Method to Explore the Design Space of a Turbo-Electric Distributed Propulsion System

AbstractMeeting future goals for aircraft and air traffic system performance will require a fundamental shift in approach to aircraft and engine design. In 2005, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released plans of a next generation commercial airplane for 2030 combining the blended wing body (BWB) and a superconducting distributed propulsion system. The BWB concept adapts NASA’s cruise-efficient short take-off and landing (CESTOL) airframe. The propulsion system employs distributed electric fans, which are embedded on the upper surface of the airframe, driven by superconducting motors with power provided by two wing-tip mounted turboelectric generators. This paper describes a method to design a turboelectric distributed propulsion (TeDP) system on the hybrid wing body airframe, including a way to obtain the propulsor number and its weight, a method to simulate boundary layer ingestion, and a method to calculate electric system performances and its weight. An examination of the syste...

[1]  Hyun Dae Kim,et al.  Low Noise Cruise Efficient Short Take-Off and Landing Transport Vehicle Study , 2006 .

[2]  Gerald V. Brown,et al.  Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion Engine Cycle Analysis for Hybrid-Wing-Body Aircraft , 2009 .

[3]  Riti Singh,et al.  A preliminary method to estimate impacts of inlet flow distortion on boundary layer ingesting propulsion system design point performance , 2014 .

[4]  Benjamin B. Choi,et al.  Propulsion Electric Grid Simulator (PEGS) for Future Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion Aircraft , 2014 .

[5]  Tom Hynes,et al.  Performance of a Boundary Layer Ingesting (BLI) propulsion system , 2007 .

[6]  S. Lieblein,et al.  Empirical expressions for estimating length and weight of axial-flow components of VTOL powerplants , 1971 .

[7]  Gerald V. Brown,et al.  An Examination of the Effect of Boundary Layer Ingestion on Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion Systems , 2011 .

[8]  Michael James Armstrong,et al.  Stability, Transient Response, Control, and Safety of a High-Power Electric Grid for Turboelectric Propulsion of Aircraft , 2013 .

[9]  Leroy H. Smith.  Wake ingestion propulsion benefit , 1993 .

[10]  Michael J. Hennessy.  Lightweight, Efficient Power Converters for Advanced Turboelectric Aircraft Propulsion Systems , 2014 .

[11]  Gerald V. Brown,et al.  Weights and Efficiencies of Electric Components of a Turboelectric Aircraft Propulsion System , 2011 .

[12]  J. P. Longley,et al.  Inlet distortion effects in aircraft propulsion system integration , 1992 .

[13]  James L. Felder,et al.  Control Volume Analysis of Boundary Layer Ingesting Propulsion Systems With or Without Shock Wave Ahead of the Inlet , 2011 .