Aerodynamic optimization of the exhaust system of an aft-mounted boundary layer ingestion propulsor
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 15 December 2022
Issue publication date: 24 April 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Novel aircraft propulsion configurations require a greater integration of the propulsive system with the airframe. As a consequence of the closer integration of the propulsive system, higher levels of flow distortion at the fan face are expected. This distortion will propagate through the fan and penalize the system performance. This will also modify the exhaust design requirements. This paper aims to propose a methodology for the aerodynamic optimization of the exhaust for novel embedded propulsive systems. To model the distortion transfer, a low order throughflow fan model is included.
Design/methodology/approach
As the case study a 2D axisymmetric aft-mounted annular boundary layer ingestion (BLI) propulsor is used. An automated computational fluid dynamics approach is applied with a parametric definition of the design space. A throughflow body force model for the fan is implemented and validated for 2D axisymmetric and 3D flows. A multi-objective optimization based on evolutionary algorithms is used for the exhaust design.
Findings
By the application of the optimization methodology, a maximum benefit of approximately 0.32% of the total aircraft required thrust was observed by the application of compact exhaust designs. Furthermore, for the embedded system, it is observed that the design of the compact exhaust and the nacelle afterbody have a considerable impact on the aerodynamic performance.
Originality/value
This paper presents a novel approach for the exhaust design of embedded propulsive systems in novel aircraft configurations. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first detailed optimization of the exhaust system on an annular aft-mounted BLI propulsor.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Rolls-Royce plc for supporting this research. Due to commercial confidentiality agreements the supporting data is not available.
Citation
Matesanz-García, J., Piovesan, T. and MacManus, D.G. (2023), "Aerodynamic optimization of the exhaust system of an aft-mounted boundary layer ingestion propulsor", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 1295-1318. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-06-2022-0362
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Rolls-Royce plc.