Unmanned Air Systems: a Buttress to the Development of Greener, Leaner and Safer Aircraft

需求：航空运输政策、飞机制造商和运营商对更精简、更环保和更安全的飞机运输系统的需求，以及开发和运营成本的降低，导致需要改变飞机设计的模式。实现这些目标最有希望的方法是基于提高全球作战飞机的效率。为此，采用高深宽比结构、更轻和量身定制的复合材料来增加有效载荷、节能推进系统和先进制造受到了研究界的极大关注。 尽管在排放和降噪领域有了很大的技术进步，但目前的设计在外形和配置上都有明显的相似之处，因为传统的配置针对巡航进行了优化。在这个范围之外，飞机的性能远远不是最佳的。由于绝大多数商用飞机大多在巡航中飞行，只有技术突破，才有可能大幅提高效率。 建议方案：该研究方案旨在通过改进数学和计算模型以及实验方法来提高复杂的多学科工程系统的性能。主要目标是将新兴的数学模型和使能技术与新的设计和运营理念联系起来，以实现“更精简、更环保和更安全”的航空运输。 从环保的角度来看，飞机推进技术目前正在向更清洁、更高效、更安静的解决方案过渡。与传统系统相比，混合电力推进系统具有一些潜在的优点，包括更小的环境足迹、更低的燃料消耗、更长的续航时间和新颖的分布式推进体系结构。该研究计划旨在开发模型来量化混合动力系统的性能，并首先在受控实验室环境中验证和评估计算模型，最后使用无人机系统(UAS)测试飞行中的架构。 从安全的角度来看，该研究计划将继续专注于飞机复合材料结构的结构健康监测，作为之前NSERC DG的延续。它的目标是开发使用基于应变和热弹性测量的渐进疲劳损伤模型的结构健康监测程序。 好处：拟议的研究计划将利用航空航天研究中心在无人机设计、建造、测试和飞行方面的知识、专业知识和实验设施，以支持绿色和安全航空及相关技术的发展。拟议的科学方法和过程在学术上是前沿的，在潜在的近期工业应用方面也是平衡的。该计划还将在对加拿大航空航天部门至关重要的领域为HQP提供令人兴奋的培训机会。

THE NEED: Air transport policies and aircraft manufacturers and operators demand for leaner, greener and safer aircraft transport systems as well as reduced development and operating costs has resulted in a need for a paradigm shift in aircraft design. The most promising approach to meet these targets is based on improving the global operational aircraft efficiency. To this end, the adoption of high aspect ratio configurations, lighter and tailored composites to increase payload, energy efficient propulsion systems, and advanced manufacturing has received considerable attention in the research community. Despite the great technological improvements in the fields of emissions and noise reduction, similarities in both shape and configuration in current designs are evident because conventional configurations are optimized for cruise. Outside this range, aircraft performance is far from the optimal. Since the vast majority of commercial aircraft fly mostly in cruise, only with technology breakthroughs it will be possible to significantly increase efficiency. PROPOSED PROGRAM: The research program aims to improve the performance of complex multidisciplinary engineering systems through advances in mathematical and computational models, and experimental methods. The primary objective is to connect emerging mathematical models and enabling technologies with new designs and concepts of operations to achieve “Leaner, Greener and Safer” air transportation. From a greening perspective, aircraft propulsion technology is currently transitioning to cleaner, more efficient, and quieter solutions. Hybrid electric propulsion systems offer several potential benefits over conventional systems including a smaller environmental footprint, reduced fuel consumption, longer endurance and novel distributed propulsion architectures. The research program aims to develop models to quantify the performance of hybrid propulsion systems and validate and evaluate the computational models, first in a controlled laboratory setting, and finally test the architectures in flight using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). From a safety perspective, the research program will continue to focus on structural health monitoring of aircraft composite structures as a continuation of the preceding NSERC DG. It aims to develop structural health monitoring procedures using progressive fatigue damage models based on strain and thermoelastic measurements. BENEFITS: The proposed research program will exploit the knowledge, expertise and experimental facilities at the Center for Aerospace Research in design, build, test and fly' of UAS to buttress the development of green and safe aviation and related technologies. The proposed scientific methods and processes are both leading-edge academically and balanced for potential near-term industrial applications. The program will also provide exciting opportunities for training of HQP in areas of critical importance to the Canadian aerospace sector.