CITE – Center for Crash and Impact Test
Duration: 2022-2027
The Institute of Structures and Design at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stuttgart has been working on crashworthiness and high-speed impact for more than 30 years. Building upon these internationally recognized scientific competencies, DLR is establishing a unique test center for safety-relevant aerospace structures within Europe: the DLR Center for Crash and Impact Test (CITE), which is funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg.
The aim of CITE is to test the behavior of small aircraft, helicopters, air taxis, or other large components at full scale under crash or high-speed impact, independent of weather conditions, to further improve passive safety, increase passenger survivability and to support their certification. Focus of the crash testing activities (CITE-CRASH) is the impact of an aircraft on the ground under realistic conditions, while in impact tests (CITE-IMPACT), scenarios such as the impact of artificial birds, hail, or drones on impact-relevant aircraft areas are examined. The test conditions will be highly reproducible, meeting the highest standards for experimental and measurement requirements. A central digital platform (CITE-DIGITAL) will integrate data from both the real and digital environment to achieve a seamless alignment between experiment and simulation and will serve for the validation of new simulation methods in the field of passive safety. As an exchange platform, it will also make digital collaboration with partners more efficient. With its CITE facility, the institute will provide unique capabilities and knowledge in Europe to support crash and impact investigation of full-scale aircraft, which comprise:
- Full-scale testing in interaction with full-scale simulations
- Physical tests with integrated energy sources (battery and tank) also on water
- Significant contributions to the experimental and virtual certification of new technologies up to TRL6
- Substantial contributions to the development of certification methods through the combination of simulation and validation through experimental testing.
To make aviation environmentally friendly or emission-free, the aviation industry and research are exploring new energy sources, such as hydrogen, purely electric or renewable energy. This requires completely new design approaches including innovative structural and material solutions. The DLR facility CITE, is creating a unique, flexibly operable, and economically viable test infrastructure for passive safety in aviation in Europe. It will support the dynamic market development of low-emission aviation.