DLR - Institut für Aerodynamik und Strömungstechnik

Projects with participation of the Institute

ADIGMA - A European project on the development of adaptive higher order variational methods for aerospace applications

Computational Fluid Dynamics is a key enabler for meeting the strategic goals of future air transportation. However, the limitations of today’s numerical tools reduce the scope of innovation in aircraft development, keeping aircraft design at a conservative level. Within the 3rd Call of the 6th European Research Framework Programme, the strategic target research project ADIGMA has been initiated. The goal of ADIGMA is the development and utilization of innovative adaptive higher-order methods for the compressible flow equations enabling reliable, mesh independent numerical solutions for large-scale aerodynamic applications in aircraft design.

AeroGust - Aeroelastic Gust Modelling

AeroGust (Aeroelastic Gust Modelling) is a collaborative research project between industry and academia funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement number 636053.

AHRES/ATEK: Software Development for Hybrid Rocket Engine Design

Hybrid rocket engines are a promising and cost-efficient alternative to today’s solid and liquid rocket engines for commercial space transportation. As part of the projects AHRES (Advanced Hybrid Rocket Engine Simulation) and ATEK (Antriebs-TEchnologien für Kleinträger) the German Aerospace Center is developing software for the layout of an entire hybrid rocket engine including subsystems within 100 days. In addition, this tool enables the design of solid rocket engines. A designated test bench for these engines is used for validation purposes.

AIM² - Advanced In-flight Measurement Techniques 2

The research project Advanced In-flight Measurement Techniques 2 (AIM²) intends to develop advanced non-intrusive in-flight measurement techniques for efficient, cost-effective in-flight testing for certification and in-flight research for aircraft and helicopters.

ALSA

ALSA ("Akustische Lokalisation von Strömungsablösung im ETW") is a project funded by the German Ministry of Economy and Technology (BMWi) as part of the LUFO4 framework program under the topic “Development of technological elements for the climate-friendly air transport system of the future”. Project partners are the European Transonic Windtunnel GmbH and Airbus Germany. The objectives of the project are the development of a non-intrusive measurement technique for the localization of laminar separation and the development of an acoustic measurement technique for use in cryogenic and pressurized environments.

EU Project ATAAC

The ATAAC project aims at improvements to CFD methods for aerodynamic flows used in today's aeronautical industry. The accuracy of these is limited by insufficient capabilities of the turbulence modelling/simulation approaches available, especially at the high Reynolds numbers typical of real-life flows. As LES will not be affordable for such flows in the next 4 decades, ATAAC focusses on Differential Reynolds Stress Models (DRSMs), advanced Unsteady RANS models, Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS), Wall Modelled LES and different hybrid RANS-LES coupling schemes.

EU-Projekt CHEOPS

CHEOPS (Consortium for Hall Effect Orbital Propulsion System) is a challenging space project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement n. 730135. CHEOPS proposes to develop three different Hall Effect Thruster (HET) Electric Propulsion Systems (EPS), with different application fields or orbits: a low power for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) applications. In this orbit, all satellites for Earth Observation (environmental monitoring, maritime surveillance and many other services involved in human activities) are positioned, as well as the International Space Station (ISS); a dual mode EPS for GEO applications, mostly used for commercial communications satellites, broadcast satellites and for weather and meteorological satellites; a >20 kW high thrust EPS for exploration applications.

Eurolift II

Braunschweig, January 2004; The European High-Lift Project EUROLIFT II was started under the co-ordination of DLR as a Specific Targeted Research Project (STReP) of the 6th EU framework program. The Project continues the successful work of the predecessor project EUROLIFT I under the leadership of Airbus-Deutschland with a moderately increased total-budget of 7.3 million EURO.

EWA - Network of Excellence European Windtunnel Association

The goal of the European Windtunnel Association is to form a Network of Excellence for aeronautical applications and related advanced measuring technologies with a management structure and a joint programme of activities.

Project Go4Hybrid

The Go4Hybrid project aims to foster aeronautics RTD work in Europe by recognising merits and achievements of previous and existing EU projects in the field of turbulence research. Aiming at the mitigation of the “Grey Area” problem in hybrid RANS-LES methods and thus at improving the confidence in the use of turbulence resolving simulation methods, Go4Hybrid will allow for enhanced design processes in the aeronautical industry. Consequently, this will result in fewer design cycles, lower costs and reduced time-to-market of challenging future aircraft designs.

