Dissertation Defense: Jet Engine Fan Response to Inlet Distortions Generated by Ingesting Boundary Layer Flow

Committee

• Professor Jen-Ping Chen, Chair (AE)
• Professor Jeffrey Bons (AE)
• Professor Mike Dunn (AE)
• Professor Datta Gaitonde (AE)

Abstract

Boundary Layer Ingesting (BLI) inlets are a candidate technology for future aircraft designs, offering the potential benefits of weight reduction, reduced drag and increased engine efficiency. Ingesting the boundary layer flow, combined with a complex flow path to reach the engine face, lead to distortions generated in the inlet that must be processed by the fan. The TURBO program, an existing rotating turbomachinery unsteady analysis code, has been modified to allow the coupled inlet and rotating fan domains to be modeled so that accurate inlet distortions can be computed and transfered to the fan. Results are presented that compare numerical simulations of the inlet to experimental NASA data for a flush-mounted S-duct with large amounts of boundary layer ingestion. Numerical results are compared to experimental static pressure measurements, boundary layer profile and total pressure profile at the AIP, to validate code modifications. A candidate fan is attached to the inlet and the response of the fan to the distortion is examined. Total pressure profiles at various axial locations are computed to identify the overall distortion pattern, how the distortion evolves through the blade passages and mixes out downstream of the blades.