Sir John Parker, Chairman of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, concluded: “It was with great satisfaction that through our succession planning process we have found such a wealth and breadth of talents inside EADS. We chose the right person for each of the open positions, to rise to the upcoming strategic challenges facing this Group, and maintain its hard earned leadership positions. It is regrettable that this generation of management could not yet incorporate female appointments, but I feel comforted that the next wave is showing some very promising prospective candidates for subsequent rounds of succession.“

Other top management positions Following the recommendations of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, the Board also announces further evolutions of the management team effective 1 June, 2012: •Fabrice Brégier will succeed Tom Enders and become CEO of Airbus, EADS’ largest division, and Günter Butschek, presently Head of Operations of Airbus will be affected to the position of COO of Airbus.

•Harald Wilhelm will become Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of EADS, alongside his present role as CFO of Airbus, following the request of Hans Peter Ring to retire from the company and pursue other objectives. Hans Peter Ring will be preparing his successor for this transition over the next months, and will remain close to him as a senior advisor until the end of 2012.

 •Marwan Lahoud, whose mandate comes up for renewal, is reappointed as Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer (CSMO).

•Thierry Baril will assume the role of Head of Human Resources (HR) for EADS; he will retain his duties as Head of Airbus HR together with his expanded responsibility. Jussi Itävuori leaves the company after ten years as Head of HR for EADS. He continues to represent EADS in the Board of Directors of Patria in Finland. Board of Directors As for the Board of Directors, most current Board members will stand for re-appointment, carrying the experience gained over the last five years into the new Board. The following names will be proposed for appointment by the AGM:

 •Arnaud Lagardère, 50, Managing Partner of Lagardère SCA;

 •Tom Enders, 53, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus SAS;

•Hermann Josef Lamberti, 55, Member of the Management Board of Deutsche Bank AG;

•Sir John Parker, 69, Chairman of Anglo American PLC;

•Michel Pébereau, 70, Honorary President of BNP Paribas;

•Lakshmi Mittal, 61, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal;

 •Bodo Uebber, 52, Member of the Management Board of Daimler AG;

•Wilfried Porth, 52, Member of the Management Board of Daimler AG;

 •Dominique D’Hinnin, 52, Co-Managing Partner of Lagardère SCA; •Jean-Claude Trichet, 69, Former President of the European Central Bank;

•SEPI, the Spanish state holding company, will provide the name of the director representing it in the coming weeks. Juan Manuel Eguiagaray and Rolf Bartke have chosen not to stand for reappointment.

The 1,000th Airbus delivery was an A340-300 that went to Air France in 1993, nineteen years after the first Airbus aircraft was delivered – an A300B2 also to Air France, in 1974. The 2,000th delivery was six years later in 1999. It took half that time, just three years, to get to the 3,000th delivery in 2002 and three more years to reach 4,000 deliveries. The tempo went up another notch taking Airbus only two years to hand over its 5,000th aircraft, an A330-200 to Qantas in December 2007.

The 6,000th Airbus was an A380 which was delivered to Emirates in January 2010. “It’s particularly fitting that our 7,000th aircraft is an A321 going to US Airways. The airline not only operates the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world; with over 220 A320 Family aircraft flying in US Airways colours today, they also operate the largest fleet of our best-selling, eco-efficient A320 Family,” said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO.

“This milestone is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of Airbus teams around the world. We have improved efficiencies company-wide and this has enabled us to deliver record numbers of latest generation aircraft at continually increasing rates, with an environmental footprint ever decreasing.”

“Airbus has been a long-term strategic partner to US Airways. Today we celebrate a significant milestone in Airbus’ history,” said US Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Parker. “It is an honor to be the recipient of their 7,000th delivery. On behalf of the 32,000 employees at US Airways, we applaud this tremendous accomplishment and look forward to a continued successful partnership.” By the end of the year, US Airways will operate a fleet of 93 A319s, 72 A320s, 63 A321s and 16 A330s.

