James Page from the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, together with co-authors Isik Ozcer (Ansys), Alessandro Zanon and Michele De Gennaro (both AIT), and Raul C. Llamas-Sandin (Airbus), has received the EREA Best Paper Award 2025. The award-winning publication, titled “Aerodynamics and ice tolerance of the large passenger aircraft advanced rear end forward swept horizontal tailplane with leading edge extension,” was published in Aerospace Science and Technology (Volume 161, June 2025). The work is based on research activities conducted within the European Clean Sky 2 project IMPACT (GA no. 885052), which was coordinated by his co-author Michele De Gennaro (AIT).
Innovative tailplane design for safe and efficient commercial aircraft
The award-winning paper focuses on an innovative design for forward-swept horizontal tailplane of next generation large passenger aircraft applications. The research team combined high-fidelity 3D in-flight ice accretion simulations with extensive 3D CFD analyses to investigate the aerodynamic performance of this tailplane design under icing conditions. The study provides new insights into how forward sweep and leading-edge extensions influence flow physics, lift and ice tolerance, and how these design features can contribute to the stability and efficiency of future commercial aircraft. At the same time, the paper proposes methodological best practices for numerical simulations, thereby helping to advance icing analysis in industrial applications.
AIT expertise in aerodynamics and icing
The work is closely linked to AIT’s broad research on in-flight icing – a safety-critical aspect of aviation in which water droplets freeze on wings, tailplanes or engine inlets during flight, impairing lift, controllability and energy efficiency. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology has been investigating this phenomenon for many years with a comprehensive portfolio of simulation, technology development and experimental validation for various types of aircraft and rotorcraft.
This includes physically detailed 3D simulations of ice formation, the design of electrothermal de-icing systems, as well as the execution of test campaigns in icing wind tunnels supported by proprietary optical measurement techniques. At present, the team is investigating how to exploit AI-enhanced methods – including physics-informed neural networks and data-driven surrogate models – to significantly accelerate the calculation of droplet fields, ice shapes and aerodynamic effects, thus laying the foundation for future digital airworthiness certification and further optimisation of next generation low-power ice protection systems.
IMPACT: Tailplane development optimized for aerodynamics and anti-icing
The European Clean Sky 2 project IMPACT, from which the award-winning work emerged, aimed to further develop the tail section of next generation short- and medium-range aircraft. In addition to aerodynamic and aero-structural optimisations, passive anti-icing coatings and devices were investigated, integrated in various configurations and tested in an icing wind tunnel. The results demonstrate how aerodynamic efficiency, structural requirements and ice protection and tolerance can be more closely integrated in the future – an approach that directly fed into the analysis of the new tailplane design.
EREA – European excellence network for aeronautics research
The European Research Establishments in Aeronautics (EREA) is an association of leading European research organisations in the field of aeronautics and space. The alliance aims to strengthen scientific cooperation, advance technologies for safe and sustainable aviation, and develop joint research strategies.
The EREA Best Paper Award is presented annually and honours outstanding scientific work from the member institutes. The evaluation criteria include scientific excellence, degree of innovation, international cooperation and the contribution to safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly aviation. The award, which has now been granted to the AIT for the first time, is regarded within Europe as an important scientific benchmark in the field of aeronautical research and recognizes work that sets new standards in terms of both technology and methodology.
Univ.-Prof. Andreas Kugi, Scientific Director of AIT, underlines the importance of the award and of the research behind it: “The EREA Best Paper Award is a strong signal of the quality and relevance of our research in the field of aerodynamics and icing. The award-winning paper shows how scientific excellence and international cooperation can decisively advance the safety and energy efficiency of future commercial aircraft. I would like to warmly congratulate James Page and all colleagues involved on this outstanding achievement.”
Open-access paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1270963825000902?via%3Dihub
EREA website: https://erea.org/
About AIT: https://www.ait.ac.at/en/about-ait