Design of all electric secondary power system for future advanced MALE UAV

SAvE (Systems for UAV Alternative Energy) is a research project funded in 2007 by Piemonte Regional Government, Italy, and assigned to Politecnico di Torino and Alenia Aeronautica. Aim of the project is the study of new, more efficient, more effective and more environmentally friendly on board systems for future advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), particularly for future advanced MALE UAVs. The paper deals with the analysis and design of the all electric Secondary Power System of a future advanced MALE UAV, that we consider as "reference aircraft". After a thorough trade-off analysis of different configurations of the Secondary Power System, the hybrid configuration, characterized by generators (or better, starter/generators), fuel cells and traditional and innovative batteries, has been selected as the most promising. Detailed investigations to find the best way to apportion the supply of secondary power, considering the various power sources (generators or starter/generators, batteries and fuel cells) in the different modes of operations, have been performed thanks to an integrated simulation environment, where physical, functional and mission scenario simulations continuously exchange data and results

Leistungskatalog für nicht-medizinische Supportleistungen in Spitälern LekaS : SN EN 15221-4 branchenspezifisch angepasst, erweitert und kommentiert

Im vorliegenden Leistungskatalog für nicht-medizinische Supportleistungen (LekaS) wird die Norm «SN EN 15221-4 (2011) Facility Management: Taxonomie, Klassifikation und Strukturen im Facility Management» branchenspezifisch angepasst, erweitert und kommentiert. Der Katalog stellt einen ersten nötigen Schritt dar, um Klarheit und Transparenz im nicht-medizinischen Supportbereich in Spitälern zu schaffen

Service catalogue for non-medical support services in Hospitals (LekaS) : SN EN 15221-4 adapted, expanded and commented branchspecifically

In the present Service Catalogue for Non-medical Support Services in Hospitals (LekaS) the norm «SN EN 15221-4 (2011) Facility Management: Taxonomy, Classification and Structures in Facility Management» is, specific to the branch, adapted, expanded and commented upon.The catalogue is a first step towards more clarity and transparency in the non-medical support service area in hospitals

Preliminary Design and Simulation of a Thermal Management System with Integrated Secondary Power Generation Capability for a Mach 8 Aircraft Concept Exploiting Liquid Hydrogen

This paper introduces the concept of a thermal management system (TMS) with integrated on-board power generation capabilities for a Mach 8 hypersonic aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen (LH2). This work, developed within the EU-funded STRATOFLY Project, aims to demonstrate an opportunity for facing the challenges of hypersonic flight for civil applications, mainly dealing with thermal and environmental control, as well as propellant distribution and on-board power generation, adopting a highly integrated plant characterized by a multi-functional architecture. The TMS concept described in this paper makes benefit of the connection between the propellant storage and distribution subsystems of the aircraft to exploit hydrogen vapors and liquid flow as the means to drive a thermodynamic cycle able, on one hand, to ensure engine feed and thermal control of the cabin environment, while providing, on the other hand, the necessary power for other on-board systems and utilities, especially during the operation of high-speed propulsion plants, which cannot host traditional generators. The system layout, inspired by concepts studied within precursor EU-funded projects, is detailed and modified in order to suggest an operable solution that can be installed on-board the reference aircraft, with focus on those interfaces impacting its performance requirements and integration features as part of the overall systems architecture of the plane. Analysis and modeling of the system is performed, and the main results in terms of performance along the reference mission profile are discussed

Advanced European Re-Entry System Based on Inflatable Heat Shields Technology Roadmap and Technical challenges (EFESTO project)

The payload capability and the landing sites for Mars exploration missions may be boosted using inflatable decelerators. Similarly, these may allow recovering launcher upper stages for Earth re-entry enabling reusability. The EFESTO project, funded by the European Union programme H2020, aims at raising the European TRL of Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators. It includes design, development, and test for the flexible TPS (F-TPS) and the inflatable structures of the heat shield for atmospheric entry missions, as well as validation of tools used in the project. The project culminates with the design of an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission, setting the basis for a technology development programme. Within EFESTO, the technology roadmap, planning the necessary development activities, is generated to support the European strategic decisions in this field. A rational and logical methodology is proposed for the technology roadmap generation, considering the robustness of the result and the influence of the chosen parameters through sensitivity analysis. Multi-attribute theories are considered and implemented to include features of different nature and the preference among them. An ad hoc database of the past, present, and planned efforts in the field of atmospheric entry systems is developed and implemented in the process. The technology roadmap defined responds to the multiple technical challenges identified in the different disciplines involved: system aspects, addressing geometric and functional integration of critical uncommon sub-systems as the F-TPS and the inflatable structure in folded state, concerning the available volume and cross-section, and during re-entry conditions in consideration of the centre of gravity position and related impact on flight stability and control; aerothermodynamic aspects, strong fluid-structure interactions along the atmospheric entry which are critical for the TPS design; materials and structures aspects related with not yet matured technologies including the design of a flexible thermal protection sheet able to withstand the peak heat fluxes experienced during entry, as well as a suitable underlying inflatable structure that allows maintaining the optimal aerodynamic shape during the entirety of the mission; mission and GNC aspects, controlled entry on Earth combined with parafoil descent and Mid-Air Retrieval and ballistic entry combined with supersonic retro propulsion for Mars. Purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology to define the technology roadmap for a hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, addressing the main technical challenges and giving the incremental technology development to cope with them. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 821801

An Approach to the Preliminary Sizing and Performance Assessment of Spaceplanes’ Landing Parafoils

In this new era of space exploration, reusability and lower environmental impact are critical drivers in pursuing innovative solutions for access to space. One of these leading solutions is the Space Rider, a European reusable space plane with the ability to be both an “access to space” and a “return from space”. Following the lesson learned from the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) design and testing, the Space Rider will be equipped with a parafoil to enhance manoeuvrability during landing. Politecnico di Torino (PoliTO), in collaboration with Thales Alenia Space Italy (TAS-I), has developed an integrated tool to assess the landing performances of spaceplanes equipped with parafoils during conceptual design. The presented approach fuses sizing, dynamic models, guidance and control algorithms to provide a software suite for the rapid prototyping, sizing and performance assessment of spaceplanes’ parafoils. This paper details the implementation, mathematical background, validation and lessons learned behind the different software modules

Technology roadmapping methodology for future hypersonic transportation systems

This paper discloses an innovative methodology for the generation and update of technology roadmaps to support strategic decisions for future hypersonic transportation systems, specifically targeting non-profit oriented R&D. The methodology is fully integrated into up-to-date conceptual design activity flows. It consists of five main steps that through mathematical and logical models moves from stakeholders’ analysis up to planning definition and results evaluation. Complementary to the traditional experts-based methodologies, the rational process here presented allows for a well-structured logical definition of activities and/or missions required to enhance the readiness level of technologies, including a more accurate and reliable budget and time resources estimation to support the technology development plan. This methodology is exploited in the framework of the H2020 STRATOFLY Project to assess the potential of hypersonic civil vehicles to reach Technology Readiness Level 6 by 2035 with respect to key technological, societal and economical aspects. The paper discloses a unique assessment of the readiness level of the European air-breathing propulsive technologies. The final results confirm the crucial role of air-breathing propulsive technologies in the development of future hypersonic transportation system and highlight the urgent need to invest in in-flight demonstration missions with increasing functionalities, to target 2050 as entry in to service of the first Mach 8 civil transport