The airline also has firm orders for an additional 58 A320 Family aircraft, eight A330 aircraft and 22 A350 XWBs on backlog. Over 8,200 A320 Family aircraft have already been ordered and more than 4,900 delivered to more than 340 customers and operators worldwide reaffirming its position as the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family. The A320neo has over 95 percent airframe commonality with the current A320, making it an easy fit into existing fleets while offering up to 500 nautical miles (950 kilometres) more range or two tonnes more payload at a given range.

“They could increase efficiency and reliability and reduce costs,” hopes Russell Boyce of the University of Queensland, SCRAMSPACE project leader. The advantage of scramjets is that they use oxygen from the atmosphere, so only the fuel needs to be carried on board. According to Boyce’s projections, a scramjet would ideally be combined with a multi-stage rocket. Testing the scramjet engine complete with intake, combustion chamber and exhaust nozzle requires special facilities.
One of these is the High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel in Göttingen, Germany (Hochenthalpiekanal Göttingen; HEG), where tests are currently being carried out. “HEG is one of the largest and leading facilities for hypersonic research, where the models investigated can be larger than those we study in Australia,” says Boyce.

During operation of the 62-metre-long wind tunnel, a piston first compresses a gas that will act as a propellant. A steel membrane is then ruptured and a strong shock wave compresses and heats a test gas, before it is accelerated to 8800 kilometres per hour in the wind tunnel. The gas then flows around the model. “This scenario simulates flight at an altitude of around 30 kilometres,” says Klaus Hannemann, Head of the Spacecraft Department at the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology in Göttingen. The researchers are interested in the complex aerothermodynamic processes taking place in the scramjet. How must the fuel be injected? How can the combustion process be improved? They are also investigating whether the physical and chemical conditions can be transferred to a larger engine. Only significantly larger scramjets could be sensibly considered for use in spaceflight. The possible use of scramjets in spaceflight is still a long way away.

“We want to explore the fundamental potential for scramjets in these tests,” explains Hannemann. Another challenge for scramjets is the development of new types of materials. The DLR Institute of Structures and Design in Stuttgart is a leader in this area and is supplying the control fins for the test flight. SCRAMSPACE I is scheduled for launch at the Woomera Test Range in Australia in March 2013. The 1.8-metre-long spacecraft will be transported to an altitude of 340 kilometres by two rocket stages. After leaving the atmosphere, the scramjet will separate from the launcher and control rudders will stabilise it for the return journey. During the return flight, the vehicle will be accelerated to Mach 8 – about 9900 kilometres per hour. The part of the experiment important to the scientists takes place at an altitude of between 27 and 32 kilometres. This is where the scramjet will ignite and a wide range of instruments will analyse the combustion.

The landing in the Australian desert will be harsh: “It will already have broken apart in the atmosphere and will simply crash land,” says Boyce. The critical data for the researchers will have already been transmitted to the ground through a radio link. The mobile rocket base (MObile RAketen Basis; MORABA), operated by DLR Oberpfaffenhofen, will carry out the launch of SCRAMSPACE I. DLR Braunschweig has analysed the aerodynamics of the scramjet. International partners involved in the Australian project include the Japanese and Italian space agencies.

www.dlr.de

Friday the 2nd of December the start of the cooperation was officially launched during visit to Aviolanda of executive Counselor of the Province of North-Brabant, Mr. De Boer. Derk-Jan van Heerden of AELS and Jaap Drost of Aviolanda revealed a new sign at the entrance.

AELS

Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions (AELS) is a Dutch AFRA accredited company that develops end-of-life strategies and executes the resulting solution for aircraft owners all over the world. The total end-of-life solution that AELS provides consist of three elements. Firstly, assistance during the end-of-life decision process. Secondly, the disassembly and dismantling of the aircraft. And thirdly, AELS offers all activities required to re-introduce the parts in the aviation sector, such as logistics, marketing and sales. In its short history AELS has used sustainable and green solutions to process about 30 aircraft for high profile clients, such us KLM, Lufthansa, Iberia and TNT.

