From Scaled Flight Testing Validation Towards Distributed Electric Propulsion Demonstration
Please note: this lecture will be given in Dutch.
The Scaled Flight Demonstrator (SFD) has been developed within CleanSky2 in order to assess the use of Scaled Flight Testing as a test capability that is complementary to ground test devices like wind tunnels and iron-birds. The main objective was to validate scaled flight testing for the overall aircraft behavior. For this validation purpose, a well-known A320 aircraft configuration has been selected. In parallel to the development of the SFD, many theoretical investigations about the scaling effects on aerodynamics coefficients and on handling qualities of the A320 at different scales have been performed.
Scaled Flight Testing allows to investigate dynamic maneuvers and handling qualities that cannot be well evaluated and validated in wind tunnel tests. Also, the flight control laws could be evaluated in real flight conditions on such a flying test bed after the hardware and software tests in the simulation-based iron-bird environment on the ground. Overall, it would be an intermediate step between ground tests and first real size flight tests. Scaled Flight Testing could be used earlier during the design process than real flight tests and would allow validation of the flight control laws at lower costs.
In the next step Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) will be demonstrated as a radical configuration for an Advanced Small/Medium Range (SMR) airliner for the 2035 timeframe. The configuration was selected from a design space exploration and features Distributed Propulsion. The selected design builds on propulsors (propellers) in the leading edge. The configuration will build on the results achieved by the SFD demonstrator and will re-use substantial parts of the hardware created for this demonstrator: the DEP-SFD.
Following successful design, manufacturing, integration and wind tunnel testing, the SFD is now being prepared for the high speed taxi tests and first flight. The DEP-SFD is in the detailed design phase.
De lezing is bij te wonen via Zoom:
https://tudelft.zoom.us/j/96816689086?pwd=Sk5aUGwzaWwxZFNTcGxOK1Bnc1VKZz09
Meeting ID: 968 1668 9086; Passcode: 461875
Over Floris Bremmers:
R&D Engineer at NLR, obtained his Masters in Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University of Delft, specializing in multidisciplinary design optimization and knowledge based engineering. At NLR he is employed at the Flight Test & Certification department and works on prototype development and measurement techniques: particularly regarding scaled aircraft development and scaled flight test demonstration.