News Releases

June 2006

Cooperation between ONERA and Thales renewed and extended

Since a number of years, ONERA and Thales have led cooperative research activities, as part of an agreement renewed during the 2005 Paris Air Show.

This agreement allowed the number and quality of research activities in the areas of on-board radars and airborne systems, ground radars, defence systems and optronics.

This increasingly wide collaboration was evidenced by the renewal of two specific agreements on June 19 of last year.

This collaboration now enables ONERA and Thales to jointly examine all study proposals within the remit of the agreement and to define for each of them the best cooperative conditions for the client's benefit.

ONERA and Thales are now proactively seeking to enlarge the scope of their collaboration to new research activities, notably in the areas of avionics, network operations and the place of humans within complex systems.

For further information, please contact:
Jean-Paul Bruyant ( Jean-Paul.Bruyant @ onera.fr )

Jean-Jacques Philippe receives award from AHS

Jean-Jacques Philippe was presented with the Alexander A Klemin award for his contribution to the advancement of helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft, having directed the relevant research at ONERA since 1987.

Only three other French nationals have been presented with this award from the American vertical flight society AHS (vtol.org): Louis Bréguet (1952), aeronautics professional and also a pioneer of the helicopter, René Mouille (1979), the "spiritual father" of French helicopters, and François Legrand (1998), ex-president of Eurocopter.

Jean-Jacques Philippe was one of the pioneering helicopter researchers at ONERA and devoted 40 years of his career to the topic. Now retired, Jean-Jacques Philippe coordinated all research at ONERA over the last 20 years concerning helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft, and gave impetus to new topics such as aerodynamic noise reduction, numerical simulation and wind tunnel testing. He consistently played an active role in fostering international cooperation in rotary wing aeronautics research, not only in Europe but also with the US Army and NASA. He also instigated the ONERA/DLR partnership signed in 1998, which led to a single annual and medium-term research programme between the two partners. His extensive knowledge of flight aeromechanics, particularly of aerodynamics, as well as his managerial qualities allowed ONERA to be known throughout the world, and to lead major scientific cooperation projects resulting in essential advances in helicopter and tilt-rotor aircraft technology [in particular in optimising rotors, for the benefit of the manufacturer Eurocopter].

Presentation of the 2006 Alexander A Klemin award to Jean-Jacques-Philippe
[ Alexandria, VA, USA ]

Annick Loiseau awarded the CNRS silver medal

Annick Loiseau, from the Laboratory of Microstructure Studies (ONERA/CNRS), was awarded the CNRS silver medal for the quality and international reputation of her work in the field of physics.

A condensed matter physicist, Annick Loiseau is a researcher at ONERA. She carries out fundamental research in structural physics on metal alloys and nanostructures. Her current research is on the structure and formation mechanisms of carbon nanotubes and boron nitride, as well as their optical and spectroscopic properties. She coordinates for the CNRS an international nanotube research network, the Nanotube Research Group, which brings together 70 laboratories in France, Europe and Canada . She is also president of the condensed matter branch of the French Physics Society.

April 2006

Ecole Polytechnique thesis award

Nicolas Forget received the Ecole Polytechnique thesis award for his thesis on the parametric amplification of ultra-short optical pulses. He carried out his thesis work between the ONERA (under the supervision of Emmanuel Rosencher and Michel Lefebvre) and the CNRS laboratories LULI, LAC and IOTA (under the supervision of Patrick Georges). At ONERA, Nicolas Forget developed a new theory of parametric amplification of frequency drift pulses that once recompressed can give rise to ultra-short pulses. He carried out the experimental setup collaboratively between the ONERA/DMPH/DOP and the LULI (Catherine Leblanc of the Laboratory for the Use of Intense Lasers). He was able to show, as his theory predicted, that the pulses can be recompressed over a few hundred femtoseconds following a parametric amplification of 2 million after a single cycle! His work constitutes progress recognised by all foreign laboratories.

In the second part of his thesis, he came up with a new design of mode-blocked parametric amplifier. The idea is to use very wide spectral bandwidths of the parametric amplifier gains to generate short pulses. Indeed these parametric gain curves can be shaped on demand through the use of new microtechnology resources. Having developed the theory at ONERA, Nicolas Forget conducted the mode blocking experiment at LAC (Laboratoire Aimé Coton), with Cyril Drag and Fabien Bretenaker. The experiment is a world first and may represent the inception of a new generation of sources of ultra-short optical pulses.

His thesis is an example of conceptual boldness and practical considerations, as stipulated by the Ecole Polytechnique award. The award also points to the rich potential for exchanges between ONERA and its university partners. 24-04

Organising and structuring the wind energy field in France

On April 7th, a day of discussions based on the theme " What research resources and tools for wind energy in France  ?" was organised at the Châtillon centre. Jointly organised by ONERA and the ADEME (French Agency for Environment and Energy Management), the event brought together over fifty people who for the most part are involved in the development of wind energy in France . Contrary to what one might think, wind energy is not a new area of expertise within ONERA. Indeed the beginnings were over fifty years ago: in 1950, the first wind tunnel test of a Best-Romani rotor took place at the Meudon centre on behalf of EDF.

Since then, a handful of engineers and technicians have worked intermittently towards developing the field. They notably adapted numerical models specific to wind energy from the computation codes used for helicopters.

