aerospace

Editorial
Special Issue “10th EASN International Conference on
Innovation in Aviation & Space to the Satisfaction of the
European Citizens”
Liberata Guadagno 1 , Spiros Pantelakis 2, * and Andreas Strohmayer 3, *

1 Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132,
84084 Fisciano (SA), Italy; [email protected]
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, University of Patras, Panepistimioupolis Rion,
26500 Patras, Greece
3 Department of Aircraft Design, Institute of Aircraft Design (IFB), University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 31,
70569 Stuttgart, Germany
* Correspondence: [email protected] (S.P.); [email protected] (A.S.)

This Special Issue contains selected papers from works presented at the 10th EASN
International Conference on Innovation in Aviation & Space to the Satisfaction of the
European Citizens, which was held successfully from the 2nd until the 4th of September,
2020. Due to the COVID pandemic, it was the first time in the history of the EASN
Conference series that the event took place in a virtual format. The event included 9 keynote
lectures and more than 320 technical presentations distributed in close to 50 sessions.



Important also to underline that 48 HORIZON2020 projects have disseminated their latest

 research results as well as the future trends on the respective technological field at this
Citation: Guadagno, L.; event. In total, the 10th EASN International Conference was attended by more than
Pantelakis, S.; Strohmayer, A. Special 350 participants from 37 countries worldwide.
Issue “10th EASN International In the present Special Issue, eleven engaging articles are contained, with more than
Conference on Innovation in Aviation 300 views each till now, related to aviation research. Vedernikov et al. [1] performed
& Space to the Satisfaction of the complex parametrical strength investigations of typical wings for regional aircraft, using
European Citizens”. Aerospace 2021, 8, an advanced four-level algorithm (FLA). The enhanced algorithm used in this work allows
111. https://doi.org/10.3390/ for an efficient strength analysis of airframes and is validated with a high-aspect-ration
aerospace8040111 wing designs, also including strut-braced wings. In a systems-engineering approach,
Eisenhut et al. [2] established top-level aircraft requirements (TLARs) for a 50-passenger
Received: 12 April 2021 hybrid-electric regional aircraft. Beyond performance requirements, these TLARs also
Accepted: 13 April 2021
include environmental factors, becoming increasingly important for sustainable aircraft de-
Published: 14 April 2021
signs. Furthermore, suitable reference missions are presented, as well as figures of merit that
allow for an evaluation of different aircraft architectures. In the work of Bergmann et al. [3],
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
a methodology for precise identification of the performance characteristics of a UAV test
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
platform is described, providing an overview of the measuring system, discussing its
published maps and institutional affil-
functionality and showing flight test results. This facilitates the systematic analysis of
iations.
propeller–wing interaction effects which are of interest to a synergetic aircraft configuration
design with distributed propulsion. Blasi et al. [4] describe the control architecture and
the control laws of an innovative Modular Iron Bird concept which aims at reproducing
flight loads to test mobile aerodynamic control surface actuators for small and medium
Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
size aircraft, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles. The effectiveness of the proposed control
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
architecture and control laws is demonstrated in numerical simulations. Pathak et al. [5]
This article is an open access article
present their work on a model validation case for the distribution of the agent of an en-
distributed under the terms and
vironmentally friendly fire protection system (EFFP) in the cargo hold of an aircraft. In
conditions of the Creative Commons
the low-pressure vessel of the Fraunhofer Flight Test Facility (FTF), the team was able to
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
equip an aircraft demonstrator with an EFFP and to validate refined simulation models for
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
knockdown during different flight phases in this setup. In the work of Przysowa et al. [6],

Aerospace 2021, 8, 111. https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace8040111 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/aerospace

