TRACES: higher education in the field of aviation safety

In the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) 2019 annual report, in-flight icing was identified as a major problem for large aircraft. 

Aircraft manufacturers must therefore demonstrate safe operation in freezing conditions before any new product is commissioned. This involves significant costs as the inherent complexity of freezing processes means that certification authorities place little trust in simulations and therefore require wind tunnel tests and flight tests to be carried out in freezing conditions.

TRACES (TRAining the next generation iCE researcherS) is a European joint doctoral network whose main objective is to train a group of experienced researchers in the field of in-flight icing, capable of mastering the different disciplines required to analyse the complexity of phenomena related to airframe icing and its mitigation in aircraft and aircraft engines.

Within TRACES, researchers will take part in various kinds of training activities: practical research activities, periods of work with non-academic partners and participation in scientific and additional soft skills courses and workshops.

The coordinator of TRACES is Alberto Guardone, professor at the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology of the Politecnico di Milano; 13 other universities and companies in the sector are members of the consortium.