Competitiveness and digital transformation in aviation – advancing further capabilities, digital approach to design

Project results should focus on innovative hybrid numerical/experimental procedures, tools and methodologies that will advance further the industrial aircraft design capabilities. Project results are expected to contribute to at least one of the following expected outcomes:

• Multi-disciplinary and multi-fidelity design and optimisation integrated tools for industrial environment.
• New advancements in aerodynamics and aeroacoustics (with emphasis on interference), including data-driven (Artificial Intelligence – Machine Learning, Hybrid modelling) high-performance computing and advanced validation-verification procedures.
• Advance further design for manufacturing optimisations, including additive manufacturing, circularity and sustainability aspects.
• Methodologies for simulation, testing and further certification of urban air-mobility safety critical applications, considering for example, virtual or extended reality technologies.

The proposal is expected to develop further advanced computational/experimental procedures/methodologies and industrial aircraft design capabilities that have potential to contribute to the digital transformation of the European aircraft supply chain.

Aircraft development requires testing for airframe, dynamic systems, materials performance, new manufacturing techniques, propulsion, cabin and system and their sub-components in order to ensure their performance but also the highest level of safety. As a result, the proposal is also expected to develop methodologies and approaches dedicated to the use of combined experimental testing with numerical simulation in order to enhance the testing results and their integration - and therefore accelerate the development cycle.

Regarding the expected outcome on urban air-mobility safety critical and hazardous missions, the scope is expanded to mission specific testing of the whole aerial vehicle after system integration.

The proposal should seek to exploit synergies with Clean Aviation (and big demonstrations in the second phase of the partnership) such as ground vibration testing, flutter mitigation, design of Ultra performant aircraft, advanced dynamic systems, hydrogen systems testing, thermal management, flight testing and long-term hydrogen exposed materials behaviour testing. The retained proposals, should, during the implementation phase, regularly exchange information with the Technical Committee of the Clean Aviation partnership (in-line with article 65 of the COM(2021) 87).

All developed hybrid numerical/experimental procedures and methodologies should be benchmarked (e.g. drag prediction, solver convergence, grid optimisation) for challenging industrial cases. Proposals that include virtual certification are encouraged to invite the participation of EASA.

To topic addresses primarily to RTOs/Academia/SMEs with guidance and support from aircraft high-tier suppliers and integrators.

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 2-4 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.