Very efficient large aircraft
Very Efficient Large Aircraft (VELA) was a research project in the 6th Framework Program of the European Union (6th Framework Program) from October 15, 2002 to October 14, 2005.
Partner and goal setting
In addition to Airbus, partners were numerous national aviation research institutions ( DLR , ONERA , INTA , CIRA in Italy, NLR in the Netherlands, VZLU in the Czech Republic) and university institutes (including TU Braunschweig , TU Munich , Bristol University , University of Greenwich ). The objective of the project, which has a budget of eight million euros, was the investigation of blended wing body concepts (BWB) for civil aviation.
It was hoped for an evolutionary leap in the construction of civil aircraft, where cylindrical pressurized cabins and separate wings still predominate. As special motivation points in the further development of the BWB concept,
- the aerodynamics
- Stability and control
- the aircraft structure
- the payload storage
- and the general structural design
called. A better ratio of dynamic lift to air resistance should also significantly reduce fuel consumption.
Results
The results of the project were presented at the Aeronautics Days 2006 in Vienna. Accordingly, two concepts, VELA1 and VELA2, turned out to be particularly promising for further investigations. Both tailless designs are strongly reminiscent of the design of Vincent Burnelli , who developed the so-called lifting fuselage . The fuselage was widened so much that it could generate 50% of the lift, while the outer wings were designed conventionally. For example, Burnelli's preferred profile-shaped longitudinal section of the central torso was initially considered at VELA. In the course of the project development, however, there was a strong flattening in the longitudinal section, the profile shape was only retained at the end of the fuselage.
While a reduction in aircraft weight by 8% and an improvement in aerodynamic properties by 4 to 8% are considered feasible, the optimal design of the very wide passenger cabin remains a problem that has not yet been finally solved.
Following the research project, the “Future Projects Office” of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus commissioned the Institute for Aircraft Construction at the University of Stuttgart to build a model based on the VELA2 design that was examined and optimized in the wind tunnel as part of the project. In 2008, the 25 kg model, which has a wingspan of 3 m, flew for the first time.
Web links
- Project presentation at the "Aeronautics Days" June 2006 in Vienna (English, PDF file; 7.6 MB)
- VELA project website of the DLR
- Project report IST World