Methodology to assess the performance of an aircraft concept with distributed propulsion and boundary layer ingestion using a parametric approach

Abstract

The performance benefits of boundary layer ingestion in aircraft with distributed propulsion have been extensively studied in the past. These studies have indicated that propulsion system integration issues such as distortion and intake pressure losses could mitigate the expected benefits. This paper introduces and develops a methodology that enables the assessment of different propulsion system designs, which are optimized to be less sensitive to the effects of the aforementioned issues. The study models the propulsor array and main engine performance at design point using a parametric approach, and further at component level, the study focuses on identifying optimum propulsor configurations, in terms of propulsor pressure ratio and BL capture sheet height. At a system level, the study assesses the effects of splitting the thrust between the propulsor array and main engines. The figure of merit used in the optimization is the TSFC. The suitability of the concepts is further assessed using performance predictions for HTS electrical motors. For the purpose of this study, the NASA N3-X aircraft concept is selected as baseline configuration, where the different propulsion designs are tested. As the study focuses on performance assessment of the propulsion system, sizing implication issues and aircraft performance installations effects have not been included in the analysis. The results from the parametric analysis corroborated previous studies regarding the high sensitivity of the propulsion system performance to intake losses and BL inlet conditions. As the study found low-power consumption configurations at these operating conditions, this may be considered as a major issue. The system analysis from the study indicated that splitting the thrust between propulsors and main engines results in improved system efficiency with beneficial effects in fuel savings. When a 2% increase in intake pressure losses and a similar reduction in fan efficiency were assumed due to boundary layer ingestion, the study found an optimum configuration with 65% of thrust delivered by the propulsor array. To summarize, the present work built on past research further contributes to the field through the inclusion of the thrust split as a key variable in the propulsion system design. The thrust split, when introduced, enabled reduction of the detrimental effects of intake losses on the overall system performance. Additionally, as it reduces the power required for the propulsor array, it is expected to reduce the operating power of HTS and cooling systems and therefore improve the effectiveness of the concept.