The Cluster of Excellence SE²A, with its large number of members and partners, has an extensive research network supported by a unique infrastructure. Starting with Germany's only research airport, aerospace research in Lower Saxony in the region Braunschweig - Hannover offers access to the best research conditions.
Here, technological solutions for tomorrow's aviation can be researched, from design, through trials in simulators, wind tunnels and test stands, to practical use in research aircraft.
Electric vehicle electrical systems play a key role in making flying more environmentally friendly. One of the aims of SE²A is to develop and analyse new electric vehicle electrical systems. To ensure that efficiency and the strict requirements for reliability in air traffic can be taken into account directly during development, the cluster is now receiving a new laboratory, the Electric Aircraft Ground Lab Environment (E2AGLE). The large-scale research facility will be set up at two locations, at the Technical University of Braunschweig and at Leibniz Universität Hannover, in two subsystems. The German Research Foundation and the state of Lower Saxony will each bear half of the costs, totalling 3 million euros.
The Braunschweig propulsor test rig examines the fan stage of an engine on a model scale under realistic critical operating conditions such as crosswind and angle of attack.
The Ludwiegrohr hypersonic wind tunnel (HLB) generates a Mach 6 flow with a Reynolds number of up to 18 million in intermittent operation.
The model subsonic tunnel Braunschweig (MUB) is an atmospheric wind tunnel of Göttingen design with three interchangeable measuring sections.
The ice and multiphase wind tunnel offers ideal conditions for researching icing processes on aircraft structures, for example.
The Leise Niedergeschwindigkeits-Windkanal Braunschweig (LNB) is an atmospheric wind tunnel in Eiffel design with a modular measuring section.
In November 2020, TU Braunschweig received its new research aircraft, a Cessna F406 Caravan II. Since summer 2021, this aircraft has been available for a wide range of research tasks with extensive measurement technology.
The Multiaxial Panel Test Facility (MPT) was designed and constructed in-house at the Institute of Aircraft Design and Lightweight Construction at TU Braunschweig. It is used to test large lightweight structures under multi-axial cyclic loading. For this purpose, six independently controllable hydraulic cylinders with a static nominal force of 630kN to 2.0MN are installed in the machine, the amplitude and phase position of which can be adjusted as required. Time signals and modal operation of the cylinders are also possible. By suitably positioning the load introductions in relation to each other, both horizontal and vertical shear loads can be introduced into the test field at the same time as compressive or tensile loads, allowing any desired biaxial load combinations to be applied to a test field.
A high-performance centre for flight simulation has been established at Braunschweig Research Airport as part of a joint initiative by DLR and TU Braunschweig. The centre's core topic is research into the dynamic interaction between humans and aircraft. The aim is to assess the manageability of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, particularly in borderline situations, such as flying in a highly turbulent atmosphere, with reduced external visibility close to the ground and in the event of system failures. Further questions concern the role of humans in highly automated flight and research into the training effectiveness of flight simulators.
In addition to the flight simulators at the research airport, air traffic simulation facilities are available for researching operational processes in air traffic. In this way, new procedures for coordination at the airports of the future can be tested against the background of the safe and efficient handling of air traffic.
With the simulator centre, the research airport has a unique selling point of the first order. What makes it unique compared to existing facilities is its modularity (fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft) and its precise fit into the infrastructure of Braunschweig Research Airport. The simulator centre forms the scientific bridge between the internationally leading capabilities in flight physics simulations at the site and the flying test vehicles.
