Alenia stretches its wings with modeFRONTIER

Alenia Aermacchi has announced it is using modeFRONTIER software for its wing design optimisation. The platform, developed by Esteco, has proved essential in enhancing aerodynamic performance by 2.5% while reducing wing weight in new generation aircraft. In a collaborative venture, Alenia Aermacchi is heading the Green Regional Aircraft (GRA) design team of The Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative, committed to developing environmentally-friendly aircraft. Domestic air travel of the future will meet demands for weight reduction, aerodynamic efficiency, high level operative performance, compliance with emission standards, and respect of noise limits. Alenia Aermacchi choose modeFRONTIER multi-objective platform to reach ambitious goals like lowering aircraft drag, wing weight, and environmental impact of lower speed conditions, while enhancing the overall environmental performance measured by fuel consumption and noise generation. Seeking the most promising solution for this new generation aircraft, the studies performed with modeFRONTIER involved the optimisation of two wing shapes: one to analyse aerodynamic performance, and another to pursue weight reduction of the wing. modeFRONTIER helped achieving remarkable enhancement for both wing configurations, while still complying with Top Level Aircraft Requirements (TLAR). “modeFRONTIER has proved to help effectively the design team in identifying feasible solutions and achieving a 2.5% enhancement of aerodynamic performance and a 4% wing weight reduction,” said, Alenia Aermacchi CFD specialist, Enrica Marentino. www.esteco.com www.aleniaaermacchi.com