GOAHEAD - Generation of Advanced Helicopter Experimental Aerodynamic Database for CFD code validation

Today leading edge CFD software systems are available which are capable of predicting the viscous flow around complete helicopters. The greatest shortcoming for qualifying these methods as design tools in the industrial design process is the lack of detailed experimental validation data. This shortcoming is addressed by the project GOAHEAD which was initiated within the EU’s 6th Framework Programme. During the four years project the 15 partners will conduct a wind tunnel experiment with a model of a complete helicopter and will use the measured data to validate their CFD solvers.

HICFD - Hocheffiziente Implementierung von CFD-Codes für HPC-Many-Core-Architekturen

Das Forschungsprojekt HICFD ist ein Verbundprojekt des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung geförderten Programms „IKT 2020 – Forschung und Innovation“. Das Forschungsprojekt hat zum Ziel, neue Methoden und Werkzeuge zur Analyse und Optimierung der Effizienz paralleler CFD-Verfahren auf Hochleistungsrechnern mit Mehrkernprozessoren (HPC-Many-Core-Architekturen) zu entwickeln und diese exemplarisch auf die im DLR entwickelten Verfahren TAU (Berechnung der Aussenaerodynamik von Flugzeugen) und TRACE (Berechnung der Strömung in Turbomaschinen) anzuwenden.

EU-Project Hifi-TURB

The ambition of the HiFi-TURB project is to evolve a new generation of reliable anisotropy-resolving turbulence models, able to predict accurately separated and vortical flows for the European aeronautics industry to be used in RANS and Hybrid RANS-LES methods – forming the CFD backbone in industry. This is a major challenge and certainly requires integrated research to push the state-of-the-art forward, which is exactly the ambition of HiFi-TURB, by proposing a ground-breaking initiative, in concept and approach, through a highly collaborative effort for reaching a new stage in turbulence modelling.

HOMER

HOMER (Holistic Optical Metrology for Aero-Elastic Research) is aiming at deploying and further developing state-of-the-art non-intrusive experimental flow diagnostic methods to include and combine both the aero-dynamic and aero-elastic analysis. As a result, fluid-structure-interactions (FSI) experiments realised in wind tunnels and other specific test facilities will deliver an unprecedented combination of knowledge and data from the fluid and the structure domain, with increased coherence and interconnection.

IDIHOM - Industrialisation of High-Order Methods – A Top-Down Approach

The proposed IDIHOM project is motivated by the increasing demand of the European aerospace industries to advance their CFD-aided design procedure and analysis by using accurate and fast numerical methods, so-called high-order methods. They will be assessed and improved in a top-down approach by utilising industrially relevant complex test cases, so-called application challenges in the general area of turbulent steady and unsteady aerodynamic flows, covering external and internal aerodynamics as well as aeroelastic and aeroacoustic applications. Thus, the major aim is to support the European aeronautics industry with proven-track method(s) delivering an increased predictive accuracy for complex flows and (by same accuracy) an alleviation of computational costs which will secure their global leadership.

Leiser Flugverkehr II

Nach Abschluss der ersten Projektphase ist das Ziel der zweiten Projektphase, konkrete Lösungsvorschläge zu liefern, wie Lärm im Umfeld von Flughäfen realistisch gemindert werden kann. Dieses lässt sich auf vier Themenbereiche aufspalten: (1) Die Lärmminderung an der Quelle (insbesondere die Entwicklung leiserer Triebwerke) bietet langfristig das größte Potenzial zur Lärmminderung. (2) Lärmarme Flugverfahren sind dem gegenüber nicht so effizient, aber kurz- bis mittelfristig umsetzbar. (3) Verbesserte Werkzeuge zur Berechnung der Lärmbelastung im Umfeld von Flughäfen geben eine solide Grundlage für legislative und planerische Aufgaben und können außerdem zur Erarbeitung lärmarmer Flugverfahren herangezogen werden. (4) Untersuchungen zur Lärmwirkungsforschung sind notwendig um die Wirkung von Fluglärm auf den Menschen in belastbarer Weise zu quantifizieren.

MARS - Manipulation of Reynolds Stress for Separation Control and Drag Reduction

MARS is a joint project co-founded by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the EU within the 7th Framework Program. Aims of MARS are to use the periodic flows embedded in two selected flow cases as platforms in which direct control of discrete dynamic structures to manipulate the Reynolds stress can be observed, measured and simulated; and to measure, simulate and understand the impact of certain actuators upon discrete structures in a turbulent shear layer and to identify candidate actuators for further development for skin friction reduction and flow separation control at flight scales.

