Methodology for Performance Analysis of Aerospace Vehicles Using the Laws of Thermodynamics

Theory, methodology, and example applications are developed and shown for the systematic analysis of overall vehicle forces in terms of irreversibility and heat. The methodology presented involves analyzing and deconstructing vehicle forces using individual stream tubes as components within the overall fluid control volume in which the vehicle is embedded. This provides the capability for the complete fluid/thermodynamic "audit" of vehicle performance in terms of irreversibility, combustion (heating), and fluid dynamic flow turning and area change. Sample results are shown for a simplified hypersonic vehicle configuration modeled with constant specific heats and Rayleigh heating. The role of overall entropy generation and wake mixing processes in the production of vehicle forces in atmospheric flight is next discussed and clarified. Specifically, the direct analytical relationship between entropy, wake mixing processes, and overall force production for the vehicle is developed from fundamental considerations of the global control volume with inclusion of the wake in the analysis. This analysis is demonstrated using the same simplified high-speed configuration and is finally developed for the completely general problem of an aerospace vehicle with variable specific heats, thermal loading, variable composition, fuel injection, and chemical reaction.

[1]  J. H. Horlock,et al.  Availability and Propulsion , 1975 .

[2]  George C. Greene.  An entropy method for induced drag minimization , 1989 .

[3]  David W. Riggins,et al.  High-speed engine/component performance assessment using exergy and thrust-based methods , 1996 .

[4]  David J. Moorhouse,et al.  Proposed System-Level Multidisciplinary Analysis Technique Based on Exergy Methods , 2003 .

[5]  David W. Riggins,et al.  THRUST LOSSES IN HYPERSONIC ENGINES PART 2 : APPLICATIONS , 1997 .

[6]  David W. Riggins,et al.  Evaluation of Performance Loss Methods for High-Speed Engines and Engine Components , 1997 .

[7]  Charles R. Mcclinton,et al.  Thrust Losses in Hypersonic Engines Part 1: Methodology , 1997 .

[8]  E. T. Curran,et al.  The Use of Stream Thrust Concepts for the Approximate Evaluation of Hypersonic Ramjet Engine Performance , 1973 .

[9]  Russell M. Cummings,et al.  Wake Integration for Three-Dimensional Flowfield Computations: Theoretical Development , 1999 .

[10]  David W. Riggins,et al.  The Thermodynamic Continuum of Jet Engine Performance: The Principle of Lost Work due to Irreversibility in Aerospace Systems , 2003 .

[11]  Bryce Alexander Roth.  Aerodynamic Drag Loss Chargeability and Its Implications in the Vehicle Design Process , 2001 .

[12]  J. H. Lewis.  Propulsive efficiency from an energy utilization standpoint , 1976 .

[13]  Dimitri N. Mavris,et al.  Comparison of Thermodynamic Loss Models Suitable for Gas Turbine Propulsion , 2001 .

[14]  Enrico Sciubba,et al.  Exergy analysis of hypersonic propulsion systems: Performance comparison of two different scramjet configurations at cruise conditions , 2008 .

[15]  Bryce Alexander Roth.  Work Potential Perspective of Engine Component Performance , 2002 .

[16]  Dimitri N. Mavris,et al.  Generalized Model for Vehicle Thermodynamic Loss Management , 2003 .