Fokker Services

Fokker Services is part of Fokker Technologies, which develops and produces advanced components and systems for the aerospace industry, and supplies integrated maintenance services and products to aircraft owners and operators. In 2010 the group achieved a turnover of € 616 million with 3,700 employees.

Aviolanda Business Park

Situated roughly halfway between the international ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, the Woensdrecht airbase has an attractive strategic location. This military airbase, which has been home to the aviation industry and training facilities for 75 years, forms the heart of Business Park Aviolanda: a joint development project involving government bodies, business and educational institutions. Business Park Aviolanda and its surroundings have all the necessary ingredients for the site to become the leading European centre for aviation-related commercial activities. It represents an ideal location for companies looking to settle in the direct vicinity of the military airbase. The development of the site is being approached from the perspectives of sustainability, urbanisation and commerce, including considerations such as employment, living, workforce, education and research.

The airplane is 20 percent more fuel efficient than similarly sized airplanes. The sixth 787, ZA006, powered by General Electric GEnx engines, departed from Boeing Field in Seattle at 11:02 a.m. on Dec. 6 and set the distance record for its class (440,000-550,000 lbs.) with a 10,710 nmi (19,835 km) flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh, with credit for 10,337 nmi (19,144 km).

This record had previously been held by the Airbus A330 based on a 9,127 nmi (16,903 km) flight in 2002. Following an approximately two-hour stop for refueling in Dhaka, the airplane returned to Seattle on a 9,734 nmi (18,027 km) flight. The airplane landed at 5:29 a.m. on Dec. 8, setting a new record for speed around the world (eastbound) with a total trip time of 42 hours and 27 minutes.

There was no previous around-the-world speed record for this weight class. The 787 carried six pilots, an observer for the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), and operations and other Boeing employees – 13 people in total. Flight routing on the first segment of the journey took the airplane from Seattle across the U.S. to Nantucket. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the airplane entered European air space at Santiago, Spain, and proceeded down the Mediterranean, across Egypt to Luxor, across the Middle East and over India to Bangladesh.

On the second segment, the Dreamliner flew over Singapore, the Philippines and Guam before entering U.S. airspace over Honolulu and returning to Seattle. Boeing holds world records for longest distance flights in five weight classes with records set by the KC-135, 767-200ER (extended range), 777-200 and 777-200LR (longer range). The 777-200 also holds the speed record for its weight class.

Boeing’s Site Services Group, BRPH and Pattillo Construction were recognized at the ceremony for completing the facility on schedule. Pattillo’s crew worked more than 500,000 labor-hours without a lost-time accident. The 300,000 square foot (27,871 square meters) facility includes state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, and employees will use the latest Lean processes and tools to efficiently produce interior components to match 787 production rates at Boeing South Carolina.

www.boeing.com

With a focus on sustainable coatings, cutting drying times and saving costs by shortening the application process, Aerobase not only offers a high quality finish but reduces paint usage meaning it is an efficient and environmentally progressive paint solution.
The paint system has been developed in line with one of Airbus’ key objectives to produce aircraft that are friendlier to the environment and more eco-efficient. The first to deliver reliable base coat/clear coat systems to the industry, AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings’ Aerobase system only requires one coat per color and one layer of clear coat, resulting in reduced paint usage. This, coupled with a dramatically reduced drying time, which helps to reduce energy consumption and labour costs, allow the aircraft to leave the paint facility with the best looking, most durable decorative finish available on the market.

