Considerations on the Compression System Preliminary Design of a Short Haul Aircraft Propulsion System

The preliminary design of turbomachinery components is strongly affected by the application process. This paper documents a compressor comparative design assessment which was conducted with the intent of to highlight the rationale of proposing a new propulsion system for use on short haul aircraft, similar to the Embraer E-Jet. This study establishes and discusses the compressor figures of merit pertaining to short haul operation and their influence on the desired compression layout.A computational tool to undertake compressor designs is developed and validated against the NASA E3 published compressor layout. With the aid of this software, a few alternative compressor layouts that meet the established criteria are suggested.The best candidates are highlighted and further studied in terms of individual design parameters such as temperature rise distribution, number of stages and off-design performance. The figures of merit that dictate particular design choices are highlighted and commented. The most advanced candidate design is found to yield a very respectable performance compared to current production engines of the same class. This work aims at highlighting the process through which a modern compression system is designed at a preliminary stage and the design challenges confronting it.Copyright © 2013 by ASME