SENECA aims at developing deepened understanding and detailed modelling for the emissions, the LTO noise, and the global environmental impact of supersonic aircraft. Building on this, the development of beyond state-of-the-art technologies to further reduce the environmental impact of supersonic aviation will be enabled. SENECA will contribute its project results to the ICAO level discussions, in order to scientifically accompany and strengthen the European perspective on the necessary regulations for novel supersonic aircraft. Key milestones of the project dissemination and exploitation plan are aligned to the CAEP work program and agenda, and the whole project plan is designed to work towards these milestones.
SENECA will- Develop four different SST aircraft platforms including the airframes and the engines ranging from supersonic business jets designed for cruise Mach numbers of Ma=1.4 and Ma=1.6 up to large airliners designed for 100 passengers and cruise Mach numbers of Ma=1.8 and Ma=2.2. The development will include a Multi Disciplinary Design Optimisation (MDO) targeting firstly to meet at least the current noise regulations for subsonic aircraft during take-off and landing and secondly to reduce the emission levels. Thereby, the new generation of sustainable aircraft must achieve the required minimum flight range, i.e. be fuel efficient through modern engine and airframe designs. The modelling level of detail of the aircraft platforms will be adequate enough to allow for the appropriate forecast of certification levels and the aircraft performance.
- Investigate the impact of specifical supersonic engine technologies, like two-stage fans and variable area nozzles and/or inlets, on the aircraft performance and noise and if necessary, the adaptation of the certification assessment models.
- Investigate the optimisation potential of variable noise reduction systems (VNRS), such as a FADEC7-controlled thrust reduction during take-off, the so-called Programmed Lapse Rate (PLR) and variable features in view of emissions and LTO noise.
- Provide aircraft fuel burn/CO2 data and engine emission indices for NOx, CO, (U)HC, SOx, and soot
for all four investigated aircraft platforms. - Quantify a range of climate impacts of supersonic aviation achieved by numerical simulations with climate-chemistry models, climate response, and contrail models.
- Provide LTO noise certification levels for all aircraft platforms.
- Deliver trade-offs between the environmental aspects (noise, CO2, combustor emissions, and climate impact) against each other and with the flight range in dependency of key parameters like the engine bypass ratio. The trade-offs will provide insight into how e.g. noise regulations affect the CO2 and combustor emissions of supersonic aircraft and visa-versa.
- Disseminate the project results and findings to international legislation authorities and external experts as well as to CAEP/12 and CAEP/13 meetings with the target to develop noise and emission standards and minimise the environmental impact of supersonic aircraft