MEGADESIGN

Im Verbundvorhaben MEGADESIGN kooperieren 11 Partner aus Industrie, Großforschung und Universitäten unter Federführung des DLR, um gemeinsam das Potenzial der numerischen Simulation und Optimierung für die aerodynamische und multidisziplinäre Entwicklung von Flugzeugen umfassender zu erschließen und industriell nutzbar zu machen. Das Vorhaben wird vom BMWA gefördert. Es läuft über 4 Jahre bis Mitte 2007.

MEPHISTO - Militärische Forschung zu Verfahren und Technologien für den Gesamtentwurf von UAVs

Mit dem Projekt Mephisto will das DLR in Kontinuität zu den DLR Vorgängerprojekten UCAV-2010 und FaUSST einen wesentlichen Beitrag leisten, die bereits erreichten Fähigkeiten der relevanten Disziplinen zum missionsspezifischen Entwurf und zur Auslegung sowie Bewertung von unbemannten militärischen Fluggeräten weiter zu entwickeln. Das Spektrum des konfigurativen Entwurfs und der Nachrechnung soll nicht nur hoch gepfeilte, agile, sondern auch Konfigurationen mit großer Flügelstreckung abdecken. Ziel dieses Vorgehens ist die Entwicklung einer Gesamtentwurfsfähigkeit die sämtliche Disziplinen des Fluggeräteentwurfs umfasst und ein hohes Maß an Flexibilität bezüglich der konfigurativen Gestaltung vorhält. Das Projekt Mephisto wird die Fähigkeitslücken zum UAV-Gesamtentwurf schließen. Hierzu wird eine Gesamtentwurfssoftware entwickelt, die Vorentwurfsverfahren und höherwertige Verfahren intelligent miteinander verknüpft. Durch einen solchen sogenannten „Multi-Fidelity“-Ansatz soll die Vorhersagefähigkeit der aerodynamischen Leistungsfähigkeit von UAVs verbessert werden, ins-besondere für den Bereich mittlerer bis hoher Anstellwinkel, in dem es gilt, hoch nichtlineare physikalische Effekte vorherzusagen.

Wind power project including methods for aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, structural mechanics and aeroelastics

Wind energy will play an important role in the future production of electricity. In light of this development the DLR director for Energy and Transport, Prof. U. Wagner, decided to support projects dedicated to a transfer of aircraft related know-how to wind energy with DLR internal funding.

MUNA - Management und Minimierung von Unsicherheiten in der Numerischen Aerodynamik

Die numerische Simulation von Strömungen ist eine unverzichtbare Methode für sämtliche aerodynamischen Entwicklungsarbeiten am Flugzeug. Sie ist eine Schlüsseltechnologie für die Verbesserung der Wirtschaftlichkeit, Umweltverträglichkeit und Sicherheit neu entwickelter Fluggeräte und trägt damit entscheidend zur Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der deutschen Luftfahrtindustrie bei. Das Vorhaben MUNA wird auf der Basis der in MEGAFLOW und MEGADESIGN geschaffenen Simulationsprogramme Methoden entwickeln und bereitstellen, mit denen die auftretenden Unsicherheiten in den Vorhersagen analysiert, quantifiziert und minimiert werden. Damit wird eine deutlich verbesserte Qualität der Ergebnisse in der numerischen Aerodynamik erreicht.

NumEx: Numerical simulation and experiments to qualify the new low speed wind tunnel DNW-NWB

Qualification of the DNW-NWB: aeroacoustics, wind tunnel corrections and dynamic derivatives.

RETTINA - Reliable Turbulence and Transition Modelling for Industrial Aerodynamics

RETTINA is a project dedicated to the improvement of the turbulence and transition (T&T) modelling in the hybrid unstructured Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) code TAU of the Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology (AS). The project, managed by AS in Göttingen, started in 2007. Its duration is four years.

RoDeO - Rotor Design und Optimierung

Bei der Auslegung von Windenergieanlagen müssen eine Vielzahl teils gegenläufiger Anforderungen aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen gegeneinander abgewogen werden. Die gleichzeitige Betrachtung der verschiedenen Anforderungen, ein sogenannter multidisziplinärer Entwurf, bietet dabei den Vorteil, dass die Wechselwirkungen zwischen den einzelnen Disziplinen von Beginn an berücksichtigt werden...

SACOMAR - Technologies for Safe and Controlled Martian Entry

The success of future exploration missions to the surface of Mars strongly depends on an appropriate evaluation of thermal loads on the entry vehicle during atmospheric entry. Determination of heat fluxes during entry is one of the most challenging problems in vehicle design. A more accurate prediction could help to reduce design margin and increase the scientific pay load, but it requires improvements to the physical models which are currently used in numerical simulation tools. The improvement of experimental and numerical tools to study aerodynamic problems of Martian entry is one of the main objectives of the SACOMAR project which is part of the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme and is run on behalf of the commission by DLR.

