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A partial listing of turbojet and turbofan engine specifications data, as provided by the MARS (Multivariable Data Analysis, Retrieval, and Storage) system, was given for a number of engines.
A brief study of the effects of turbofan-engine bypass ratio on Breguet cruise range and take-off distance for subsonic cruise aircraft showed significant differences between short- and long-haul aircraft designs. Large thrust lapse rates at high bypass ratios caused severe reductions in cruise range for short-haul aircraft because of increases in propulsion system weight. Long-haul aircraft, with a higher fuel fraction (ratio of propulsion weight plus total fuel weight to gross take-off weight), are less sensitive to propulsion-system weight and, accordingly, were not significantly affected by bypass-ratio variations. Both types of aircraft have shorter take-off distances at higher bypass ratios because of higher take-off thrust-weight ratios.
A self-learning, sensor fail-operational, control system for the TF30-P-3 afterburning turbofan engine was designed and evaluated. The sensor fail-operational control system includes a digital computer program designed to operate in conjunction with the standard TF30-P-3 bill-of-materials control. Four engine measurements and two compressor face measurements are tested. If any engine measurements are found to have failed, they are replaced by values synthesized from computer-stored information. The control system was evaluated by using a realtime, nonlinear, hybrid computer engine simulation at sea level static condition, at a typical cruise condition, and at several extreme flight conditions. Results indicate that the addition of such a system can improve the reliability of an engine digital control system.
The propulsion performance, acoustic, structural, and systems changes to a 727-200 airplane retrofitted with a refan modification of the JT8D turbofan engine are evaluated. Model tests, design of certifiable airplane retrofit kit hardware, manufacture of test hardware, ground test of a current production JT8D engine, followed by test of the same engine modified to the refan configuration, detailed analyses of the retrofit impact on airplane airworthiness, performance, and noise, and a preliminary analysis of retrofit costs are included. Results indicate that the refan retrofit of the 727-200 would be certifiable and would result in a 6-to 8 EPNdb reduction in effective perceived noise level (EPNL) at the FAR 36 measuring points and an annoyance-weighted footprint area reduction of 68% to 83%. The installed refan engine is estimated to provide 14% greater takeoff thrust at zero velocity and 10% greater thrust at 100 kn (51.4 m/s). There would be an approximate 0.6% increase in cruise specific fuel consumption (SFC). The refan engine performance in conjunction with the increase in stalled weight results in a range reduction of approximately 15% over the unmodified airplane at the same brake release gross weight (BRGW), with a block fuel increase of 1.5% to 3%. With the particular model 727 that was studied, however, it is possible to operate the airplane (with minor structural modifications) at a higher BRGW and increase the range up to approximately 15% relative to the nonrefanned airplane (with equal or slightly increased noise levels). The JT8D refan engine also improves the limited-field range of the airplane.
The development of control systems for jet engines requires a real-time computer simulation. The simulation provides an effective tool for evaluating control concepts and problem areas prior to actual engine testing. The development and use of a real-time simulation of the Pratt and Whitney F100-PW100 turbofan engine is described. The simulation was used in a multi-variable optimal controls research program using linear quadratic regulator theory. The simulation is used to generate linear engine models at selected operating points and evaluate the control algorithm. To reduce the complexity of the design, it is desirable to reduce the order of the linear model. A technique to reduce the order of the model; is discussed. Selected results between high and low order models are compared. The LQR control algorithms can be programmed on digital computer. This computer will control the engine simulation over the desired flight envelope.
The effects of afterburner light-off and shut-down transients on the compressor stability are investigated. The reported experimental results are based on detailed high response pressure and temperature measurements on the TF30-P-3 turbofan engine. The tests were performed in an altitude test chamber simulating high altitude engine operation. It is shown that during both types of transients, flow breaks down in the forward part of the fan bypass duct. At a sufficiently low engine inlet pressure this resulted in a compressor stall. Complete flow breakdown within the compressor was preceded by a rotating stall. At some locations in the compressor, rotating stall cells initially extended only through part of the blade span. For the shutdown transient the time between first and last detected occurrence of rotating stall is related to the flow Reynolds number. An attempt was made to deduce the number and speed of propagation of rotating stall cells.
Results for three velocity decayer nozzle configurations are compared with those obtained with a separate flow coannular nozzle tested on the same quieted turbofan engine. Peak sideline noise, which occurred 110 degrees from the inlet, was 2 to 4 db louder than with the coannular nozzle at the same ideal effective exhaust velocity and 8 to 11 db louder at the same thrust level. The decayer nozzles produced an increase in loss equivalent to about 4 percent of the engine thrust and also increased the effective exhaust velocity of the engine. The exhaust decayed to 0.35 of its peak velocity, compared with no decay for the coannular nozzle, within 3 equivalent nozzle diameters of the exit. The peak exhaust gas temperature was 400 K lower for the decayer configuration at the same location. The increase in perceived noise level for the decayer nozzles as compared with the coannular nozzle was attributed to the increase in exhaust velocity and the shift in peak spectrum frequency produced by these nozzles.
A design package is presented for the specification of acoustic liners for turbofans. An estimate of the noise generation was made based on modifications of existing noise correlations, for which the inputs are basic fan aerodynamic design variables. The method does not predict multiple pure tones. A target attenuation spectrum was calculated which was the difference between the estimated generation spectrum and a flat annoyance-weighted goal attenuated spectrum. The target spectrum was combined with a knowledge of acoustic liner performance as a function of the liner design variables to specify the acoustic design. The liner design method at present is limited to annular duct configurations. The detailed structure of the liner was specified by combining the required impedance (which is a result of the previous step) with a mathematical model relating impedance to the detailed structure. The design procedure was developed for a liner constructed of perforated sheet placed over honeycomb backing cavities. A sample calculation was carried through in order to demonstrate the design procedure, and experimental results presented show good agreement with the calculated results of the method.
