Title: ULTra hIgh efficient wing and MoveAbles for nexT gEneration aircraft

Leader: Airbus Deutschland GmbH, Partners: DLR e.V., ETW GmbH, Liebherr, TUB, TUHH

In the context of increasing requirements for the environmental performance of air transport, and against the background of forecast increases in the cost of kerosene, SAF or hydrogen fuel, the competitiveness of the European aeronautics industry will depend crucially on having developed and deployed technologies for a future 'ultra green' transport aircraft with a minimum net balance of pollutant emissions (production, operation and recycling) and minimum acoustic emissions. In addition to improvements in specific fuel consumption, the key technologies are a reduction in structural weight and minimisation of drag.

Laminar flow technology is essential to significantly reduce drag compared to previous designs. Efficient load reduction measures are also essential from a flight physics point of view, as they contribute to a significant reduction in structural weight. Considerable progress has been made in both technologies in recent years. However, their benefits have never been pursued in a consistent and integrated manner to achieve an "ultra-green" configuration.

The aim of the ULTIMATE project is to further develop the innovative control surface systems required for laminar flow technology and the development of high aspect ratio aerofoils. The design process addressed by the project is highly multidisciplinary and holistic. Wind tunnel measurements and high quality numerical results will be used to validate these approaches. The subsequent analyses can be used for a final assessment of the aircraft, taking into account industrial aspects.

ETW's contribution to the ULTIMATE project will initially consist of two performance tests on half models with innovative wing configurations. These are a backward swept wing (BSW) and a forward swept wing (FSW). The measured data will be used to validate numerical simulations. In addition, DLR's pitch oscillator developed with German funding ("KoPa33 ECOWING") will be put into operation in the ETW. Subsequently, dynamic tests will be performed with both the FSW and the BSW, varying the amplitude and frequency of the pitching oscillations to investigate the influence on the transition behaviour. To this end, development work is required in close collaboration with the DLR Institute of Aeroelasticity to record the pressure, deformation, forces, moments and laminar-turbulent transition as a function of amplitude and frequency or phase angle in a transient manner.

ETW and the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology have developed and tested various methods for heating the TSP layer at cryogenic temperatures, e.g. electrical heating using CNTs (carbon nanotubes) or thermal radiation using an infrared laser. Building on this experience, the ULTIMATE project aims to further develop the heating system and qualify it for industrial use for transient laminar testing in the ETW.

The test capabilities created in ULTIMATE, the physical knowledge and data sets obtained, and the numerical tools developed and validated as a result will make an important contribution to the development of new types of next generation commercial aircraft to achieve significant reductions in drag and fuel consumption. Furthermore, the chosen approach will contribute to maintaining and expanding the overall system capability in Germany as an industrial location, which is a further objective of the funding policy.

This work received funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy LuFo VI-2/2022-2025 under grant agreement no 20A2101F.

Research Projects Contact