The most significant challenge in applied fluid dynamics (covering aerospace, energy and propulsion, automotive, maritime industries, chemical process industries) is posed by a lack of understanding of turbulence-dependent features and laminar-to-turbulent transition. As a consequence, the design and analysis of industrial equipment cannot be relied upon to be accurate in challenging flow conditions. Improving the capabilities of models for complex fluid flows, offers the potential of reducing energy consumption of aircraft, cars, and ships, with consequent reduction in emissions and noise of combustion-based engines The inevitable result is a major impact on economical and environmental factors as well as on economy, industrial leadership in the highly competitive global position. Hence, the ability to understand, model and predict turbulence and transition phenomena is the key requirement in the design of efficient and environmentally acceptable fluids-based energy transfer systems. Against this background, the present proposal sets out a highly ambitious and innovative program of work designed to address some influential deficiencies in advanced statistical models of turbulence. The program rests on the following pillars of excellence: • The exploitation of high-fidelity LES/DNS data for a range of -reference flows that contain key flow features of major interest • The application of novel artificial intelligence and machine-learning algorithms to identify significant correlations between representative turbulent quantities • The guidance of the research towards improved models by four world-renown industrial and academic experts in turbulence. The consortium is formed by major industrial aeronautical companies and software editor, an SME acting as coordinator, well-known research centra and academic groups, including ERCOFTAC, acting as a source of turbulence expertise and as a repository for the generated data, to be made openly available.

The E-CAero2 project is the natural follow-up of the E-CAero project developed within FP7 from 2009 to 2013. E-CAero achievements can be summarized as improved communication between associations, implementation of a common logistic platform, better synchronised conference events, scientific expertise better aggregated to conferences, events organised in cooperation between associations, and a vision for common journal and publishing policy. The E-CAero project was launched in response to a call from the European Commission. The object was to harmonise the scientific communication activities in the field aeronautics and air transport made by the European organisations working in these fields. The ECAero 2 project is aimed to go further and it aims to define a wide coordination mechanism between the associations that devote their activities, totally or partially, to aeronautics and air transport. The action will enhance the impact of and facilitate access to publications of interest to European aviation, notably those issued from EU-funded projects. The rationalisation of conferences is to reduce the duplication of events, improve their visibility, and increase their audience. It goes without saying that the actions taken in this project are to become self-supported by the end of the project. The objectives of E-Caero 2 are in keeping with the former project E-Caero. They can be defined as: • Enhance communication between the associations • Progress in the synchronisation of events • Take initiatives towards a joint publication policy in Europe. • Promote coordination within the federation of associations • Provide a more visible European label and common policy to aeronautical events and publications • Establish a unified logistics network and a specific secretariat for events of the ECAA • Properly quantify the size of the scientific/industrial community and the desirable number of events; • Offer a better harmonised information to scientists and technologists.