Built on nearly a century of technical knowledge and experience, AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings’ new technology is expected to change the future of paint application to external surfaces on aircraft. For airlines around the globe, the Aerobase system offers the ultimate in decorative finishes and an opportunity to strengthen brand identity with aircraft which look ‘factory new’ for longer. The Aerobase base coat/clear coat system is ready for use in series production and offered to Airbus customers as an option.

www.akzonobel.com/aerospace

Researchers from DLR Göttingen and Airbus have flight-tested a ventilation system that promises to provide a solution to this problem using DLR’s Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA). The new system is known as ‘displacement’ ventilation. In contrast to existing systems, displacement ventilation delivers air into the cabin at a lower speed and through inlets at floor level. As it makes contact with passengers and other heat sources, the air heats up and slowly rises, arriving where it is needed without causing draughts.

“The anticipated benefits of displacement ventilation have been confirmed,” says Johannes Bosbach of the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology. “The speed of the airflow, and therefore the perception of draughts, is much lower than with conventional ventilation systems; this has been demonstrated both by sensor measurements and by the feedback from our volunteers.” Maintaining the aircraft cabin at room temperature proved to be no problem. During the test flight, ATRA flew at an altitude of 10 kilometres for four and a half hours. This duration and altitude correspond to those of a standard medium-haul flight.

For the test, 63 mannequins were placed in passenger seats, with their seatbelts securely fastened. Each life-size dummy was wrapped with electrically heated wiring that dissipated 75 watts; this matches the average amount of heat given off by a seated passenger. Sensors, including ones positioned at ankle, knee and head height, measured air temperature and speed of airflow; a total of more than 220 sensors were used. Air pressure and humidity levels were also monitored, and laser lights were used to make the airflow visible. In addition to the mannequins, 12 people were on board as test subjects. They were asked to subjectively evaluate the ‘feel’ of the ventilation system.

(See video: ATRA_Kabinenforschung_720p_HQ.mov)

In conventional ‘mixing’ ventilation systems, air is introduced into the cabin from above, and at a faster rate of flow. This could cause passengers, particularly those occupying aisle seats, to experience a cold shoulder. For the purposes of testing displacement ventilation, the air-conditioning system of the Airbus was modified radically; effectively, it was turned upside down. The air was introduced at floor level, with a lower flow rate than for mixing ventilation, and extracted from above. With displacement ventilation, a pool of fresh air builds up at floor level and this air flows upwards over warm surfaces – for example, the passengers – cooling them.

This means that fresh air is available where it is most needed; it also ensures that the cooler incoming air flows across the objects that require cooling, which helps to increase the energy efficiency of displacement ventilation. Incoming air does not need to be cooled to the extent previously required, and commonly found, in aircraft cabins. DLR’s André Heider summed it up with these words: “In a passenger aircraft, the air always needs to be cooled down, simply because passengers and electronic equipment produce a great deal of heat.” Due to the reduced rate of airflow, this new system reduces draughts and greatly improves the cabin atmosphere. This type of ventilation is already employed in many public buildings such as cinemas and concert halls, but DLR and Airbus have now tested it in an airborne aircraft.

DLR Göttingen has been working for several years on computer simulation and experimental investigation of climate control on board aircraft. In Göttingen, DLR has a Do 728 research aircraft as well as various cabin cross-sections, including one of an Airbus A380. All the metrology techniques and the mannequins were developed by DLR at Göttingen. Every component had to undergo approval testing prior to in-flight use. For example, it had to be demonstrated that the test dummies would not ignite when subjected to temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius. Next year, a flight is being planned in which conventional ventilation will be examined for comparison purposes.

The manual alignment with the clumsy templates and the wearisome measuring are now a thing of the past. Furthermore, the laser projection optimises the work processes and improves the quality thanks to the immediate visual inspection. The templates still widely used for aligning large, flat materials and for producing composites today only meet the high demands in industry to a limited extent. The often complex forms with high demands on dimensional tolerances and quality require an enormous amount of manual labour for measuring and handling. Furthermore, the production of the templates is laborious and costly, because a new template has to be manufactured for every new shape. In addition, templates wear quickly and tie up a great deal of warehousing capacity due to their size and form. This is unprofitable and time-consuming, particularly in the development and prototype phase when modifications frequently have to be made. The production of large, flat parts using templates is therefore expensive and lacks flexibility.

