Browsing by Author "Sheaf, Christopher T."

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    Artificial neural network for preliminary design and optimisation of civil aero-engine nacelles
    (Cambridge University Press, 2024-04-29) Tejero, Fernando; MacManus, David; Heidebrecht, Alexander; Sheaf, Christopher T.
    Within the context of preliminary aerodynamic design with low order models, the methods have to meet requirements for rapid evaluations, accuracy and sometimes large design space bounds. This can be further compounded by the need to use geometric and aerodynamic degrees of freedom to build generalised models with enough flexibility across the design space. For transonic applications, this can be challenging due to the non-linearity of these flow regimes. This paper presents a nacelle design method with an artificial neural network (ANN) for preliminary aerodynamic design. The ANN uses six intuitive nacelle geometric design variables and the two key aerodynamic properties of Mach number and massflow capture ratio. The method was initially validated with an independent dataset in which the prediction error for the nacelle drag was 2.9% across the bounds of the metamodel. The ANN was also used for multi-point, multi-objective optimisation studies. Relative to computationally expensive CFD-based optimisations, it is demonstrated that the surrogate-based approach with ANN identifies similar nacelle shapes and drag changes across a design space that covers conventional and future civil aero-engine nacelles. The proposed method is an enabling and fast approach for preliminary nacelle design studies.
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    Design of a new test rig to investigate transonic external fan cowl separation
    (Association Aeronautique Astronautique de France, 2022-03-28) Sabnis, Kshitij; Boscagli, Luca; Swarthout, Avery; Babinsky, Holger; MacManus, David; Sheaf, Christopher T.
    Ultra high-bypass ratio engines, which show considerable promise in reducing the environmental impact of commercial aviation, generally adopt slim fan cowl profiles. These geometries can be more sensitive to separation on the external surfaces in engine windmilling conditions during take-off climb out or during cruise. This paper describes the development of a two-dimensional wind tunnel rig which can accurately replicate the separation mechanisms experienced by real aero-engine nacelles. This design process highlights the importance of considering factors such as Reynolds-number effects, tunnel-wall effects, the two-dimensional nature of the rig, and the tunnel boundary layers.
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    Experimental investigation of external fan cowl separation for compact nacelles in windmilling scenarios
    (AIAA, 2023-06-08) Sabnis, Kshitij; Boscagl, Luca; Babinsky, Holger; MacManus, David G.; Sheaf, Christopher T.
    The slim fan cowl profiles used for ultra-high bypass ratio aircraft engines are designed considering off-design operating conditions, such as engine windmilling during take-off climb out or during cruise. The current paper describes wind tunnel experiments studying how incoming Mach number and engine mass-flow rate influence the aerodynamics governing external fan cowl flow separation in both these windmilling scenarios. A transonic region may form on the forebody surface if the engine becomes inoperative during take-off climb out, with peak Mach number up to 1.2. The subsequent adverse pressure gradient can separate the local boundary layer, resulting in flow separation which originates near the highlight and a more uniform fan cowl pressure distribution. Meanwhile, engine shut down during cruise results in a large supersonic region on the external fan cowl surface which terminates in a normal shock wave. When the Mach number of this shock exceeds about 1.35, a closed separation bubble develops, which causes up to a four-fold increase in the boundary-layer thickness downstream of the shock wave.
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    Experimental investigation of transonic external fan cowl separation
    (Association Aeronautique Astronautique de France, 2023-03-29) Sabnis, Kshitij; Boscagli, Luca; Babinsky, Holger; MacManus, David; Sheaf, Christopher T.
    When a civil aircraft engine is shut down during the cruise phase of flight and thus begins to windmill, a supersonic region forms on the external surface of the fan cowl. The terminating normal shock can separate the turbulent boundary layer developing on this external surface. A series of experiments are performed in a quasitwo-dimensional wind tunnel rig to investigate the influence of various parameters on this flow problem. As the engine mass-flow rate is reduced, an increase in normal shock strength results in the onset of flow separation which thickens the boundary layer developing on the external fan cowl surface by a factor of three. A reduction in incoming Mach number from the nominal value of 0.65 to 0.60 weakens the shock wave and thus delays flow separation. If the incoming boundary layer is laminar rather than turbulent, the normal shock Mach number is observed to increased by 10%. Despite the stronger shock, no significant flow separation can be detected even for the lowest engine mass-flow rates studied and the external nacelle surface boundary layer is measured to be thinner than for the turbulent case.
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    Transonic nacelle design for future medium range aero-engines
    (ICAS, 2022-09-09) Schreiner, B. Deneys J.; MacManus, David; Tejero, Fernando; Sánchez Moreno, Francisco; Sheaf, Christopher T.
    It is expected that future civil aero-engines will operate at low specific thrust and high-bypass ratios to improve propulsive efficiency. This may result in an increment in fan diameter and associated weight and nacelle drag penalties. For this reason, these new architectures may use compact nacelles to meet the benefits of the new engine cycles. The aim of the current work is to evaluate the aerodynamic design and performance of compact nacelles for medium range, single-aisle aircraft with a cruise Mach number of M = 0.80. This work encompasses the 3D multi-point, multi-objective optimisation of nacelles by considering cruise conditions as well as a range of off-design requirements such as an increased cruise Mach number, a windmilling engineout diversion scenario and a windmilling end-of-runway case at high-incidence. This paper also explores the robustness and sensitivity of selected designs to flight Mach number (M), massflow capture ratio (MFCR) and angle of attack (AoA). The limits of the feasible design space for this new design challenge are identified. It is concluded that relative to a conventional aero-engine nacelle, the nacelle length (Lnac/rhi) can be reduced by approximately 13% with a mid-cruise drag reduction of 5.8%, whilst maintaining an acceptable aerodynamic performance at off-design conditions.