Objective
A European Industrial Doctoral (EID) network is proposed to improve the prediction, and also the efficiency in calculation, of aircraft loads. The loads experienced by an aircraft in-flight (due to manoeuvres and gusts) and on the ground (e.g. landing, turning, braking) are the key element in determining the structural sizing and hence its weight. Although the structural design must ensure that structural failure cannot occur at any point of an aircraft’s operation due to excessive stresses or deflections, the aircraft weight must be as small as possible. If it were possible to obtain more accurate loads predictions than at present at the edges of the flight envelope and other critical points, and also to consider uncertainties in the calculations, then it would be feasible to produce lighter aircraft designs which are more efficient and more environmentally friendly. A further requirement is to be able to turn around all the many required loads calculations much faster, enabling a much more thorough search of the possible design space, particularly for the novel aircraft configurations that are likely to occur in the future. The ALPES (Aircraft Loads Prediction through Enhanced Simulation) EID will consist of five PhD researchers working on interrelated aircraft loads projects: Modelling of Landing, Manoeuvre and Gust Loads for Flexible Aircraft Structures for investigating combined high load events, Reduced Order Aeroelastic Modelling during Landing, Manoeuvres and Gusts, Efficient and Accurate Gust Loads Modelling, Worst Case Prediction of Gust, Manoeuvre and Landing Loads, Uncertainty Quantification of Landing, Gust and Manoeuvre Loads. Combined with a novel research programme, a highly industrially focused training schedule is planned, including placements at Airbus in the UK and France.
Fields of science
Call for proposal
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN
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Funding Scheme
MC-ITN - Networks for Initial Training (ITN)Coordinator
BS8 1QU Bristol
United Kingdom