SAMURAI

Uniquely in the world various and complementary non-intrusive and image based measurement techniques for mobile use in wind tunnels and free flight experiments have been developed in the institutes of AS and AT. Common practice was the selective application of these measurement techniques for the characterisation of flow conditions around wind tunnel models or their acoustical respectively elastical effects. The combined application of optical and acoustical measurement techniques enables the quantification of different fluid mechanically, aero-acoustically and -elastically relevant measurement categories like pressure, velocity vectors, density, model deformation and noise sources successively and parallel for a given wind tunnel model. By this as much as possible unsteady field data can be achieved, which cannot be determined otherwise.

SimBA (BMU Projekt )

Simulationswerkzeug für die hochgenaue und effiziente aero-dynamische Berechnung und Auslegung von Windenergieanlagen.

SimBaCon

Vor ihrem Markteintritt müssen alle Arten von industriellen Produkten einen Prozess der Qualifikation oder Zulassung durch staatliche Stellen durchlaufen, um nachzuweisen, dass die geltenden Sicherheits- und Umweltvorschriften erfüllt werden. Dieser Nachweis ist für die Hersteller sehr zeit- und kostenintensiv. Man ist daher bestrebt, den Zulassungsprozess teilweise - oder sehr langfristig sogar fast gänzlich - im Rechner als „Simulation Based Certification“ durchzuführen. Die dazu notwendige Virtualisierung möglichst vieler Prozesse der Produktentwicklung und des Betriebs im Rechner ist derzeit zentraler Forschungsgegenstand in allen Bereichen des DLR. Um diese Aktivitäten zu bündeln, hat das DLR das Querschnittsprojekt „Simulation Based Certification“ (SimBaCon) gestartet.

SuLaDI - Supercooled Large Droplets Icing

Die Gefahr der Flugzeugvereisung stellt auch heute noch ein Risiko für den Luftverkehr dar, insbesondere wenn Verkehrsflugzeuge sich längere Zeit in Bereichen mit unterkühlten Wassertropfen bewegen. Dieser Problematik widmet sich das Projekt »Supercooled Large Droplets Icing«, kurz: SuLaDI.

EU Project TILDA

The ability to simulate aerodynamic flows using CFD methods has progressed rapidly over the last decades and has given rise to a change in design processes in aeronautics already. But more improvement is necessary to overcome the (still) existing lack in confidence in CFD usage, based on turbulence modelling. The TILDA project will offer methods and approaches combining advanced and efficient high-order numerical schemes (HOMs) with innovative approaches for LES and DNS in order to resolve all relevant flow features on tens of thousands of processors in order to get close to a full LES/DNS solution for 1billion degrees-of-freedom (DOF) not exceeding turn-around times of a few days.

UTOPIAE - Uncertainty Treatment and OPtimisation In Aerospace Engineering

UTOPIAE is a training and research network funded by the European Commission through the H2020 funding stream.

VELA

Das VELA-Projekt, das Mitte 2002 gestartet wurde, wird von der EU gefördert und ist zunächst auf drei Jahre begrenzt. Unter der Führung von Airbus werden 17 europäische Partner aus Industrie und Forschung grundlegende Erkenntnisse in allen Bereichen des Flugzeuges erarbeiten, die es ermöglichen das Potential und auch Probleme eines Nurflügelverkehrsflugzeuges realistisch einzuschätzen.

VFE-2 - Second International Vortex Flow Experiment

In the first phase (2003 to 2008) of the Second International Vortex Flow Experiment investigations on a simple delta wing configuration have been carried out within the framework of an RTO Task Group. New and detailed wind tunnel measurements have been performed in order to check the present-day CFD codes for proper simulation of vortical flows. Based on the results of the first phase, the experimental and the numerical investigations are continued in a second open phase, which is outlined and managed in the present project.

VicToria – Virtual Aircraft Technology Integration Platform

The development, testing and production of new aircraft and helicopters is associated with considerable temporal and financial risks due to the product and manufacturing complexity. In order to accelerate the introduction of innovative technologies for more economical, more environmentally friendly and safer air vehicles and to better control the technological risks involved, DLR’s guiding concept "The Virtual Product" (LK6) aims at virtualizing the design, development and manufacturing processes, including the definition of an appropriate validation strategy.