European ACASIAS project contributes to making aviation more sustainable

The European ACASIAS project (Advanced Concepts for Aero-Structures with Integrated Antennas and Sensors) was launched in June 2017. The goal of ACASIAS is to reduce the fuel consumption of future aircraft by improving aerodynamic performance and by facilitating integration of new and efficient propulsion systems. ACASIAS will help to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions by aircraft and thus help to make aviation more sustainable. Eleven partners from six countries are participating in the project, with the Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) playing a coordinating role. The European subsidy for the project totals €5.8 million.

ACASIAS is focused on developing innovative aircraft structures with additional functions. Researchers at NLR are directing their attention mainly towards the structural integration of antennas used for communication purposes. In particular, the research is dedicated to developing:

1. a composite panel with an integrated Ku band antenna for satellite communication;
2. a winglet with an integrated VHF antenna;
3. a Fibre-Metal Laminate panel with an integrated VHF communication slot antenna and GPS patch antenna.

ACASIAS will also endeavour to develop a fuselage wall panel with active structural acoustic damping, with integrated sensors, actuators and wiring reducing in-cabin noise caused by sources such as CROR engines.

Besides NLR, the following parties are taking part in the project: Fokker Aerostructures (Netherlands), Fokker Elmo (Netherlands), DLR (Germany), IMST (Germany), INVENT (Germany), EVEKTOR (Czech Republic), VZLU (Czech Republic), CIMNE (Spain), TRACKWISE (United Kingdom) and L-Up (France). The partners are contributing the different disciplines needed for this multi-disciplinary research, including mechanical engineering, composite structures, antenna engineering, aerodynamics, aero-acoustics, aeronautical engineering and thermal research.