Meeting environmental targets, preparing for the next generation of single-aisle airliners and increasing co-operation with central Europe are the goals reflected in the 36 projects selected for the first call of the European Union's seven-year, €2.1 billion ($3 billion) Seventh Framework research programme (FP7).
Selected from 196 proposals and expected to start in January 2008, the 36 projects are worth more than €400 million, including €217 million of European Commission matching funds covering at least 50% of the cost - around €106 million of which will go to four major studies.
The four projects are validation of radical engine architecture systems (DREAM) more affordable aircraft structure through extended, integrated and mature numerical sizing (MAAXIMUS) high-intensity radiated field synthetic environment (HIRF SE) and scalable and reconfigurable electronics platforms and tools (SCARLETT). Each will have half of the funding from industry and half from the EC.
Led by Airbus, MAAXIMUS will get €40 million in EC funds to develop and validate advanced design and manufacturing processes for composite airframes. "MAAXIMUS is aimed at a short-range replacement for the Airbus A320," says the EC. Three other projects involve composites: AIAS II, LAYSA and TRIADE. They will examine structural heath monitoring and multi-function laminates.
DREAM will get €25 million of EC funds to help meet engine emissions goals set by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe. Other engine-related projects deal with turbomachinery advances and cleaner combustion. DREAM is also expected to provide technology for the seven-year, €1.6 billion EC/industry Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative, which will test demonstrator engines and should be launched in February 2008.
"Several of the selected projects will work towards the EU's goals of halving aircraft carbon emissions per passenger kilometre by 2020," says EU research commissioner Janez Potočnik.
The third major project, SCARLETT with €23 million of EC funding, is for avionics research and has complementary projects developing future electronics architectures for small aircraft and intra-aircraft transmissions. The fourth large-scale project, HIRF SE with €18 million of EC funds, is an avionics-related four-year study led by Alenia Aeronautica. It will create simulators to test new aircraft for electromagnetic interference.
The remaining €111 million of EC funds for the FP7 first call is shared among research projects that include modelling flightdeck errors, small high-lift devices, manufacturing technologies, and supersonic and hypersonic airliner concepts.
Six of the remaining 32 projects are focused on small and medium-sized enterprises. As well as the Network for Aeronautics SME in Europe project, these studies will investigate biofuels, blastproof luggage, wake research and technical collaboration methods. Respectively, these are ALFA-BIRD, FLY-BAG, GREENWAKE and SCRATCH. For projects involving small companies the EC contribution goes up to 75%.
The EC also wants to increase participation from new central European member states. As well as their involvement in more than 30 of the projects, there is a specific aeronautical research initiative for central European companies. "We were pleased with the participation of organisations from new member states," says EC transport research director András Siegler,
Several of the projects include companies from non-EU states, but one, Aerochina2, is aimed specifically at China and there will be a meeting in Shanghai next week to discuss co-operation on flight physics.
Source: Flight International
