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Article
Publication date: 16 January 2019

Maria Grazia De Giorgi, Antonio Ficarella and Laura De Carlo

The purpose of this paper is to propose and develop artificially intelligent methodologies to discover degradation trends through the detection of engine’s status. The objective…

306

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose and develop artificially intelligent methodologies to discover degradation trends through the detection of engine’s status. The objective is to predict these trends by studying their effects on the engine measurable parameters.

Design/methodology/approach

The method is based on the implementation of an artificial neural network (ANN) trained with well-known cases referred to real conditions, able to recognize degradation because of two main gas turbine engine deterioration effects: erosion and fouling. Three different scenarios are considered: compressor fouling, turbine erosion and presence of both degraded conditions. The work consists of three parts: the first one contains the mathematical model of real jet engine in healthy and degraded conditions, the second step is the optimization of ANN for engine performance prediction and the last part deals with the application of ANN for prediction of engine fault.

Findings

This study shows that the proposed diagnostic approach has good potential to provide valuable estimation of engine status.

Practical implications

Knowledge of the true state of the engine is important to assess its performance capability to meet the operational and maintenance requirements and costs.

Originality/value

The main advantage is that the engine performance data for model validation were obtained from real flight conditions of the engine VIPER 632-43.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 92 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2018

Teresa Donateo, Antonio Ficarella and Luigi Spedicato

This paper addressed some critical issues in the development of hybrid electric powertrains for aircraft and propose a design methodology based on multi-objective optimization…

334

Abstract

Purpose

This paper addressed some critical issues in the development of hybrid electric powertrains for aircraft and propose a design methodology based on multi-objective optimization algorithms and mission-based simulations.

Design/methodology/approach

Scalable models were used for the main components of the powertrain, namely, the (two stroke diesel) engine, the (lithium) batteries and the (permanent magnet) motor. The optimization was performed with the NSGA-II genetic algorithm coupled with an in-house MATLAB tool. The input parameters were the size of engine, the hybridization degree and the specification of the battery (typology, nominal capacity, bus voltage, etc.). The outputs were electric endurance, additional volume, performance parameters and fuel consumption over a specified mission.

Findings

Electric endurance was below 30 min in the two test cases (unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs]) but, thanks to the recharging of the batteries on-board, the total electric time was higher. Fuel consumption was very high for the largest UAV, while an improvement of 11 per cent with respect to a conventional configuration was obtained for the smallest one.

Research limitations/implications

The research used a simplified approach for flight mechanics. Some components were not sized in the proposed test cases.

Practical implications

The results of the test cases stressed the importance of improving energy density and power density of the electric path.

Social implications

The proposed methodology is aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of aircraft.

Originality/value

The proposed methodology was obtained from the automotive field with several original contributions to account for the aircraft application.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 90 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 18 December 2019

Teresa Donateo, Antonio Ficarella and Claudia Lucia De Pascalis

The purpose of this study is to investigate the optimization of design and energy management in a parallel hybrid-electric powertrain to replace the conventional engine of an…

381

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the optimization of design and energy management in a parallel hybrid-electric powertrain to replace the conventional engine of an existing tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a Wankel engine with a pre-defined flight mission. The proposed powertrain can work in four different operating modes: electric, thermal, power-assist and charging.

Design/methodology/approach

The power request at propeller axis of each flight segment is used as input for an in-house model that calculates the overall fuel consumption throughout the mission (Mfuel) and the maximum payload weight (Wpay) by means of an average-point analysis. These outputs depend on the energy management strategy that is expressed by the power-split ratio between engine and electric phase (Uphase) of each mission phase, according to which the components of the hybrid system are sized. The in-house model is integrated into an optimization framework to find the optimal set of Uphase and battery size that minimizes Mfuel and maximizes Wpay.

Findings

It was found a 3.24% saving of the fuel mass burned throughout the mission (or, alternative an improvement of endurance by 4.3%) with about the same maximum-payload mass (+0.2%) of the original configuration, or a smaller fuel saving with +11% more payload. The fuel saving of 3.24% corresponds to −3.25% in total emissions of CO2 and a 2.34% reduction of the cost-per-mission.

Practical implications

This study demonstrates that environmental advantages, even if limited, can be already obtained from optimal design and management of the hybrid power system with today technologies while waiting for further benefits from the introduction of advanced technologies for batteries and electric machines.

Originality/value

The main novelties are the design of the powertrain on the basis of the energy management and the application of scalability and hybridization to Wankel engines.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 92 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 September 2017

David S. Martínez, Elisa Pescini, Maria Grazia De Giorgi and Antonio Ficarella

Reynolds number in small-size low-pressure turbines (LPT) can drop below 2.5 · 104 at high altitude cruise, which in turn can lead to laminar boundary layer separation on the…

160

Abstract

Purpose

Reynolds number in small-size low-pressure turbines (LPT) can drop below 2.5 · 104 at high altitude cruise, which in turn can lead to laminar boundary layer separation on the suction surface of the blades. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential of an alternate current (AC)-driven Single Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator (AC-SDBDPA) for boundary layer control on the suction side of a LPT blade, operating at a Reynolds number of 2 · 104.

Design/methodology/approach

Experimental and numerical analyses were conducted. The experimental approach comprised the actuator testing over a curved plate with a shape designed to reproduce the suction surface of a LPT blade. A closed loop wind tunnel was employed. Sinusoidal voltage excitation was tested. Planar velocity measurements were performed by laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The device electrical power dissipation was also calculated. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations using OpenFOAM© were conducted, modelling the actuator effect as a body force calculated by the dual potential algebraic model. Unsteady RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations), also known as URANS approach, with the k-ε Lam-Bremhorst Low-Reynolds turbulence model was used.

Findings

The AC-SDBDPA operation brought to a reduction of the separation region; in particular, the boundary layer thickness and the negative velocity values decreased substantially. Moreover, the flow angle in both the main flow and in the boundary layer was reduced by the plasma control effect. The actuation brought to a reduction of the 17 per cent in the total pressure loss coefficient. The pressure coefficient and skin friction coefficient distributions indicated that under actuation the reattacnment point was displaced upstream, meaning that the flow separation was effectively controlled by the plasma actuation. Adopting slightly higher actuation parameters could bring to a full reattachment of the flow.

Practical implications

The work underlines the potentialities of an AC-SDBDPA to control separation in LPTs of aeroengines.

Originality/value

The present work sets a methodological framework, in which the validated procedure to obtain the body force model combined with CFD simulations can be used to study a configuration with multiple actuators allocated in array without requiring further experiments.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 89 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

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