Bypass Ratio Parametric Analyses on a Narrow-Body Aircraft Using a New Tool for Turbofan Rubberization

Abstract

A major issue which has usually prevented aircraft manufacturers from implementing efficient and cost-effective design processes is the loose integration of engine models into iterative aircraft design workflows. This work aims at reducing this gap, by introducing a simplified modeling of the behavior of a gas turbine, allowing to rubberize a generic turbofan engine. In the present context, this methodology has been implemented for a two-spool, directdrive, unmixed flow turbofan, but it could be easily extended to different engine configurations (e.g., geared turbofan). In order to prove the effectiveness of this approach, this rubber engine model has been included in an already existing aircraft design framework and has been used to carry out parametric analyses on engine bypass ratio, aiming at guiding the selection of this engine parameter for an advanced short-haul narrow-body aircraft.

The Virtual Propulsion Expert: Application of a Hybrid Surrogate-Based Rubber Engine Model in Aircraft Design

“…When a specific design is selected, the corresponding information is transferred to an embedded tool for thermodynamic cycle analysis that enables the calculation of off-design performance on demand. Recently, Di Stasio et al [19] published an approach that uses surrogate models to predict engine performance at single predefined operating conditions to subsequently scale a reference engine map.…”