Mission:

The group for aerodynamics and icing is involved in the development of technologies for aircraft aerodynamics performances improvement, to tackle problems related to increase in safety for the flight in icing conditions and improve the effectiveness of ice protection systems.

Goals:

The group is involved in aerodynamics data-base development and in the improvements of aerodynamics performances in cruise (drag reduction) and in take-off and landing conditions (increase in lift coefficient to reduce landing and take-off distance).

A peculiar problem is the study of engine-airframe integration and air intake study with particular reference to non-conventional aircraft configurations, such as for example electrical/hybrid engines and or diesel engines. The engine/airframe aerodynamics study allow, not only to improve aerodynamics performances by reducing interference drag, but also the increase of engine performances improving the quality of the air flow required for the engine. An additional topic related to engine installation concern, by performing coupled thermal/aerodynamics study engine cooling.

With reference to aircraft icing the group is involves in ice accretion simulation on the aircraft and on aircraft components and in the study of ice protection system with a particular reference to thermal ice protection systems. The tools have several accuracy level, starting from tools bases on simplified methods to be used in preliminary design phase to higher order tools that allows the water rivulets and film simulation in icing conditions.

Finally, the group has been involved in the simulations of critical conditions only recently including in the icing certification requirements: The SLD "Supercooled Large Droplets" and the ice crystal conditions.

The Group work in a strict synergy with CIRA experimental facility: The CIRA Icing Wind Tunnel /IWT) and the CRA transonic wind tunnel PT1 for the definition of test requirements and for the test analysis.

Research Topics:

One of new area of interest is the engine airframe integration. In this area the main activities are related to air-intake design and the improvements of nacelle-airframe integration from the aerodynamic (drag reduction) and thermal (cooling) point of view.

Ice accretion can be simulated with both 2D and 3D in-house tools and work is in progress to improve ice modelling with a peculiar interest to new certification requirements such as SLD and ice crystal. Is also in progress work to improve ice accretion and ice protection simulation tool improvement by performing a more detailed study that include water film and rivulet numerical simulation.

With the support and cooperation of the other Fluid dynamics groups, all available tools are used to improve aircraft performances and safety.

IRON - Innovative turbopROp configuratioN

LED - Long Endurance Demonstrator

SHAFT - SyntHetic jet Actuators for Flow conTrol

FTB4UAS Flight Test Bed For UAS

SIMACE - System for monitoring of environmental conditions in hostile conditions

SMAF – Smart AirFrame

AIRGREEN 2 - Morphing Wing Technology

CAPRI Carrello per Atterraggio con Attuazione Intelligente

CERVIA - Innovative methods for Design and Certification of advanced aircraft composite structures

GAINS - Green AIrframe Icing Novel System

AIRONE - Cheap Online Weather Information Service for the Personal Air Vehicles sector

CTNA TILTROTOR FX

MISE - Applications for electronics of not piloted aircraft

CASTLE - CAbin Systems design Toward passenger welLbEing

COAST - COst-effective Avionic SysTem

DANTE - Development of Aero-vibro-acoustics Numerical and Technical Expertise

FLPP3-DOC Demise Observation Capsule

HEXAFLY-INT - High-Speed Experimental Fly Vehicles-International

INTERSTADIO GRID - The Interstage 2/3 of the new European launcher, VEGA C

ISAA – Imaging antenna System based on Aperiodic feeding Arrays

LIPROM – Liquid Propulsion Research on Oxygen Methane

ASCI - Safety-critical interoperability applications amongst autonomous heterogeneous systems

BIG DATA FACILITY

MIDA - Photo-interpretation with high resolution optical satellite images

CAPPADOCIA - Coordination Action Pro “Production, Avionics, Design” on Cost-efficiency in Aeronautics

Activities