Incorrectly laid mats during the production of composites, such as fibre-reinforced parts, always results in scrap as the expensive material cannot be re-used after stoving.

Companies have to react to the growing demands on quality and on efficient and flexible production with improved production methods. Companies who still work with templates do not utilise the advantages that advanced tools such as laser projectors offer.

The laser projectors from LAP for example replace the clumsy templates by projecting complex contours onto the working surface with millimetre precision. In order to image the contour on the surface, two rotating software-controlled mirrors deflect the laser beam. The laser dot moves at very high speed along the working surface, creating the impression of a continuous line. The system draws the necessary information from the CAD data.

A projection system essentially comprises one or more projectors and a computer with the projection software. The software can be operated independently or integrated into the machine controller via an interface. In most cases, the laser projectors are mounted perpendicularly above the working surface on a supporting structure or fastened to the ceiling. Thanks to the compact form, the low weight and integrated swivel mount, the low-maintenance projectors can be employed practically anywhere.

Calibration is necessary for the precise 1:1 projection. It establishes the exact relationship between the projector position and the projection surface. For this the system scans the “targets”. These are reflectors located at previously surveyed points. From this the system calculates the position of the projector relative to the projection surface. A manual basic calibration is required just once immediately after installation. During day-to-day operation, the system checks the calibration automatically within seconds. That rules out operator errors and ensure lasting maximum precision and reproducibility.

Mulit-coloured system

During the development of the LAP laser projectors, the engineers attached great importance to ease of operation. Replacement of the projector, for example during maintenance or for a hardware upgrade, involves loosening just one screw. No specialist personnel are required. The new or upgraded device supplied by LAP continues to fit exactly into the existing mounting, is quickly installed and calibrates itself automatically. The whole process typically takes just a few minutes.

LAP says they are the only manufacturer of laser projectors that can image three colours simultaneously. That allows certain areas where particular attention is necessary to be highlighted. With the change in colour from red to yellow or green, the system can also signal which parts the worker still has to position, which parts are in process or are already finished. It is also helpful, however, to select the colour with which the contour can best be seen on the base material.

The second colour (such as red) can be used in the prefabricated building industry, for example, to mark the outlines of plug socket or window openings and to show after positioning of the shuttering elements whether they are in the right place. The third colour can display, for example, a part number.

The LAP PRO-SOFT software offers a number or work-simplifying features: Taking over of CAD data, transmission of the control signals to the projector, digitisation of parts, automatic calibration and naturally visualisation of the contours. The LAP software can even manage and control whole working processes. “This special feature provides enormous relief for the operator, particularly with complex work processes such as the production of composites. Furthermore, it is a convenient and reliable quality assurance tool,” explains Axel Rieckmann, Sales Director Industry at LAP.

“The special COMPOSITE PRO systems project the exact position of the various mats or parts and an unambiguous identification number. The system guides the worker step-by-step through the production of the composites and forgets none of the parts. In addition, the individual work steps are documented.”

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus, for example, optimises the efficiency of the production of carbon fibre-reinforced parts for the wings, fuselage and tail of the new Airbus A350 XWB with the laser projectors. Here the aircraft manufacturer uses carbon fibre-reinforced materials also for components of the fuselage and for the complete wings.

That significantly reduces the weight, and hence the fuel consumption, of the more than 65 metre long aircraft with its wing span of over 60 metres. LAP Sales Director Industry, Axel Rieckmann: “The aircraft manufacturer Airbus has placed orders with LAP for the supply of a total of 220 laser projection systems. LAP is thus a strategic partner of Airbus, and that’s something we’re proud of.”

When building up the carbon fibre parts, the laser beams project the position of the individual carbon fibre mats. That saves time and money, as the alignment of the parts using the clumsy templates and the time-consuming measuring are eliminated.