After a lengthy lull, French wind power was set in motion again in the new century through the launch by Jeumont (a Framatome subsidiary) of a 750 kW wind turbine whose developments were monitored by ONERA and supported by ADEME. " After Jeumont halted the project, we re-examined the approach with ADEME during over a year. We came to the conclusion that all French expertise in this area should be brought together and that a research network had to be structured and organised around innovative projects ", notes Marc Rapin, a research engineer in the Structural Dynamics and Coupled Systems Department (DDSS) who focuses on aeroelasticity . One result was this first day of discussions between the various players in this emerging market. It is a way that ONERA can establish a presence in a domain where one might not expect it to. The Châtillon engineer points out: " We are the only ones in France with the expertise to model the behaviour of a rotor. " Another such event might take place in 2007.

Aeronautical noise: a "virtual resident" to assess the disturbance

Deemed to be the "scourge of modern times", noise is certainly one of the main environmental concerns. Work carried out by manufacturers over several decades has made it possible to reduce sound emissions, in particular from cars and aircraft. Moreover car manufacturers have been able to classify them in terms of acoustic comfort or discomfort, by studying the various frequency ranges emitted. This data now assists the design of the mechanical parts on a car, with the appearance on the market of cars that make "softer" and "smoother" noises. To reduce the aircraft noise while at the same time making this noise more pleasant, in particular for those who live near airports: this is the direction that the aeronautics industry is taking, through the development of a number of national and European projects.

Toulouse engineers from the Systems Control and Flight Dynamics Department (DCSD), together with the System Design and Performance Evaluation (DCPS) – notably including the Iroqua initiative (Jean-Louis Gobert) -, are participating in the European Sefa project (Sound Engineering For Aircraft), which brings together some twenty laboratories and manufacturers from eight countries. For this project which has reached the halfway mark, various experimental campaigns were conducted (laboratory tests, surveys, descriptive analyses…); in one of the experiments, a sample group of 300 persons was formed, with each of them assessing in laboratory conditions the sounds of various aircraft at takeoff and during landing. " For our part, we are working on the design of a system that will allow the assessments of various subjects to be aggregated, and on the identification of combinations of psychoacoustic factors that have positive and negative repercussions on the subject's reaction to the sound", explains Laurent Chaudron, a research engineer specialising in human factors. Once the results are obtained, the engineers would like to use them to construct a what the European project refers to as a " Virtual Resident ", " in other words a kind of transfer function enabling one to assess the average reaction to new aircraft noise ", he notes. Here lies the importance of this work, since the results aim to foster the emergence of new generations of aircraft that produce less noise and are better adapted to the concerns of those who live near airports.

March 2006

ONERA Prepares Structure Tests for Turbomachinery

Onera has just received a turbomachine body, equipped with a great number of accelerometers. The operation began at Snecma within the framework of DYNA (DYNAmic), a research project financed by the French civil aviation agency (DPAC). Snecma, Turbomeca and Onera take part in this project launched in 2004 for a four years duration. Part of the MAIA program (Advanced Methods in Mechanical Engineering), Dyna aims to gather all the activity of research relating to the turbomachinery structural dynamics. Onera is implied in this project under two aspects: on the one hand, aeroelasticity and vibratory identification of a turbomachine, on the other hand, fast dynamics under impact, i.e. the study of the behavior of the structure in case of impacts of birds or ice.

To equip this turbomachine body with various accelerometers and optical devices, the Onera teams developed specific tools and used an endoscopic camera. Other complementary equipment will be installed on this part of engine before running the test. "We will excite the turbomachine body in order to identify it in a rather high frequency band. During the second phase, and according to the results, we plan to continue our investigations in an even higher frequency band ", summarizes Jean-Pierre Grisval, coordinator of this project for Onera.

Successful Measurement Campaign for Franco-German Project ABC

A measurement campaign was carried out last December in Modane's S1MA transonic wind-tunnel to test a 4,2-meter diameter four-bladed rotor, each blade of which was equipped with a trailing-edge control surface. This test was part of the Franco-German project ABC (Active Blade Concept) and more especially of the French part of the project, the probatory technical development RPA (Rotor with Active Blades). The ABC project was launched at the end of 1998 and brings together ONERA, DLR, Eurocopter France and Eurocopter Deutschland. The objective is to assess, with both numerical and experimental methods, whether the use of active control surfaces - operated with embarked piezoelectric actuators - is relevant to reduce the noise and the vibrations generated by the rotor.

"We have four objectives", specifies Philippe Leconte, research engineer within the Structural Dynamics and Coupled Systems department (DDSS), and ONERA's project manager for the ABC project: "To reduce the blade-vortex interaction (BVI) noise during descent flight, to reduce the dynamic level, hence the vibratory level transmitted by the rotor to ‘ the fuselage in a flight domain which is the broadest possible, to reduce energy consumption in flight in fast cruising. As for the fourth objective, integrated more recently into this project by Eurocopter France, it aims at evaluating whether such control surfaces could replace a conventional cyclic swashplate for rotor piloting".

Several ONERA's departments were implied in the preparation and realization of this campaign: GMT (wind-tunnel), DDSS (dynamics) DAAP (aerodynamics), DSNA (acoustics), DMSE (design and realization of the blades), DCSD (control and piloting of the control surfaces). Two representatives of DLR attended the tests. Carried out almost in real time during the tests, the first analyses of the results showed a significant effect of the static and dynamic control surface deflection. "We did not meet with any mechanical problem during the eight weeks of preparation and realization of the tests. And yet the whole system (actuators, control surfaces, etc.) was to turn to 1 000 revolution per minute, while ensuring control surface deflection up to 80 Hz", emphasizes the engineer. The detailed analysis of the results has already been launched within the various ONERA’s departments and will be continued for several months.

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