Purpose Relative to in-service aero-engines, the bypass ratio of future civil architectures may increase further. If traditional design rules are applied to these new configurations and the housing components are scaled, then it is expected that the overall weight, nacelle drag and the effects of aircraft integration will increase. For this reason, the next generation of civil turbofan engines may use compact nacelles to maximise the benefits from the new engine cycles. The purpose of this paper is to present a multi-level design and optimisation process for future civil aero-engines. Design/methodology/approach An initial set of multi-point, multi-objective optimisations for axisymmetric configurations are carried out to identify the trade-off between intake and fancowl bulk parameters of highlight radius and nacelle length on nacelle drag. Having identified the likely optimal part of the design space, a set of computationally expensive optimisations for three-dimensional non-axisymmetric configurations is performed. The process includes cruise- and windmilling-type operating conditions to ensure aerodynamic robustness of the downselected configurations. Findings Relative to a conventional aero-engine nacelle, the developed process yielded a compact aero-engine configuration with mid-cruise drag reduction of approximately 1.6% of the nominal standard net thrust. Originality/value The multi-point, multi-objective optimisation is carried out with a mixture of regression and classification functions to ensure aerodynamic robustness of the downselected configurations. The developed computational approach enables the optimisation of future civil aero-engine nacelles that target a reduction of the overall fuel consumption.
Ultra high-bypass ratio aircraft engines adopt slim fan cowl profiles which are sensitive to separation on their external surfaces under diversion windmilling conditions, when engine shutdown occurs during cruise. A two-dimensional wind tunnel rig is developed to investigate the separation mechanisms experienced by aero-engine nacelles in such scenarios to establish the detailed aerodynamics. The tunnel flow field with entry Mach number 0.65 broadly replicates the expected diversion windmilling flow behaviour for a full-scale nacelle, featuring a supersonic region which terminates in a normal shock wave on the external fan cowl surface. For the three conditions investigated, which relate to different engine mass-flow rates, the response of the boundary layer in this region progresses from remaining fully attached through to well-established separation. However, the rig Reynolds number based on nacelle lip thickness is about 1.2 × 10 6 , roughly one-third of full scale, resulting in a transitional rather than turbulent shock-boundary-layer interaction. Nevertheless, simple simulations correctly predict the wind tunnel flow field, except for the precise boundary-layer response to normal shock waves, and so experimental data from the rig can be used to validate relevant computational methods.
Aero-engine nacelles are typically designed to fulfil both design and off-design aircraft manoeuvres. Under-off design conditions one of the objective is to avoid large flow separation either on the external cowl or within the intake that can influence aircraft and engine operability. One particular scenario is represented by a low engine mass flow regime associated with one inoperative engine, also known as a windmilling condition. Under windmilling, the boundary layer on the external cowl of the nacelle can separate either due to the interaction with shockwaves or due to notable adverse pressure gradient towards the trailing edge. Both mechanisms are computationally difficult to model and there is a need for more validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. The aim of this work is to develop a rig configuration which will provide CFD validation data for the aerodynamics of a nacelle under representative windmilling conditions. Two flight regimes are considered, namely windmilling diversion and end-of-runway. CFD simulations of a 3D nacelle are used to determine primary aerodynamic mechanisms associated with boundary layer separation. Two rig configurations are developed and both 2D and 3D CFD analyses are used to achieve the design objectives. Overall, this work presents the design philosophy and methods that were pursued to develop a quasi-2D rig configuration representative of the aerodynamics of 3D-annular aero-engine nacelles under windmilling conditions.
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