Direct aviation emissions accounted for 3.8% of total CO2 emissions and 13.9% of the emissions from transport in the EU in 2017, making it the second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions after road transport. In addition, the growing amount of air traffic means that many EU citizens are still exposed to high noise levels. Intensified research and innovation activities are therefore needed to reduce all aviation impacts and emissions (CO2 and non-CO2, noise, manufacturing) for the EU to reach its policy goals towards a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
One of the main levers to decrease CO2 emissions is to reduce the airframe structural weight. As an answer, FALCON’s ambition is to enhance the design capabilities of the European industrial aircraft sector, focusing on fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomena to improve the aerodynamic performances of aircraft (unsteady loads). Specifically, FALCON aims to develop high-performance, predictive and multi-disciplinary tools for FSI in aeronautics, in order to reduce the aeroacoustics and aeroelastic instabilities using multi-fidelity optimization. This will also benefit to specific noise emissions generated by flexible and mobile airframe structures when exposed to both low and high-speed fluid flows.
To achieve its ambitious goal, FALCON assembles a unique interdisciplinary environment of fifteen public and private institutions and their affiliated entities (from renowned research institutions to SMEs and aircraft high-tier suppliers and integrators) to cover all the required scientific and know-how expertise. Building upon three industrial testcases and tight links with key European partnerships such as Clean Aviation, FALCON delineates a high-impact/low-risk proposal that will significantly contribute to the digital transformation of the European aircraft supply chain.