The importance of simulation and the advantages offered to the product in terms of quality, times and costs, becomes a vital element in the complex aeronautical world.

“Virtual” today means being able to simulate the whole development cycle, from requirements’ definition to the entry into service of a component, a system or an entire aircraft. The target of the 2010 conference is to develop and consolidate the international forum created in the
previous editions, in order to share and discuss the state of the art of solutions, processes and projects concerning Virtual Test & Engineering Simulation in Aerospace & Defence, with particular reference to the European aerospace community.

The conference, taking place in Naples from May 6th to 7th, at the Italian Air Force Academy of Pozzuoli, counts among its sponsors IBM and other international companies such as Symphony Services, LMS, SIM2 e CD – ADAPCONAFEMS International (the biggest organisation grouping the world’s operators of CAE and Virtual Testing) and MIMOS (the Italian organisation leading the development of the “Modelling & Simulation” technologies which includes also the Virtual Testing) by bringing a valuable technical-scientific contribution, which defines the conference quality.

The conference agenda envisages:
• an introduction on the most recent technologies for simulation prepared by MSC.Software
• an introduction on the state of the art of the challenge to innovation in the development of an aircraft
by Alenia Aeronautica
• a presentation of the main producers in the sector
• experiences on the case-studies which describe implementation of best-practice, commercial impact
on products’ development, production and certification
• many international delegates are expected among whom representatives of Agusta Westland,
EADS, CIRA, Thales Alenia Space, Cranfield University, DEMA, ENAC, IBM, JCH Consultants,
LMS, PLM System, Symphony Services, Platform Computing.

This conference aims at ratifying the collaborations between Alenia Aeronautica, MSC.Software and other companies of the aerospace community, with regard to technologies of the “Virtual”, which certainly represent one of the main technological innovation areas of the sector.
Alenia Aeronautica – MSC.Software collaborations Alenia Aeronautica and MSC.Software are together in many and challenging participations in high-industrial importance programmes, also connected to the Campania territory; for example for the C-27J (world’s best seller twin-engine turboprop aircraft in the tactical transport aircraft category), with a MSC software, Alenia Aeronautica carries out cargo analyses (basically it simulates some structural tests like bird impact test, ground loads and others) on primary structures (cockpit, wings, landing gear etc), before performing them on the prototype.

Other important activities are those on the programme of the futuristic 787 passenger aircraft made by Boeing, meaning by this the quantifying of the composite material carried out previous to the actual test verifications. Furthermore, Alenia Aeronautica and MSC work together for some important legal aspects regarding Alenia Aeronautica’s participation in the “Clean Sky JTI” (JTI – Joint Technology Initiative), the project promoted by the European Commission, whose target is to study the configuration of the commercial aircraft of the future,
focussing on the eco-compatibility, on the improvement of energy efficiency and on the reduction of acoustic impact.

The project, launched in February 2008 in Brussels – included in the 7th Frame Programme of the European Community, to last 7 years – has a total value of €1.6 billions and represents at Community level the most ambitious research of all times in the aeronautical field; these studies will bring, at a large extent, to the competitiveness of the whole European aeronautical system in the next decades.

Alenia Aeronautica manages one of the technological platforms of the project, called Green Regional Aircraft, worth €174 millions, equal to 11% of the whole financed research project. The project has the aim of achieving a more efficient aerodynamic configuration of the future regional aircraft, a weight reduction (up to 9%) with consequent substantial reductions in fuel consumption (up to 10%), of noise and emission of polluting agents (Co2 and NOx, up to 10%), to which to be added savings in consumption and emissions caused by future propellers, estimable between 10% and 20%, depending on the technological choices.

Source Alenia