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Parametric design studies for propulsive fuselage aircraft concepts

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Abstract

Breaking with the classical separation of airframe and power plant system, new synergy effects may be rooted in close design coupling and the approach of distributing the production of thrust along the main components of the airframe. Beside greater configurational flexibility, airframe structural relief, improved noise shielding, and, the potential for control power augmentation, distributed propulsion is particularly interesting due to the reduced propulsive power demands expected from the notion of aircraft wake filling. In previous work, the concept of a propulsor encircling the aft fuselage with intent to entrain the fuselage boundary layer was identified to be one of the most promising concepts for aircraft wake filling. In this paper, the analytical basis for the quantification of efficiency benefits connected to the propulsive fuselage concept is discussed. Appropriate control volume and consistent efficiency chain definitions are introduced. A simplified boundary layer model is derived from axisymmetric fuselage CFD simulation and used to determine the momentum deficit ingested by the fuselage propulsor. Based on a novel figure of merit for vehicular efficiency, the energy-specific air range, ESAR, the dependency of aircraft cruise efficiency on basic propulsion system and aircraft design changes is parametrically investigated. Specifically, the sensitivities of vehicular efficiency w.r.t. wing aspect ratio and flow transition characteristics, propulsor size, and aircraft design cruise Mach number are studied.

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Abbreviations

BLI:

Boundary layer ingestion

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

CFRP:

Carbon fibre-reinforced polymers

EIS:

Entry-into-service

ESAR:

Energy-specific air range

FPR:

Fan pressure ratio

GTF:

Geared turbofan

HPT:

High-pressure turbine

LPT:

Low-Pressure Turbine

LTH:

Luftfahrttechnisches handbuch

MAC:

Mean aerodynamic chord

MTOW:

Maximum take-off weight

OEW:

Operating empty weight

OPR:

Overall pressure ratio

PSC:

Power-saving coefficient

SAR:

Specific air range

TOC:

Top-of-climb

TSFC:

Thrust-specific fuel consumption

TSPC:

Thrust-specific power consumption

D :

[N] Drag

F :

[N] Thrust

h :

[m] Duct height

L :

[N] Lift

m :

[kg] Mass

M :

[–] Mach number

p :

[N/m2] Pressure

P :

[W] Power

Re :

[–] Reynolds number

S :

[m2] Wing area

V :

[m/s] Velocity

x :

[m] Fuselage axial coordinate

β :

[–] Ingested drag ratio

γ:

[–] Isentropic exponent

δ :

[–] Boundary layer thickness

η :

[–] Efficiency

φ :

[rad] Sweep angle

*:

Boundary layer ingestion case

0:

Ambient conditions, free stream

1:

Propulsion system intake

2:

Fan inlet

A/C:

Aircraft

D0:

Zero-lift drag

ec:

Energy conversion

ing:

Ingested

LE:

Leading edge

m:

Area-averaged mean

N:

Net

ov:

Overall

pd:

Propulsive device

pr:

Propulsive

ref:

Reference

rel:

Relative

t:

Total

T:

Transition

tr:

Transmission

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Julian Bijewitz and Clément Pornet for their support in reference engine and aircraft modelling, respectively, as well as, Askin Isikveren and Sascha Kaiser for fruitful technical discussions. In particular, the authors would like to thank Hans-Jörg Steiner for his preceding research on distributed propulsion at Bauhaus Luftfahrt and valuable advice during the preparation of this paper. This research was conducted within the FP7-L0 project DisPURSAL (Grant Agreement No. FP7-323013), co-funded by the European Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bauhaus Luftfahrt e.V., 80807, Munich, Germany

    Arne Seitz & Corin Gologan

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  1. Arne Seitz
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  2. Corin Gologan
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Correspondence to Arne Seitz.

Additional information

This paper is based on a presentation at the CEAS Air and Space Conference 2013, September 16–19, Linköping, Sweden.

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Seitz, A., Gologan, C. Parametric design studies for propulsive fuselage aircraft concepts. CEAS Aeronaut J 6, 69–82 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13272-014-0130-3

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