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NASA Awards Future Commercial Aircraft Research Contracts
7 October 2008
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| Artist’s rendering of strut-braced wing aircraft—one of the ideas that a Boeing-led team will consider. Click to enlarge. Credit: Boeing |
NASA has awarded research contracts worth a total of $12.4 million to six industry teams to study advanced concepts for subsonic and supersonic commercial transport aircraft that could enter service in 25 to 30 years.
The focus of the studies is on commercial transports that can overcome significant performance and environmental challenges for the benefit of the general public. The work is intended to identify key technology development needs, such as advanced airframes and propulsion systems, as well as breakthroughs that will enable such vehicles to enter service in 2030-2035. The vehicles represent a research and development generation known as “N+3,” denoting three generations beyond the current commercial transport fleet.
NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate selected teams led by The Boeing Company, GE Aviation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northrop Grumman to receive separate 18-month study contracts valued at approximately $2 million each.
The future of air transportation is all about protecting the environment and responding to increasing energy costs in a balanced way. We will need airplanes that are quieter and more fuel efficient, and cleaner-burning fuels to power them. We are challenging industry to introduce these new technologies without impairing the convenience, safety and security of commercial air transportation.
—Juan Alonso, director of NASA’s Fundamental Aeronautics Program
The studies constitute the first phase of a two-phase acquisition involving a competitive down-selection process. Participants who successfully complete the first phase will be asked to submit proposals for Phase 2, which provides additional funds for initial research on the enabling technologies identified in Phase 1.
The Phase 1 research projects, including team members and award amounts, are:
Development of Subsonic Ultra Green Aircraft Research: The Boeing Company, Georgia Institute of Technology, GE Global Research and GE Aviation; $1.9 million. Boeing Phantom Works—along with Boeing Commercial Airplanes, General Electric and Georgia Tech—will evaluate the performance of concepts with regard to noise, emissions, take-off field length, fuel use and energy utilization. The study will focus on technologies and configurations that can support operational concepts in the 2030-2035 timeframe.
Boeing will develop a future scenario with consultation from NASA, and will consider ongoing Next Generation Air Transportation System efforts coordinated by NASA and the Joint Planning and Development Office. This future scenario will be used to generate the sizing missions for multiple advanced concepts and reference vehicles.
Vehicle layout and analysis for these advanced concepts will be efficiently performed using the Boeing Integrated Vehicle Design and Sizing process. The technologies and vehicle configuration risk will be identified and addressed with the development of prioritized technology roadmaps, which will be used to focus future technology programs.
Small Commercial Efficient and Quiet Air Transportation for 2030-2035: GE Aviation, GE Global Research, Georgia Institute of Technology and Cessna Aircraft Company; $1.97 million.
Artist's rendering shows an advanced concept design for an air vehicle and propulsion system that could provide significant reductions in environmental impact. Credit: GE Aviation GE Aviation and its partners will study advanced technology concepts for both air vehicles and propulsion systems with an aim toward significant reductions in environmental impact. The intent is for greater utilization of community airports with minimal impact to their current infrastructure, consistent with NASA’s model for how multiple airports within a metropolitan area coordinate traffic through the area’s airspace.
Key goals are to develop technology roadmaps for propulsion system and aircraft level concepts that will help reduce congestion and have a positive economic impact on the communities in the vicinity of these suburban airports.
The study will focus on 10- to 30-passenger-class aircraft, which have the greatest opportunity to utilize the existing community airport infrastructure.
Aircraft and Technology Concepts for an N+3 Subsonic Transport: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aurora Flight Sciences, Aerodyne Research Inc., Pratt and Whitney and Boeing Phantom Works; $2.13 million.
Artist’s rendering showing the potential design for a subsonic fixed wing aircraft. Click to enlarge. Credit: MIT An important goal of this study is to define the key technologies needed to meet or exceed NASA’s goals for next generation aircraft that will include technologies for more environmentally and economically friendly operations.
The project will use as a starting point the evaluation of a set of three innovative concepts that potentially offer major enhancements in subsonic transport aircraft. There also is strong expectation that additional ideas will emerge during the course of the work that could be much more valuable.
