DREAM

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Validation of Radical Engine Architecture Systems
Contract no. 211861
Project no. FP7-AAT-2007-RTD-1
Coordinator: Rolls-Royce UK
start: 1st February 2008
duration: 36 months
status: partner

 

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 211861

Contractors:

1) Rolls-Royce plc 2) Avio s.p.a 3) Industria de TurboPropulsores SA 4) MTU Aero Engines 5) Rolls-Royce Deutschland LTD CO KG 6) Snecma 7) Techspace Aero 8) Turbomeca 9) ARTTIC 10) Airbus 11) Supaero 12) Technical University of Berlin 13) Volvo Aero Corporation 14) DOWTY 15) Slesian University of Technology 16) TsAGI 17) Stichting Nationaal Lucht an Ruimtevaartlaboratorium 18) University of Southampton 19) Chalmers University of Technology 20) SCITEK 21) Centro de Tecnologias Aeronauticas 22) Universidad Politecnica de Madrid 23) Office National d'Etudes et de Recherches Spatiales 24) Vibratec 25) Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. 26) Politecnico Torino 27) Universita'  degli Studi di Firenze 28) Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne 29) Progresa 30) Centre de Recherche en Aeronautique, ASBL 31) Von Karman Institute 32) Central Institute of Aviation Motors 33) University of the Armed Forces Munich 34) Universitat Stuttgart 35) Magna Steyr 36) EcoPar 37) Vibro-meter 38) GRAZ University of Technology 39) Politecnico di Milano 40) EUROCOPTER 41) Total 42) Institut Francais du Petrole 43) Technical University of Dresden 44) Pars Makina 45) Cranfield University 46) University of Cambridge 47) Technical University Darmstadt

Links:
DREAM public website

Abstract:

Since the publication of the ACARE goals, the commercial and political pressure to reduce CO2 has increased considerably. DREAM is the response of the engine community to this pressure. The first major DREAM objective is consequently to design, integrate and validate new engine concepts based on open rotor contra-rotating architectures to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions 7% beyond the ACARE 2020 objectives.
Open rotors are noisier than equivalent high bypass ratio turbofan engines; therefore it is necessary to provide solutions that will meet existing and future noise ICAO certification standards. The second major DREAM objective is a 3dB noise emission reduction per operation point for the engine alone compared to the Year 2000 engine reference with potential for further improvement through installation.
These breakthroughs will be achieved by designing and rig testing:

  • Innovative engine concepts – a geared and a direct drive contra-rotating open rotor (unducted propulsion system)
  • Enabling architectures with novel active and passive engine systems to reduce vibrations. These technologies will support the development of future open rotor engines but also more traditional ducted turbofan engines.

DREAM will also develop specifications for alternative fuels for aero-engines and then characterise, assess and test several potential fuels. This will be followed by a demonstration that the selected fuels can be used in aero-engines.
The DREAM technologies will then be integrated and the engine concepts, together with alternative fuels usage, will be assessed through a modified version of the Techno-Economic and Environment Risk Assessment (TERA) tool developed in VITAL and NEWAC. This assessment will be done using two reference aircraft configurations, the first an innovative installation for open rotor concepts and the second a conventional current short range aircraft with turbofans. The engine concepts considered in the assessment will be the geared and direct drive open rotors and a conventional turbofan based on NEWAC requirements. The relevant outputs of the essential enabling technologies and the alternative fuels will be assessed against these engine concepts.
The DREAM consortium, led by Rolls-Royce, is composed of 44 partners from 13 countries, providing the best expertise and capability from the EU aeronautics industry and Russia. The DREAM consortium includes all European leading engine manufacturers, key research institutes and SMEs. DREAM will mature technologies that offer the potential to go beyond the ACARE objectives for SFC, achieving a TRL of 4-5 during the project. These technologies are candidates to be brought to a higher TRL level (6) within the scope of the CLEAN SKY JTI.

Publications:

  1. Pinelli L., Poli F., Marconcini M., Arnone A., Spano E., Torzo D., Schipani C., 2011, "A Linearized Method for Tone Noise Generation and Propagation Analysis in a Multistage Contra-Rotating Turbine", 9th European Turbomachinery Conference (ETC9), Instabul, Turkey, 21-25 March 2011