CAELESTIS is a new project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme focused on the aeronautics industry and aiming to digitise the entire design and manufacturing process of aeronautical parts.

 

The kick-off meeting of this project took place on 9 and 10 May 2022 in O Porriño, Spain, with the presence of representatives of 11 partners from 8 EU Member States (Spain, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Germany and Cyprus). CAELESTIS is being launched for a period of 42 months with a budget of almost 6 million euros.

 

The objectives of the project are :

  • To develop a digital thread across the value chain linking the design, simulation, production engineering and manufacturing of next-generation airframe and engine structures;
  • To develop model-based product and manufacturing digital twins, supporting virtual prototyping of next-generation aerostructures by linking and managing design and manufacturing uncertainties;
  • To develop advanced HPC-data analytics that supports the design and manufacturing engineering;
  • To develop smart manufacturing strategies to identify and reduce in real-time the impact of defects across the manufacturing chain;
  • To foster the uptake of the CAELESTIS virtual prototyping ecosystem across the EU aeronautics industry to boost innovation for the future aircraft with a Multi-Actor Approach.

 

In the framework of CAELESTIS, the Jules Verne Institute is involved in two main work packages:

  • The WP 4, which aims to develop 4 digital twins associated with the different steps and processes, necessary for the manufacture of an aerospace part made out of Titanium and Carbon fibre preform and the assembly in environment. Jules Verne is WP4 Leader. Several softwares will be implemented at the scale of each process and then will be digitally linked with each other. The results of these process simulations will be exported to the OGV mechanical performance simulations (WP3). The IRT JV will focus in particular on digital twins for RTM (PAM RTM®) and assembly (MECAmaster®).
  • The WP5 aims to quantify and propagate product-process uncertainties in digital workflow. The Jules Verne insitute will focus on the consideration of uncertainties in the stochastic simulation of the RTM process. The result of these simulations will be a stochastic geometry of the part.

 

The results of the project could lead to lower CO2 emissions from aviation, reduce the costs and risks of designing new aircraft and shorten the time to innovation of tomorrow’s more efficient aircraft.

 

Coming soon: CAELESTIS will launch its website, as well as the CAELESTIS network, open and accessible to industrial partners and researchers in the relevant fields.

 

Read the complete press release here