AWIATOR, a research program with amazing results.
Our friends at Airbus have been undergoing some testing during the past few months that may end up with the application of some pretty neat devices on future commercial aircraft.
In fact, these tests were the last ones to be done in order to complete a research program called AWIATOR, which stands for Advanced Wing with Advanced Technology Operation. Led by Airbus, this program began in 2002 with an 80 million euro budget, and was completed in July 2007. Several countries took part in it: Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Israel, Portugal and Greece.
As said by the people in AWIATOR, this research program was aiming to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment and to increase the security on flights as well as passenger comfort. For such purposes, several new wing technologies were tested between 2002 and 2007.
These tests took place in two different phases. The first one ran up until the end of 2003 and saw the testing of these new technologies on ground. The second phase saw the most promising technologies being installed onto an aircraft and tested in flight.
The airplane chosen for such purpose was an Airbus A340-300. Fitted with a wide range of new devices, including a considerable arrange of sensors and cameras, the aircraft took off and tested these new technologies for over 3 years.
Enlarged winglets
If one takes a look at the wing of an A340 or an A330 (there are plenty of videos in Youtube if you can´t make it to the airport), he or she will be able to clearly see that this wing has a winglet fixed to it’s end. Winglets are beginning to be a common element among modern airliners. The latest versions of Boeing’s 747, 757 and 737 came with winglets, and as for Airbus, most of it’s designs have been conceived with winglets. Even smaller aircraft like those from Bombardier come with them.
There is an obvious reason for the wide acceptance of these devices; they help reduce the drag produced by an aircraft, hence making the fuel consumption rate better.
Getting back to AWIATOR (I tend to overwrite sometimes, sorry for that), winglets were one of the devices being tested. New, enlarged winglets, with a height of 3.73 meters were mounted onto the A340-300. The winglets were tested to find out more about their behavior, their structural and aerodynamic characteristics and their ability to reduce drag farther more than the original winglets, again cutting down the fuel consumption rate.
Inner spoilers and landing flaps
Spoilers were another of the elements to be tested by the AWIATOR program. Spoilers are flap-looking elements situated on the upper side of the wing. When an aircraft touches down, the spoilers are raised, thus stopping the normal flow of air around the wing (which produces lift), and makes the airplane ‘stick’ to the ground. Spoilers are also used as airbrakes while the aircraft is in the air.
By making some openings on the bottom of the spoiler, AWIATOR was trying to optimize the performance of these devices. These openings redirect the air towards the wing, keeping it away form the plane’s tail, making the aircraft easer to fly. It must be said that these changes were made on new, inner spoilers, the idea being that this would increase the aircraft’s drag, allowing a faster, steeper descent.
The Airbus led research program also tested some new devices attached to the A340´s landing flaps. These new devices were new, smaller flaps attached to leading edge of the original ones. They proved to be very successful in increasing the wing’s performance while in flight and during the landing procedure. Noise reduction was also achieved through these small leading edge flaps, properly called Mini-
Trailing Edge Devices, reducing the environmental impact of an aircraft fitted with them. We must not forget that one of AWIATOR’s main objectives was to reduce the impact of commercial aviation on the environment.
More testing was done on the airplane’s flaps. Small metal strips known as Sub-Boundary Layer Vortex Generators were added to them. This was done to improve the flow of air over the landing flap when it’s lowered and the airplane’s air speed has drastically dropped. At such speeds, keeping the air flowing correctly over and below the wings and flaps is crucial, and the Sub-Boundary Layer Vortex Generators proved themselves to be very effective in doing so.
The LIDAR turbulence sensor
Last but no least, and in fact I’m leaving this to the end on purpose, the AWIATOR program did some serious research in order to develop a device that would be able to detect clear-air turbulences before an aircraft actually had to fly through them.
Modern airliners are designed to sustain very heavy turbulences, so these pose no serious threat to an aircraft. However, they can be very uncomfortable, and if they’re very intense, they can make the wings sustain very heavy structural loads. A device that detects such turbulences will most surely be of good help to any airline, since it will prevent any further repairs.
The LIDAR turbulence sensor is a laser based ‘radar’ which operates at ultra violate wave lengths. It detects any variations in the air that may end up in any kind of turbulence. By using the backscatter produced by air molecules, the LIDAR turbulence sensor is capable of ‘seeing’ turbulences ahead of the aircraft. Modern airliners cruise at extremely high altitudes, almost 40.000 feet. At such a height, it is very hard to find any kind of particles rather than thin air ones. It is hard not be astonished at the precision of this device.
The turbulence sensor converts the readings it does into images in a screen, which is located in the cockpit. This allows the pilot and copilot to evaluate the magnitude and intenseness of the air gusts ahead of them, and then deciding either to fly around them or through them. If they choose to go right through the turbulent air, the LIDAR turbulence sensor will independently operate any necessary aircraft surface to make the flight as smooth as possible.
Amazing.
The AWIATOR program has proven to be a great success, achieving environmental friendly, smoother and safer flights. Even though it might take a few more years to fully develop these new devices, they’re ready for use. Will Airbus wait for the airlines to request their installation or will it go ahead alone? Now that’s a good question, I’ll get back to it in the future.
