Our research has several research areas or application focuses, which are described in detail below:

Research Areas

This research area spans most of the research group and is very broad. In the following you will find an overview of the topics covered.

Hauptgetriebe eines Hubschraubers aufrecht stehend

Hubschraubergetriebe

Hubschraubergetriebe Hauptgetriebe

Transmissions for rotorcraft (helicopters and tiltrotor/tiltwing aircraft)

Development of conventional helicopter transmissions in cooperation with industrial partners

Transnationally funded research projects on transmissions and powertrains for novel rotorcraft concepts (e.g. RACER by Airbus Helicopters and Next Generation Civil Tiltrotor by Leonardo)

Improving the safety of helicopter transmissions

Engine transmissions for fixed-wing aircraft

With the Tribology research unit, we are conducting research into new, improved lubricants for aviation transmissions as well as lubricant-free machine elements.

This research area deals with problems and solutions related to all machine elements.

Ansicht einer Antriebswelle eines Elektromotors, mit aufgeschnittenem Wälzlager und Motorgehäuse

Maschinenelemente

Ansicht mehrerer Maschinenelemente

Lightweight construction (e.g. magnesium and fiber composites for housings and drive elements)

Low-noise gears

Lubricants, lubrication circuits

Condition monitoring of machine elements

Measurement of moments and forces

Vibration technology

Clutches, freewheels

Test bench technology (test benches for high-speed gears)

Machine acoustics is a field of research dominated by sound and vibration measurement. The aim of the research is mostly the reduction of sound and vibration emissions (airborne sound, structure-borne sound).

Bild eines Frequenzganges einer Schallquelle

Maschinenakustik

Maschinenakustik

Standards activity in the DIN/VDI Standards Committee for Acoustics, Noise Abatement and Vibration Engineering (NALS)

Sound intensity measurements, vibration analyses

Condition monitoring

This branch often establishes a link between medicine and technology. Many topics are related to rescue services (interior fittings of rescue vehicles and rescue helicopters) or the area of blue-light organizations (development of fire-fighting vehicles).

Ambulance, view from above

Ambulance

Ambulance

Development and construction / projects especially in the interaction of technology and medicine

Activities and memberships

The TU Vienna is a member of the AAI (Austrian Aeronautics Industries Group) - internal coordination by the Research Department.

The Research Department is Academic Member of AGMA (American Gear Manufacturers Association) and member of the AGMA working group "Aerospace Gearing".

The institute represents Austria in IFAR (International Forum for Aviation Research - IFAR). Currently, the institute is leading the initiative "Vertical Lift" in IFAR, in which eight nations are currently discussing future rotorcraft.

Ongoing transnational project: Vari-Speed (rotorcraft propulsion with variable rotor speed) - together with TU Munich / Institute for Helicopter Technology - Prof. M. Hajek and Zoerkler Gears in Jois; funded by TakeOff (Austria) and LuFo (Germany)

Ongoing exploratory work, funded by TakeOff: Rotordraft - preliminary design tools for powertrains of future rotorcraft.

Ongoing industrial cooperation in the development of propulsion systems for new rotorcraft

Active participation with presentations e.g. annual congress of the DGLR, European Rotorcraft Forum and European Rotorcraft Symposium (EASA)

Furthermore, the research area is working on orders from the FVA (Forschungsgemeinschaft Antriebstechnik e.V.

In October 2015 the first Transmission Technology Day Austria took place at the TU Vienna

Cooperations and memberships