Matching mechanism analysis on an adaptive cycle engine

As a novel aero-engine concept,adaptive cycle aero-engines（ACEs） are attracting wide attention in the international aviation industry due to their potential superior task adaptability along a wide flight regime.However,this superior task adaptability can only be demonstrated through proper combined engine control schedule design.It has resulted in an urgent need to investigate the effect of each variable geometry modulation on engine performance and stability.Thus,the aim of this paper is to predict and discuss the effect of each variable geometry modulation on the matching relationship between engine components as well as the overall engine performance at different operating modes,on the basis of a newly developed nonlinear component-based ACE performance model.Results show that at all four working modes,turning down the high pressure compressor variable stator vane,the low pressure turbine variable nozzle,the nozzle throat area,and turning up the core-driven fan stage variable stator vane,the high pressure turbine variable nozzle can increase the thrust at the expense of a higher high pressure turbine inlet total temperature.However,the influences of these adjustments on the trends of various engine components＇ working points and working lines as well as the ratio of the rotation speed difference are different from each other.The above results provide valuable guidance and advice for engine combined control schedule design.

A multi-fidelity simulation method research on front variable area bypass injector of an adaptive cycle engine

Front Variable Area Bypass Injector(Front-VABI) is a component of the Adaptive Cycle Engine(ACE) with important variable-cycle features. The performance of Front-VABI has a direct impact on the performance and stability of ACE, but the current ACE performance model uses approximate models for Front-VABI performance calculation. In this work, a multi-fidelity simulation based on a de-coupled method is developed which delivers a more accurate calculation of the Front-VABI performance based on Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) simulation. This simulation method proposes a form of Front-VABI characteristic and its matching calculation method between it and the ACE performance model, constructs a coupling method between the(2-D) Front-VABI model and the(0-D) ACE performance model. The result shows, when ACE works in triple bypass mode, the approximate model cannot account for the effect of FrontVABI pressure loss on Core Driven Fan Stage(CDFS) design pressure ratio, and the calculated error of high-pressure turbine inlet total temperature is more than 40 K in mode transition condition(the transition operating condition between triple bypass mode and double bypass mode). In double bypass mode, the approximate model can better simulate the performance of FrontVABI by considering the local loss of area expansion. This method can be applied to the performance-optimized design of Front-VABI and the ACE control law design during mode transition.

Design method of optimal control schedule for the adaptive cycle engine steady-state performance

The alternative working modes and flexible working states are the outstanding features of an adaptive cycle engine, with a proper control schedule design being the only way to exploit the performance of such an engine. However, unreasonable design in the control schedule causes not only performance deterioration but also serious aerodynamic stability problems. Thus, in this work,a hybrid optimization method that automatically chooses the working modes and identifies the optimal and smooth control schedules is proposed, by combining the differential evolution algorithm and the Latin hypercube sampling method. The control schedule architecture does not only optimize the engine steady-state performance under different working modes but also solves the control-schedule discontinuity problem, especially during mode transition. The optimal control schedules are continuous and almost monotonic, and hence are strongly suitable for a control system, and are designed for two different working conditions, i.e., supersonic and subsonic throttling,which proves that the proposed hybrid method applies to various working conditions. The evaluation demonstrates that the proposed control method optimizes the engine performance, the surge margin of the compression components, and the range of the thrust during throttling.

A new component maps correction method using variable geometric parameters

Accurate engine performance models are important for model-based performance evaluation of aero engine.The accuracy of the model often depends on engine component maps,so there is a need for a method that can accurately correct the component maps of the model over a wide range.In this paper,a new method for modifying component maps is proposed,this method combines the correction of the scaling factors with the solution process of the off-design working point,and uses the adjustment of the variable geometric parameters of the engine to change the position of the working line,in order to obtain more correction results and guarantee high accuracy in a wider range.The method is validated by taking the main fan of the Adaptive Cycle Engine(ACE),an ideal power unit for a new generation of multi-purpose and ultra-wide working range aircraft,as an example.The results show that the maximum error between the corrected component maps and the target maps is less than 1%.New possibility for more precise component maps can be realized in this paper.