A recent experimental investigation has identified the aero/acoustic characteristics of exhaust nozzles for duct heating turbofan engines over a range of simulated flow conditions. Jet noise and performance levels are summarized for a series of coannular nozzles representing both acoustically suppressed and unsuppressed designs operating in a static environment. The basic coannular nozzles were found to provide inherent noise suppression. Multi-element suppressor nozzles provided additional noise suppression, but with appreciable thrust loss. The impact of these results on the advanced supersonic transport studies is also presented, indicating potentially large reductions in take-off gross weight or community noise footprints.
Fluctuating pressure measurements at several locations within the core of a turbofan engine were made simultaneously with far field acoustic measurements. Correlation and coherence techniques were used to determine the relative amplitude and phase relationships between core pressures at these various locations and between the core pressures and far field acoustic pressure. The combustor is a low frequency source region for acoustic propagation through the core nozzle and out to the far field. The relation between source pressure and the resulting sound pressure involves a 180 degree phase shift and an amplitude transfer function which varies approximately as frequency squared. This is consistent with a simplified model using fluctuating entropy as a source term.
The static aerodynamic and acoustic characteristics of duct-burning turbofan (DBTF) exhaust nozzles are established. Scale models, having a total area equivalent to a 0.127 m diameter convergent nozzle, simulating unsuppressed coannular nozzles and mechanically suppressed nozzles with and without ejectors (hardwall and acoustically treated) were tested in a quiescent environment. The ratio of fan to primary area was varied from 0.75 to 1.2. Far field acoustic data, perceived noise levels, and thrust measurements were obtained for 417 test conditions. Pressure ratios were varied from 1.3 to 4.1 in the fan stream and from 1.53 to 2.5 in the primary stream. Total temperature varied from 395 to 1090 K in both streams. Jet noise reductions relative to synthesized prediction from 8 PNdB (with the unsuppressed coannular nozzle) to 15 PNdB (with a mechanically suppressed configuration) were observed at conditions typical of engines being considered under the Advanced Supersonic Technology program. The inherent suppression characteristic of the unsuppressed coannular nozzle is related to the rapid mixing in the jet wake caused by the velocity profiles associated with the DBTF. Since this can be achieved without a mechanical suppressor, significant reductions in aircraft weight or noise footprint can be realized.
Core noise from a YF-102 high bypass ratio turbofan engine was investigated through the use of simultaneous measurements of internal fluctuating pressures and far field noise. Acoustic waveguide probes, located in the engine at the compressor exit, in the combustor, at the turbine exit, and in the core nozzle, were employed to measure internal fluctuating pressures. Spectra showed that the internal signals were free of tones, except at high frequency where machinery noise was present. Data obtained over a wide range of engine conditions suggest that below 60% of maximum fan speed the low frequency core noise contributes significantly to the far field noise.
Weight and dimensional relationships that are used in aircraft preliminary design studies are analyzed. These relationships are relatively simple to prove useful to the preliminary designer, but they are sufficiently detailed to provide meaningful design tradeoffs. All weight and dimensional relationships are developed from data bases of existing and conceptual turbofan engines. The total propulsion system is considered including both engine and nacelle, and all estimating relations stem from physical principles, not statistical correlations.
Minimum-time accelerations of the F100 turbofan engine are presented. A piecewise-linear engine model, having three state variables and four control variables, is used to obtain the minimum-time solutions. The linear model which applies at a given time in the trajectory is determined by calculating a normalized distance from the current state to the equilibrium state associated with each linear model. The linear model associated with the closest equilibrium point is then used. The control histories for the minimum-time solutions are used as input to a nonlinear simulation of the F100 engine to verify the accuracy of the piecewise linear solutions.
Effects of varying engine inlet Reynolds number index (0.75, 0.50, 0.25, and 0.12) and temperature (289 and 244 K) on a TFE731-2 turbofan engine were evaluated. Results were classified as either compression system effects or effects on overall performance. Standard performance maps are used to present compression system performance. Overall performance parameters are presented as a function of low rotor speed corrected to engine inlet temperature.
A multivariable control design procedure based on output feedback regulator (OFR) theory is applied to the F100 turbofan engine. Results for the OFR design are compared to a design based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) theory. The OFR feedback control is designed in the full order state space and thus eliminates any need for model reduction techniques. Using the performance measure and control structure of the LQR design, an equivalent OFR feedback control is obtained. The flexibility of the OFR as a control design procedure is demonstrated, and differing feedback control structures are evaluated.
The Routh approximation technique is applied in the frequency domain to a 16th order state variable turbofan engine model. The results obtained motivate the extension of the frequency domain formulation of the Routh method to the time domain to handle the state variable formulation directly. The time domain formulation is derived, and a characterization, which specifies all possible Routh similarity transformations, is given. The characterization is computed by the solution of two eigenvalue eigenvector problems. The application of the time domain Routh technique to the state variable engine model is described, and some results are given.
The specific fuel consumption of a low-bypass-ratio, confluent-flow, turbofan engine was measured with and without a mixer installed. Tests were conducted for flight Mach numbers from 0.3 to 1.4 and altitudes from 10,670 to 14,630 meters (35,000 to 48,000 ft) for core-stream-to-fan-stream temperature ratios of 2.0 and 2.5 and mixing-length-to-diameter ratios of 0.95 and 1.74. For these test conditions, the reduction in specific fuel consumption varied from 2.5 percent to 4.0 percent. Pressure loss measurements as well as temperature and pressure surveys at the mixer inlet, the mixer exit, and the nozzle inlet were made.