Requirements and Advances in Simulating Aircraft Inlet Total Pressure Distortion in Turbine Engine Ground Tests

Abstract

The development of high-performance aircraft demands the successful integration of the airframe, engine, and control systems. Advancements in aircraft technologies bring with them the need to improve the computational and experimental tools applied to the airframe-engine compatibility evaluations. This paper focuses on the need to improve one of these tools, the direct-connect turbine engine test method. In particular, the paper advocates improving the direct-connect test simulation of the total-pressure distortion induced in flight by the external airframe and the inlet system. To meet the needs of future direct-connect tests, AEDC embarked on the development of a transient total-pressure distortion generator. The paper first introduces specific total pressure pattern simulation requirements that form the basis for the development and results of the distortion generator development process. Included are sample distortion generator concept test results and a description of a fully functional prototype that is in fabrication. Next, the paper summarizes a parallel development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools that will be applied to adapting the prototype design to specific test facilities and to the operation of the distortion generator in turbine engine tests. The paper concludes with a look ahead from the total-pressure distortion methodology to test and computational methodologies for other parameters, with emphasis on swirl.