Aero-Engine Technology to cope with ACARE Goals

Abstract

To investigate, whether further developments in aero engine technology have the potential to achieve the ACARE 2020 targets, a study on the possible improvements of different technology advances has been performed. The study focuses on engine improvements, but since the ACARE targets are formulated for the air transport system as a whole, improved aircraft on realistic flight missions are also taken into account. The results show that the isolated ACARE target of 50% fuel consumption reduction per passenger kilometre does not seem unachievable, but 1) significant research effort is still needed and 2) it seems much more challenging to achieve all of the ACARE targets at once.