Those three concepts include a liquid natural gas-fueled aircraft; the use of a distributed, multiple-engine, propulsion system; and a rigorous assessment of an aircraft which would be designed to fly about 10% slower than current aircraft in order to take advantage of several technologies that are not applicable at the flight speeds of current commercial aircraft.
Advanced Concept Studies for Subsonic Commercial Transport Aircraft Entering Service in the 2030-2035 Time Period: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Tufts University, Sensis Corporation, Spirit Aerosystems Corp. and Rolls-Royce North America Inc.; $1.97 million.
Addressing the primary air vehicle attributes that are critical to successful commercial operations in the 2030-2035 timeframe. Click to enlarge. Credit: Northrup Grumman Of particular focus for the team will be the environmental issues exemplified by noise footprint and runway requirements, and by traffic mix projections in flight and near the airport. The study will examine a wide range of configuration factors including advanced propulsion concepts; multi-mode propulsion; short take-off and landing; variable geometry,; and flow control.
The use of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques also will be evaluated. Design concepts incorporating these technologies will be developed and further evaluated in the projected scenarios.
Advanced Concepts Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transport Aircraft Entering Service in the 2030-2035 Time Period: The Boeing Company, Boeing Phantom Works, GE Global Research, Georgia Institute of Technology, M4 Engineering Inc., Pratt and Whitney, Rolls Royce and Wyle Labs; $2.28 million.
Artist’s rendering of a notional concept for a future supersonic commercial aircraft. Click to enlarge. Credit: Boeing The team led by Boeing will define the market and environmental conditions anticipated in the 2030 to 2035 timeframe in a bid to identify performance goals for a supersonic commercial aircraft that would satisfy those conditions.
A series of multidisciplinary analyses and trade studies considering vehicle sizing, mission performance and environmental conformity will determine the appropriate concepts, combinations of enabling technologies and the required technology performance levels needed to meet the desired goals. High priority technologies will be described, including roadmaps and risk mitigation plans.
NASA N+3 Supersonic, Three Generations Forward in Aviation Technology: Lockheed Martin Corporation, GE Global Research, Purdue University and Wyle Laboratories; $1.96 million.
Artist’s rendering of an advanced concept design of an environmentally friendly supersonic airframe and propulsion system. Click to enlarge. Credit: Lockheed Martin Goals of the team are to produce a future Next Generation Air Transportation System system-level solution, conduct extensive teaming, and leverage past experience and methodology to provide an integrated advanced vehicle concept operational in the 2030-2035 timeframe.
The team will use analytical and design tools to assess performance parameters to find synergistic combinations of technologies and concepts for aerodynamic, structural, aero-servo-propulso-elastics, boom, airport noise, emissions and fuels.
Results of the study will include an optimized supersonic vision vehicle, identification of the highest-value enabling technologies to make that vehicle a reality, and technology roadmaps that lay out an industry-wide path to maturing necessary technologies.
The intention is to devise a revolutionary concept that has the ability to showcase green technologies.
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October 7, 2008 in Aviation | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (1)
Comments
Posted by: adolfo | October 07, 2008 at 03:17 AM
In looking at the first picture (the plane with strut-braced wings), I get the impression that this is what future Boeing jetliners would look like if Cessna were to purchase enough shares of Boeing stock.
Posted by: Alex Kovnat | October 07, 2008 at 05:05 AM
Struts on the Boeing jet? Seemingly a very draggy and retro design unless the wing will be incredibly thin (or made from wood).
Posted by: RonD | October 07, 2008 at 08:35 AM
the use of a distributed, multiple-engine, propulsion system
Excellent idea, attach one or two engines under each wing.
Posted by: Anne | October 07, 2008 at 09:15 AM
After being repeatedly embarrassed by Bert Rutan and independent aerospace - NASA takes yet another run at the "spaceplane." Haven't we learned the lesson yet? Bloated federal industries fail miserably at anything but self-consumption. The commercial space industry is being forged now as all successful industries have been - by independent entrepreneurs who can build with innovation and economy that government can only dream about.
