OFELIA




Reducing SMR aircraft environmental impact is a priority of the Clean Aviation SRIA, which objective is to have technologies ready for the future generation of SMR aircraft.

The engine is key in this effort and the Open Fan engine architecture is the most promising solution in terms of fuel efficiency to both achieve environmental goals (20% emissions reduction versus 2020) and target a rapid Entry into Service, as early as 2035. In synergy with national programs, OFELIA will gather a large European consortium to contribute to the RISE technology demonstration announced in June 2021. OFELIA aims to demonstrate at TRL5 the RISE Open Fan architecture, for the SMR to achieve or surpass the Air Transport Action Group’s goals on the way towards Carbon neutrality by 2050.

To this end, OFELIA will focus on this high TRL full scale demonstration of the engine architecture and on the development of key enablers for the Open Fan. OFELIA will allow installation of an increased fan diameter on a conventional aircraft configuration, thanks to innovative turbomachinery technical solutions. Following the architecture definition, OFELIA will perform a large-scale Open Fan engine ground test campaign, deliver flightworthy propulsive system definition and prepare an in-flight demonstration for the phase 2 of Clean Aviation.

The project will also optimize the engine installation with the airframer and address certification, in close collaboration with airworthiness authorities, taking advantage of the permit-to-fly activity. OFELIA will then deliver a TRL5 Open Fan engine architecture for SMR, demonstrate a credible path to 20% CO2 reduction versus 2020 and prepare the path to flight tests to consolidate the roadmap for EIS2035. As part of the technology maturation plan, the compatibility of Open Fan to hydrogen will be investigated in coordination with H2 pillar

HYDEA




The HYDEA project, which stands for "HYdrogen DEmonstrator for Aviation", proposes a strong and time-effective technology maturation plan to develop an H2 propulsion system to secure an Entry Into Service of a zero-CO2 low-emission aircraft by 2035, consistently with the expected timeframe of the European Green Deal and CA SRIA objectives. HYDEA will holistically demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen propulsion on an aircraft engine in a compacted timeframe (2023-2026) up to Ground test.

The project aims to address fundamental questions related to the use of hydrogen as an aviation fuel, also including emission studies and technologies, which will serve as an outlook to future engines. Moreover, HYDEA will pave the way toward the development and certification of new products integrating hydrogen technology. HYDEA results will be core for the ZEROe technology exploration project, launched by Airbus in 2020. As the demonstrator may not be fully reflective of a future product, a series of studies and activities will be performed to help understand what the impact of simplifications introduced on the demonstrator could be, and how to close the identified gaps with a potential future product, for instance NOx optimization studies, potential contrails emissions and further optimization of the integration of all the subsystems, with the propulsion system and the aircraft.

The revolutionary technologies in scope on the one hand and the need to maintain a clear focus on impact and EIS 2035 on the other, call for an early engagement and dialogue with EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) within HYDEA, starting from phase 1. HYDEA's ambition will greatly benefit from a consortium which is heterogenous in nature and spaces from large OEMs to SMEs to RTOs to Accademia. It is also geographically widespread as it can count on nine different countries: Italy, France, Germany, Turkey, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Ukraine.

START




The main objective of START project is to carry out a series of advanced investigations on a prototypical reverse flow, ultra compact, combustor designed and manufactured by GE-Avio for turboprop engine as a part of the SAT ITD MAESTRO.

The aim is to support the validation of the developed technologies and design rules by means of full annular combustion tests and high fidelity numerical simulations. Goals of START project will be addressed with the following steps: Verify a full additive combustor at real engine conditions in terms of combustor performance, by the measurement of emissions, gas exit temperature and liner metal temperature, through extensive full annular tests.

Data will also permit validation of numerical modelling results. Improve the knowledge of combustor metal temperature and validation of aero-thermal predictions by gathering 2D temperature maps using InfraRed techniques across dedicated optical access on the full annular rig. Improve and further validate existent aero-thermal CFD modelling based on a two-step approach: RANS based CHT calculations for metal temperature and flow split predictions and LES (or Hybrid RANS-LES) calculations of the flame domain for combustor performance evaluation.

Development of an innovative CFD approach based on unsteady CHT based on Hybrid RANS-LES, to allow direct calculation of aero-thermal and combustion performance behavior of the combustor. The methodology will also exploit and further validate dedicated strategy to model multi-hole liners without requiring the explicit meshing of each hole. START will greatly contribute to the goals of SAT initiative in CS2.

The validation of innovative high fidelity CFD will significantly help the design of innovative combustors for addressing the target of SFC reduction faced with the increase of engine cycle efficiency. The validation of innovative additive manufacturing components at TRL5 will positively contribute to reach the objectives of reducing costs and weights.

STECH



In un contesto di crescente disponibilità di energia rinnovabile e di preparazione a una maggiore diffusione delle Smart Grids, innovare le turbomacchine per la generazione di energia (turbina a gas e turbina a vapore, siano esse utilizzate singolarmente o in cicli combinati) è di fondamentale importanza per poterle integrare con la maggiore variabilità di domanda e offerta di energia. Risulta quindi importante la loro flessibilità, sia in termini di velocità nel raggiungere le condizioni di regime sia in termini di rapidità nel reagire a cambiamenti della disponibilità di energia in rete; flessibilità che deve essere raggiunta mirando anche a un bassissimo impatto sull'ambiente, sia studiando e introducendo soluzioni realizzative che abbiano un impatto diretto sulla riduzione d'inquinamento ovvero vadano a aumentare l'efficienza energetica del sistema, sia trovando tecnologie sostitutive che vadano a modificare l'impatto indiretto ovvero lavorare su cicli produttivi, fluidi utilizzati, ecc.. 

Questa flessibilità si può ottenere lavorando sia sulle stesse turbomacchine, sia su sistemi di controllo innovativi basati su tecnologie di nuova generazione.
Il progetto si propone di ricercare soluzioni innovative in alcune aree specifiche inerenti al problema affrontato: sistema di combustione e componenti a alta temperatura delle turbine a gas, aerodinamica delle turbine a vapore, sistemi di controllo delle turbomacchine e strumentazione relativa.

LAVORI DI REALIZZAZIONE DI UNA NUOVA CELLA TEST PRESSO SESTA LAB (CELLA 3)



Progetto co-finanziato dal POR FESR Toscana2014-2020