Project

OBJECTIVE

A major challenge in the transport sector is to make economic growth compatible with sustainability and environmental constraints, while remaining competitive and innovative. The development of aeronautical products is a complex multidisciplinary process with requirements and constraints on the air transport system as a whole, the aircraft, and all the individual components to be produced. A major challenge impeding an efficient and cost-effective design processes is the integration of the various levels of the aeronautical supply chain. Therefore, the aeronautical industry needs to connect all the people, skills and technologies involved in its collaborative, multi-national and cross organizational processes, by means of a digital representation of production systems, supply chains, and seamless operations across diverse disciplines, during the entire lifecycle of the product.

The high level objective of AGILE 4.0 is to bring significant reductions in aircraft development costs and time-to-market through the implementation of an integrated cyber-physical aeronautical supply chain, thereby increasing the competitiveness of the European aircraft industry, from integrators and high-tiers suppliers to SMEs, leading to innovative and more sustainable aircraft products.

AGILE 4.0 targets the digital transformation of main pillars of the aeronautical supply-chain: design, production, certification and manufacturing. The composition of the AGILE 4.0 consortium and capabilities available enable to address realistic development scenarios integrating multiple stakeholders and covering all the aspects of the development of complex aeronautical systems.

AGILE 4.0 will provide the aircraft industry with a way to model, assess, and optimize complex systems addressing the entire lifecycle. The technologies developed will enable stake-holders and actors of the aeronautical supply chain to perform trade-off which have never been possible to model before.

PARTNERS

ACTIVITIES

AGILE 4.0 is structured into three integration Work-Packages (WP1,WP2,WP3) sequential in time, targeting aircraft collaborative development and optimization scenarios with increasing levels of complexity:

WP1 – Synchronization & Specification: reference state of the art AGILE collaborative MDO technologies are adopted to formulate the AGILE 4.0 reference use cases, and to identify the main requirements and needs to address the digitization of design, production, and certification aspects. This includes making use of pre-existing analysis codes, interfaces, frameworks, and optimization capabilities available in the consortium. The results of this phase are on one side to derive the specifications for the processes, models and tools to be developed, and on another side as reference to measure the success of the developed AGILE 4.0 technologies.
WP2 – Digitalization & Modelling: the reference use cases are enhanced by AGILE 4.0 enabling technologies addressing the requirements identified in the first phase. This WP is responsible to deliver the system engineering process, accounting for the requirements and specification identified in the previous phase. During this phase, technologies (models, platforms, methods) are continuously developed, tested, validated, and integrated in the AGILE 4.0 framework.
WP3 – Optimization & Validation: the use cases optimization problems are solved by making use of the full AGILE 4.0 framework. This phase is responsible to deliver the optimization process to solve the AGILE4.0 use cases. Large scale, multi-objectives, optimization problems are solved and validated.

The three integration phases are supported by an enabling technologies layer (WP4, WP5), in which the necessary technical solutions are developed. Within this layer, multiple design and optimization methodologies, and modelling platforms are developed and implemented.

A study cases layer (WP6, WP7, WP8) is running along the integration phases, addressing scenarios and applications representative of the complex aeronautical supply-chain.

From the study cases the requirements are continuously pulled during the Integration phases, and pushed into the enabling technologies layers. Therefore, all the developments are pulled and continuously integrated into the study cases. Agile methodologies are deployed to enable the progressive development of the AGILE 4.0 design system.

The overall AGILE 4.0 structure is organized in 10 Work-Packages (WP) representing the main activities.

WP1: Synchronization & Specification

WP leaderNLR
WP contributors: DLR, BOMBARDIER, CFSE, CONCORDIA, EMBRAER, KE-Works, LEONARDO, ONERA, POLITO, RWTH, TU Delft
WP objectives:

  • Synchronized Processes, Methods, Tools & Platforms catalogue
  • Requirements & Specifications for AGILE 4.0 enabling technologies
  • Process definition A4F for use case definition
  • Assessment metrics for AGILE 4.0 technologies
WP2: Digitalization & Modelling