Errors can be practically ruled out

In addition, the correct position and alignment of the carbon fibre mats can also be checked. After laying up, the second colour indicates whether the mat is correctly positioned. Errors in production can thus be practically ruled out. During production, the projectors guide the workers step-by-step through the whole make-up of the components. As in an electronic ply book, the individual work steps such as the positioning of the carbon fibre mats or the exact marking of rib structures, honeycombs and other integral elements are displayed in the correct sequence. All the elements are thus in the right place at the right time, checked and documented.

The multi-head system is suitable for the handling of large parts. Several projectors with overlapping working ranges cover the whole length. There are thus practically no limits to the size of the working area. The multi-tasking feature of PRO SOFT makes it possible to display the contour they are currently working on separately for different working groups. All the teams can therefore work completely independently of one another.

The advantages of the new technology at a glance

• Particularly simple: Laser calibration, outlines projected, element posi tioned – quick and uncomplicated
• Bye-bye templates: The costly pro duction, storage, management and cumbersome handling are all a thing of the past
• Very high precision
• Multitasking for optimisation: Sever- al teams can work simultaneously on the same component

German Summary

Beim Ausrichten und Verlegen flächiger Materialien und beim Herstellen von Verbundwerkstoffen arbeiten viele Unternehmen immer noch mit Schablonen oder messen manuell. Beides ist enorm aufwändig und fehleranfällig. Laserprojektoren ersetzen das zeitraubende Verfahren, indem sie selbst komplexe Konturen millimetergenau projizieren. Das manuelle Ausrichten mit den unhandlichen Schablonen und das umständliche Einmessen entfallen. Zusätzlich optimiert die Laserprojektion die Arbeitsabläufe und verbessert die Qualität durch sofortige optische Kontrolle. Der deutschsprachige Beitrag ist nachzulesen auf: www.aerotec-online.com/aero0211lap

Along with the aircraft characteristics, modal identification methods used during flutter testing have evolved to assure correct parameter identification. Frequencies and damping value estimations have to be as accurate as possible in order to define the aircraft fluttering margins used during those first mission-critical in-flight test campaigns.

The Airbus flutter team in Toulouse, France faced quite some challenges working on the Airbus A380 campaign, but there were issues they had faced before with the Airbus A340 flutter campaign: high modal density and similar mode shapes, both placed in a low narrow frequency band.

In terms of modal identification, these new precise requirements called for a better-defined and better-equipped testing installation. This meant digging a bit to find the right kind of process. Measured data needed to be recorded at enough locations with high enough quality to improve power spectra and transfer function estimates and avoid spatial aliasing when working out aircraft deformed shapes. This required some innovative thinking and serious process validation in regards to current techniques.

Since 2001, Airbus France and LMS International have been cooperating in regards to several EUREKA projects called “FLITE” (Flight Test Easy). An intergovernmental initiative to support market-oriented European R&D, the EUREKA FLITE projects focus on bringing new and powerful tools to structural engineers and aircraft designers, improving the quality and usefulness of data gathered during flight testing.

The FLITE consortium gathers world-ranking aircraft manufacturers and technology providers from France, Belgium and Poland. The FLITE projects offered a unique opportunity to confront new advanced algorithms with challenging real-life aircraft data.

In late 2007, LMS and Airbus agreed to start a project to evaluate LMS PolyMAX, an integrated part of the LMS Test.Lab Structures suite as a key solution to achieve high-quality off-line in-flight data processing for flutter testing. The suite is a complete solution for modal analysis, combining high-speed multichannel data acquisition with a suite of integrated testing, analysis, and reporting tools.

In the past, the Flight Test Departments of Airbus France performed data analysis using their in-house near real-time analysis package and transferred the results together with the raw data to Airbus Germany where the numerical flutter predictions were correlated with actual flight tests. However, Airbus France felt the need to carry out some more in-depth data processing, so that they could transfer more complete results to Germany.

