Trends and Drivers in Aerospace
Dr. Shreekant Agrawal
ASEI 30th Annual Convention
Dearborn, Michigan
September 19, 2015
Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Trends and Drivers
• Lighter, more fuel-efficient
• More stringent certification levels for noise and emissions
• Cost pressure
• Unmanned air vehicles
• Increasing system software
• Vehicle-to-vehicle communication
• Data handling
• Greening
• Safety, reliability, and security
• Increasing competition
• Co-opetition
• Aerospace engineering education
Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
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UAV Articles from Popular Science
• FAA Warns Of Increased Drone Sightings
• Google Is Testing Drones Under NASA's Supervision
• Weed Delivery Service Will Fly Drugs To Customers Via
Drone
• Police In Georgia May Be Getting Flying Saucer Drones To
Hunt Criminals
• Military Drone Looks For Missing School Teacher
• Researchers Successfully Transport Blood By Drone
• Watch A Drone Gently Deliver A Package
• Uber Delivers Ice Cream By Drone In Shenzhen
• Switzerland Has Started Testing Mail Delivery Drones
• NASA Is Testing A Drone For Mars
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
System Software
• Software writer must know every aspect of the hardware
• Software must be bug-free
• Increased communication with ground controls
• For UAV, software does what a pilot does for MAV
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication
• Each vehicle must know the exact coordinates of other
vehicles to avoid collision (sense and avoid)
• Swarming drones for surveillance, targeting, and dropping
payloads
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Data Handling
• Sifting a vast amount of data to make it useful
• Integrating the vast amount of data from each vehicle with
that from other vehicles
• Streamlining and delivering to allow for effective decisionmaking
• US DOD initiative of “big data” handling
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Greening
• Volatility in oil prices
• Greater fuel efficiency
• Alternative fuel options
• Reducing carbon emissions (CO2, NO, NO2)
– Fuel consumed by the U.S. commercial air carriers and the military
releases more than 250 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the
atmosphere each year
• Reducing noise
• NASA ERA, FAA CLEEN, DOD ADVENT / HEETE, etc.,
programs to reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions, and noise
• NASA ERA – simultaneous reduction of noise, emission,
and fuel burn as the focus
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Aerospace Engineering Education
• Growing interest in aerospace among students
• Third-most popular field for engineering students
• 38,000 new aerospace engineering jobs in 2014; 4,000 jobs
filled by students
• A large percentage in programming
• Aerospace education expanded from hardware-based
science, engineering, and technology to systems and
systems of systems-based engineering
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Technologies
• Composite for light-weight and stronger materials
• Improved methods for aerodynamic drag reduction
• Noise, SFC, and emission reduction technologies
• Highly-integrated propulsion/airframe concepts
• Air Transportation System
• Nanotechnology
• 3-D printing or additive manufacturing
• Survivability
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Composite Materials
• Composite = combine the properties of one set of materials
with those of another
• High-strength fibers + Durable epoxy resins = Durable
structural material
• Lightweight alternative to heavy metals
• Composites have high specific stiffness and low density
• Multi-functional composites = bear load but also carry out
other functions (e.g., resistance to lightning protection,
various types of sensors, camera, etc.)
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Air Transportation System
• Enable aircraft to move more efficiently through the national
airspace system
• Satellite-based navigation, surveillance, and networking
• Wake vortex alleviation technologies to permit closer spacings
• Collaboration between industries and government agencies
• NextGen – Air traffic control system transformation
– Maintain/improve safety while increasing its capacity and reducing delays
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Noise Reduction
• Contain objectionable noise within airport boundaries
• Airframe noise
– Shaping
– Material
• Innovative shielding of engine noise from the airframe
• New flight procedures such as optimized profile descents
– Continuous descending approaches, without leveling off periodically
– Steeper glide path angles
• Shaping for low-boom for supersonic flights over land
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
Fuel Burn Reduction
• Minimize aircraft operating costs and environmental impact
• Goal: reduce fuel burn by at least 50% in 2025 relative to 1998
• Combination of airframe, engine, and integrated vehicle
efficiency improvements
– Highly integrated airframe configurations
– Advanced composite structures
– Aerodynamic drag reduction technologies; flow control concepts
– Alternative engine cycles
– Alternative fuels
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15
What Can We Expect in Future?
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Approved for public release; NG15-1793, 9/2/15