WP leaderDLR
WP contributors: BOMBARDIER, CFSE, CONCORDIA, KE-Works, LEONARDO, NLR, ONERA, POLITO, RWTH, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • AGILE 4.0 Paradigm Concept
  • Review AGILE 4.0 requirements & specifications
  • AGILE 4.0 Paradigm Architecture & Processes
WP3: Optimization & Validation

WP leaderONERA
WP contributors: DLR, BOMBARDIER, CONDORDIA, EMBRAER, KE-Works, LEONARDO, NLR, POLITO, RWTH, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • Roadmap optimization use cases
  • Lessons learned, Best practices MDO collaborative framework
  • AGILE 4.0 operational & trade-off process
  • AGILE 4.0 assessment
WP4: Development Framework & Platforms

WP leaderKE-Works
WP contributors: DLR, CONDORDIA, FOKKER, LEONARDO, NLR, ONERA, RWTH, TU Delft
WP objectives:

  • AGILE4.0 reference OCE available
  • Models for use case definition
  • AGILE4.0 OCE Specifications
  • AGILE 4.0 A4F and OCE Integration Roadmap
  • 1st Release of A4F and implemented OCE
  • Models for architecture definition
  • 2nd Release of A4F and implemented OCE
  • 3rd Release of A4F and implemented OCE
  • Final release of A4F and implemented OCE
  • AGILE 4.0 A4F Architecture and OCE
WP5: Engineering Competence & Methods

WP leaderTU Delft
WP contributors: DLR, AIRBUS DS, CFSE, CONCORDIA, FOKKER, ISAE-SUPAERO, LEONARDO, NLR, ONERA, POLITO, RWTH, TU Delft, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • Definition of development Strategy for simulation capabilities
  • Review of development Strategy for simulation capabilities
  • AGILE 4.0 Toolset of design, simulations, and KBE applications for manufacturing and certification
  • AGILE 4.0 Toolset of surrogate and optimization tools for discrete variables, multi-level MDO architectures, robust design
  • AGILE 4.0 Toolset decision making and trade-off analysis techniques
WP6: Production Driven Stream

WP leaderFOKKER
WP contributors: DLR, CFSE, EMBRAER, NLR, TU Delft, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • SOTA AGILE workflows
  • Production driven stream use case – document based
  • Production driven stream use cases – model based definition
  • Production driven stream use cases MDO framework implementation
  • Production driven stream MDO framework descriptions and trade off results
WP7: Certification Driven Stream

WP leaderPOLITO
WP contributors: DLR, AIRBUS DS, BOMBARDIER, CONCORDIA, EMBRAER, LEONARDO, ONERA, RWTH, TU Delft, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • SOTA AGILE workflows
  • Certification driven stream use case – document based
  • Certification driven stream use cases – model based definition
  • Certification driven stream use cases MDO framework implementation
  • Certification driven stream MDO framework descriptions and trade off results
WP8: Upgrade Driven Stream

WP leaderUNINA
WP contributors: DLR, BOMBARDIER, CFSE, EMBRAER, LEONARDO, ONERA, POLITO, TU Delft
WP objectives:

  • SOTA AGILE workflows
  • Upgrade driven stream use case – document based
  • Upgrade driven stream use cases – model based definition
  • Upgrade driven stream use cases MDO framework implementation
  • Upgrade driven stream MDO framework descriptions and trade off results
WP9: Dissemination & Exploitation

WP leaderCFS Engineering
WP contributors: DLR, AIRBUS DS, CONCORDIA, FOKKER, KE-Works, LEONARDO, NLR, ONERA, POLITO, RWTH, TU Delft, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • Raise awareness and visibility of the AGILE4.0 project
  • Network with other projects
  • Exchange know-how and results
  • Generate market demands for the tools developed
  • Report to the general public on how public money is spend
  • Help to raise funds for follow-on projects

    The AGILE4.0 website as well as the different social media links will be used to communicate and disseminate AGILE4.0 activities.
WP10: Management & Coordination

WP leaderDLR
WP contributors: CFSE, FOKKER, KE-Works, NLR, ONERA, POLITO, TU Delft, UNINA
WP objectives:

  • Organizational rules and operational guidelines
  • Project Management Plan
  • Project Management Plan – MTR Review
  • Project Management Plan – Final Review