“Clearly, we needed a solution that would improve the alignment between on-line in-flight analysis occurring in Toulouse and the post-processing completed in the design center in Airbus Germany. At this stage, we are very pleased with the results,” stated Jean Roubertier, Flight test department aeroelasticity expert at Airbus. Considering that the 525-seat Airbus A380 is the largest commercial passenger aircraft in the skies today, it isn’t surprising that simply due to its sheer size, the acquired in-flight testing data is record-breaking as well.

“With more than 100 sensors, this was one of the largest set-ups for an in-flight flutter test campaign I have ever seen. Also the amount of tests under different flight conditions is impressive. The resulting database is immense and efficient processing and report generation capabilities are required,” stated Bart Peeters, LMS Research Project Manager.

Reduced time for flutter test flights

The Airbus Flutter team in Toulouse performed a variety of excitations including control surfaces sine sweeps and pulses. Pulses are currently used to assure crew and aircraft safety, whereas sweeps are used to workout more accurate results allowing to update theoretical FE models. Thanks to integrating pulses into the process, flutter flights duration time has been considerably reduced.

Technically speaking, the basic concept behind the project was to compare classical experimental modal analysis (EMA) with LMS Test.Lab’s Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) technique. In classical EMA, the control surface excitation and aircraft response signals are converted to Frequency Response Functions (FRFs). During the actual flight, other excitation sources, such as turbulence are present. Sometimes, this results in noisy FRFs. For example, an aircraft tail response sensor receives a rather limited contribution from the wing excitation. Therefore, the idea arose to neglect the excitation signal and apply OMA to the aircraft acceleration signals.

“We actually achieved better results using OMA than with classical EMA. We found more modes. The synthesis was better with higher correlation and fewer errors. And the in-flight mode shapes looked much nicer,” added Miquel Angel Oliver Escandell. “This was thanks to the amount of sensors we used and the OMA capabilities of LMS Test.Lab.”

Even with projects of this scale, there is always noise in the data that needs to be managed. LMS Test.Lab paints a really clear picture with techniques that produce clear analysis results even from rather noisy data. This feature really offers clients like Airbus a true competitive advantage when it comes to off-line test processing.

“We found that the exponential window, which allowed for cross-correlation calculations, was a good de-noising tool for our in-flight data,” stated Miquel Angel Oliver Escandell, a member of the Airbus Flutter team who was dedicated to the project for a year. “And the validation tools such as correlation levels, MAC matrix, mode shape complexity (MPD and MPC criteria) are very complimentary in regards to real-time identifications performed during flutter tests.”

During the comparison testing, the flutter team at Airbus used LMS PolyMAX during sweep excitations of the aircraft. Results, using an exponential window of 5% appear to be good, supplying high synthesis correlations (98% using just two references) and clear stabilization diagrams. “We’ve been extremely impressed by the flutter analysis results and the way that the LMS Test.Lab software can handle the challenges of processing the immense amount of Airbus A380in-flight data during the off-line analysis,”concluded Jean Roubertier.

German Summary

Dieser Beitrag stellt ein optimiertes Verfahren zur Flatteranalyse vor, mit dem Airbus arbeitet. Als Flattern bezeichnet man eine ungedämpfte Schwingung eines Flugzeugs. Dieses Phänomen stellt eine der großen Herausforderungen im Flugzeugbau dar, kann jedoch durch konstruktive Maßnahmen beeinflusst werden. Flattern gehört zu den Effekten der Aeroelastizität, der Interaktion zwischen Trägheits-, Elastizitäts- und aerodynamischen Kräften, die bei der Flugzeugkon-struktion eine zentrale Rolle spielt. Denn sobald vier riesige Motoren, größere Abmessungen und Flexibilität hinzukommen, ist es wenig überraschend, dass sich das aerodynamische Verhalten eines Flugzeugs verändert und zunehmend komplex wird. Gerade bei der Kampagne für den A380 stand das Airbus „Flatterteam“ im französischen Toulouse vor einigen Herausforderungen. Der deutschsprachige Beitrag ist nachzulesen auf: www.aerotec-online.com/aero0211flat