Posted by: sulleny | October 07, 2008 at 09:42 AM
Looks like back to the future. Wing struts and propellers. Will the next step be biplanes?
Posted by: tom deplume | October 07, 2008 at 11:55 AM
@anne
LOL
@RonD, tom deplume
If the horizontal struts are given a wing profile they add to the total lift thereby causing little parasitic drag. The use of struts enable very thin wings, such as super-laminar wing designs that are not feasible with today's thick wing sections. Don't know what the drag reduction amounts to, though. However, I will admit that the rendering of the strut-plane mostly resembles a military transport plane, notorious for poor aerodynamic efficiency. Something sleek as the Boeing 787 (dreamliner) looks much more lean and efficient, doesn't it.
Propellers can achieve higher propulsion efficiency. These curved propellers look like the ones proposed for transsonic propellers. They have been prone to noise and vibration problems. On this rendering I assume we see counter-rotating propellers, which should give further increase in propulsion efficiency (like azipods on cruise ships). Counter-rotating propellers are of course mechanically complicated, but at least possible with most jet engines being twin spool anyway. Power turbines can even be tripple spool with the last turbine stage driving the rearmost propeller. Interesting...
With planes slowing down to save fuel and possible use of transsonic propellers, propeller planes become much more feasible, although cabin noise is always a big issue with propellers (ear plugs come with the price of a ticket...).
If LNG is used for fuel, it would enable efficient intercooling in the compressor for a vast increase in gas turbine efficiency.
Posted by: Thomas | October 07, 2008 at 03:35 PM
It would be interesting to know what has come out of the last 100 or so government research grants. I would guess virtually nothing.
Posted by: anon | October 07, 2008 at 05:56 PM
The struts can provide some lift then reducing the area of the wings, they help save weigth and drag for sure.
You can see through the artist rendering that the body is shaped to minimize the drag as well. But I think the best design is the 3rd one where the body is flattened then giving some lift and reducing the wing area, kind of intremediate between a standard design and a blended wing.
Open rotor are more efficient but noisier, it seems that the nois can be reduce by adding a small winglets at the tip of the blades. If you look at the Airbus ATR72 which is a fan powered aircraft, the noise level is quite decent probably thanks to active noise cancellation.
I am pretty sure that on flight up to 1200 miles, fan ducted aircrafts flying slower (like 400MPH) will be the mainstream because you can pretty much halve the consumption.
Posted by: Treehuger | October 07, 2008 at 06:18 PM
sulleny,
Where do you see space plane in this. Yes there are supersonic transports, but no space planes.
Notice the blended body wing designs. They're more aerodynamically and structurally efficient and stronger than traditional tube wing schemes. Lift generating fuselages are also represented, but variable geometry will be a long shot due to weight and cost (initial, operational and maintenance) issues.
Increased aerodynamic efficiency - and thus less aerodynamic noise - will also benefit the communities that surround airports (i.e. mine). Newer engines are much more efficient and much quieter. On the newest models, much of the noise is due to airflow around the plane.
One design I don't see here is Lockheed Martin's box wing concept. It combines a conventional low mounted rear swept wing - like on civilian airlines - with a high mounted forward swept wing. They are connected at the wingtips with a rearward canted vertical component, and it doesn't have a conventional tail. They're ~15% more efficient than existing tube body and wing planes.
Posted by: allen_xl_z | October 08, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Actually, I've read studies on a turboprop-powered plane that could cruise as high as Mach 0.7 and seat 120-145 passengers, with amazingly low fuel burn per passenger-mile. This is done by using two EuroProp TP400 engines with eight-bladed propellers, which allow the engine to run at lower speeds for higher fuel efficiency. (For those who don't know, the EuroProp TP400 is the engine that will power the A400M military cargo transport.)
Posted by: Raymond | October 08, 2008 at 04:08 PM
I wonder if these new "eco-friendly" supersonic jets will fix the ozone depletion problems that plagued previous supersonic jets.
Posted by: Karl | October 09, 2008 at 11:43 AM
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A group of NASA employees from traditionally aero centers have begun conducting workshops to publicize the capabilities of the different NASA centers to the emerging space sector.
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