PANDORA

The objective of this activity is to carry out the detailed design and manufacturing of a subassembly for the EU-Horizon 2050 funded project PANDORA (OPEN FAN VALIDATION FOR CARBON-FREE AIRCRAFTS | PANDORA | Projekt | Informationsblatt | HORIZON | CORDIS | Europäische Kommission) Open Fan Wind Tunnel Mode Test Article, whose preliminary design has been carried out by the PANDORA consortium. The status of the design is deemed to be mature enough to proceed to the detailed design phase. The preliminary aerodynamic shape of the rotor is frozen but during the detailed design phase interactions with the subcontractor are expected to ease the detailed mechanical design alleviating stress concentration in selected features of the rotor to maximise rotor life.
The rig is expected to operate in two different facilities. The first installation is a low-speed wind tunnel operating at atmospheric conditions. Maximum Mach number is expected to be around 0.25. The second facility is a high-speed wind tunnel opera ng at sub-ambient conditions and a maximum Mach number of around 0.8
The expected outer and inner radii of the rotor are approximately 300 mm and 100 mm, respectively, and thus the blade height is approximately 200 mm. The number of rotor blades has been fixed to 12. The es mated maximum speed is about 7,700 rpm.
The rotor is expected to feature a variable pitch mechanism that will be manually actuated at rest. The subcontractor, as responsible of all the rotating parts, will also design and manufacture a device to measure the pitch setting of all the blades before the rig opera on.
The contractor will not use Level 2 subcontractors for critical components (most notably the Rotating Sha Balance), but will only utilize subcontractors for small parts or accessories. In the event of any doubts, the contractor will submit proposals in the ROM.
DLR will request on-site support to operate the Rotating Shaft Balance during three weeks of testing.
In summary, the objective of this contract is to carry out the detailed design of an open rotor prototype, its manufacturing, and the development and integration of a system that allows for the measurement of the three components of rotor forces and moments, namely a Roating Shaft Balance (RSB). The deliverables will include the hardware, analysis models, and a CAD representation of the prototype.