011)
Fluidic Control Surfaces (FCS)
Load Control Functions and Architectures (LCFA)
Buffet Control (BC)
CROR engine integration (CROR-EI)
Integration of Innovative Turbofan Engines to Bizjets (IITE)
Advanced Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI)
Furthermore, the preparation of the two major demonstrators is coming more and more into focus:
 The laminar wing high speed demonstrator, named “BLADE” (Breakthrough Laminar
Aircraft Demonstrator in Europe, Fig. 2)
 The CROR demo engine FTB (Counter Rotating Open Rotor demonstrator engine flying
test bed, Figure 3 shows a CROR engine simulator in a wind tunnel test in order to test a
new blade design)
Figure 2 BLADE demonstrator for laminar flow tests (test a/c: heavily modified A340)
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Figure 3 CROR testing
Another key element of the technical management in SFWA is provided by the “SFWA-ITD
Aircraft Concepts”.They define the aircraft environments which is required by the different
technology streams in order to develop, to mature, and to evaluate the respective technologies.
The setup and choice of these concepts assure that the SFWA-ITD covers all the various
technologies as required by different types of aircraft. SFWA aircraft concepts represent flight
demonstrators but also paper studies, which enable to mature technologies to a high TRL through
putting them into a “virtual” overall aircraft environment.
The concepts are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
High Speed Demonstrator Passive (HSDP)
Low Speed Demonstrator (LSD)
Short Range Aircraft Concept (SRA)
Low Sweep Bizjet Concept (LSBJ)
High Speed Demonstrator Active (HSDA)
Long Range Aircraft Concept (LRA)
High Sweep Bizjet Concept (HSBJ)
CROR Engine Demo FTB
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Achievements
Laminar Wing/High Speed Demonstrator
The aerodynamic definition of the laminar wing design was completed. Several specific design
items and technical details have been checked in order to ensure a flight worthy layout of the wing.
Two structural laminar wing concepts have been frozen and passed the preliminary design review
to be designed, and then manufactured to be tested on the Airbus A340 test aircraft.
Major structural parts of the laminar wing feature ground demonstrators entered the phase of
detailed design, some already being in the early phase of manufacturing
The final shape of the laminar “smart” wing aero-shape, to define the manufacturing criteria for
surface quality with respect to roughness, waviness, steps and gaps and a large number of critical
details, was designed and developed. The related data has been transferred to the design of the
smart wing flight tests articles for the Airbus A340 test bed. In alignment with the requirements
and limitations to modify the datum test aircraft, all supplementary parts were predesigned and the
“Preliminary Design Review” has been passed in April 2011. In the second half of 2011, the
detailed design for many components like the principle laminar wing flight test articles, the
aerodynamic fairing, wing diffusion zone, and the wing tip device progressed mostly as planned,
part of the design work was completed including the camera pod installation.
CROR /Demo FlyingTest Bed
The feasibility phase for the CROR-engine integration and CROR demo-FTB including numerical
simulation, and subscale ground testing, has progressed. The “pusher” configuration has been
confirmed as target configuration for the demonstrator engine test in flight.
A comprehensive study investigated the potential benefits, configurations and related issues for
integrating a CROR propulsion system into a future large short and medium transport aircraft. The
objective was to find the best combination to manage external and internal noise and vibration
levels as well as certification criteria.
Major progress has been made in the blade design with respect to the robustness against impacts of
debris: principle concepts of shielding for critical parts of the structure and systems are being
developed and will be tested in 2012. Tools to adequately calculate the complex flow pattern are
being under development. A major set of scaled test engines and test rigs have been designed and
prepared for testing to exploit the aerodynamic performance, handling quality and noise in major
wind tunnel test campaigns in 2011, 2012 and beyond. Based on numerical and preliminary test
results, most large scale tests will be conducted with three different competing blade designs (two
from engine manufacturers, one from Airbus), to identify the best solution for full scale tests and
flight tests later on.
The Snecma designed CROR ground demo engine from the Clean Sky SAGE ITD will be
converted for the flight test in SFWA first, in order to be flight tested on the Airbus A340-600
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flying test bed within the Clean Sky period, followed by provisioning of the Rolls-Royce designed
engine from the SAGE-ITD. It will follow as soon as possible after the end of Clean Sky.
Low speed demonstrator/Business jet
Design activities for a new low sweep and high sweep business-jet design did progress well, the
principle design for an innovative engine noise shielding tail for a low sweep business jet is
frozen. The launch of activities towards a large scale innovative rear end structural demonstrator
and related wind tunnel tests are scheduled for 2012, preparatory work is on-going.
In the area of low speed wing technologies the technology plan have been reviewed, which
returned attention to a smart flap ground demonstrator with preference to be done on a full scale
Dassault Falcon F7X –wing type rig. Active load control high lift technologies are pursued in
ground tests, a major test have been conducted in November 2011 in the DNW-NWB. The
development of innovative loads control functions for future wings led to another new focus
towards a potential “low speed vibration control” application, which is considered to be proposed
for a dedicated flight test.
Contribution to Clean Sky Technology Evaluator
Aircraft reference models for business-jets, small and medium range and long range transport
aircraft have been prepared for the CleanSky Technology Evaluator to contribute to the first
“CleanSky Technology Assessment”. Parts of these were delivered at the end of 2011; aircraft
models with fully implemented CROR engines and a laminar wing will follow in 2012.
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