the performance and gas emissions produced from two different jet engines are compared
for blends of Jet A-1 fuel with different alternative fuels in various concentrations. The
acquired data serve the development of an engine emissivity model allowing for the predic-
tion of engine emissions. The results show that under an emissions point of view blended
fuels can be used to fuel gas turbines. Seitz et al. [7] present key results for the EU H2020
project CENTRELINE, undertaken to demonstrate a proof of concept for the so-called
propulsive fuselage concept (PFC) with boundary layer ingestion (BLI). A performance
bookkeeping scheme for the BLI propulsion is reviewed and findings from the high-fidelity
aero-numerical simulation and aerodynamic validation testing in wind tunnel and BLI
fan rig test campaigns are discussed. An assessment of the PFC fuel burn compared to a
conventional design shows a 4.7% mission fuel benefit. Norrefeldt et al. [8] assessed the
effects of an alteration of the outdoor/recirculation airflow ratio in an aircraft cabin on
relative humidity, CO2 and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) level in the cabin
air. Tests were conducted in the Fraunhofer FTF facility, showing an increase of these
parameters with an increased recirculation fraction, as the passenger emissions become
less diluted by dry outdoor air. Kellermann et al. [9] investigated the use of ram-air based
thermal management systems (TMS) for the cooling of the power train components of
future hybrid electric aircraft, assessing the impact on mass, drag and fuel burn. A numer-
ical optimization of respective TMS system was carried out for minimum fuel burn of a
180 passenger short range aircraft with a partial electric propulsion system. For a power
split of 30% electric power, an additional fuel burn of 0.19% due to the TMS is reported in
this work. Pavlenko et al. [10] analyzed the design requirements and operating parameters
of small turbofan engines for single-use and reusable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in
order to introduce alternative materials and technologies for manufacturing their compres-
sor blades. Stress and temperature maps on compressor blades and vanes were obtained
by means of thermal and structural analysis, considering the physical and mechanical
properties of advanced materials and related processing technologies. It was shown that
the permissible operating temperature and safety factor as well as the design requirements
of the turbofan at lower manufacturing costs are met with the proposed materials. Finally,
Engelmann et al. [11] analyzed the boarding procedure of a single aisle aircraft with an
improved simulation methodology, increasing the level of detail in the boarding simulation.
The improved model considers, for example, the passenger walking speed in dependence
of surrounding objects and the location of other passengers. A validation was carried out
with an Airbus A320 as a baseline, compared to an altered version with an extended aisle
width and to a COVID-19 safe distance scenario. As a result, a boarding time reduction
of up to 3% could be shown for the wider aisle, while the COVID-19 scenario leads to an
increase of 67%.
The editors of this Special Issue would like to thank the authors for their high-quality
contributions and for making this Special Issue manageable. Furthermore, the editors
would like to express their gratitude to Ms. Linghua Ding and the Aerospace editorial
team for their professional support.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References
1. Vedernikov, D.V.; Shanygin, A.N.; Mirgorodsky, Y.S.; Levchenkov, M.D. Strength Analysis of Alternative Airframe Layouts of
Regional Aircraft on the Basis of Automated Parametrical Models. Aerospace 2021, 8, 80. [CrossRef]
2. Eisenhut, D.; Moebs, N.; Windels, E.; Bergmann, D.; Geiß, I.; Reis, R.; Strohmayer, A. Aircraft Requirements for Sustainable
Regional Aviation. Aerospace 2021, 8, 61. [CrossRef]
3. Bergmann, D.P.; Denzel, J.; Pfeifle, O.; Notter, S.; Fichter, W.; Strohmayer, A. In-flight Lift and Drag Estimation of an Unmanned
Propeller-Driven Aircraft. Aerospace 2021, 8, 43. [CrossRef]
4. Blasi, L.; Borrelli, M.; D’Amato, E.; di Grazia, L.E.; Mattei, M.; Notaro, I. Modeling and Control of a Modular Iron Bird. Aerospace
2021, 8, 39. [CrossRef]
5. Pathak, A.; Norrefeldt, V.; Pschirer, M. Validation of a Simulation Tool for an Environmentally Friendly Aircraft Cargo Fire
Protection System. Aerospace 2021, 8, 35. [CrossRef]
Aerospace 2021, 8, 111 3 of 3

6. Przysowa, R.; Gawron, B.; Białecki, T.; Łegowik, A.; Merkisz, J.; Jasinski, R. Performance and Emissions of a Microturbine and
Turbofan Powered by Alternative Fuels. Aerospace 2021, 8, 25. [CrossRef]
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X.; et al. Proof of Concept Study for Fuselage Boundary Layer Ingesting Propulsion. Aerospace 2021, 8, 16. [CrossRef]
8. Norrefeldt, V.; Mayer, F.; Herbig, B.; Ströhlein, R.; Wargocki, P.; Lei, F. Effect of Increased Cabin Recirculation Airflow Fraction on
Relative Humidity, CO2 and TVOC. Aerospace 2021, 8, 15. [CrossRef]
9. Kellermann, H.; Lüdemann, M.; Pohl, M.; Hornung, M. Design and Optimization of Ram Air–Based Thermal Management
Systems for Hybrid-ElectricAircraft. Aerospace 2020, 8, 3. [CrossRef]
10. Pavlenko, D.; Dvirnyk, Y.; Przysowa, R. AdvancedMaterials and Technologies for Compressor Blades of Small Turbofan Engines.
Aerospace 2021, 8, 1. [CrossRef]
11. Engelmann, M.; Kleinheinz, T.; Hornung, M. Advanced Passenger Movement Model Depending on the Aircraft Cabin Geometry.
Aerospace 2020, 7, 182. [CrossRef]