A Strategic Design Approach for Future Fuselage BLI Engine Based Hybrid Propulsion Engine

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Abstract This research paper presents the systematic design approach for a hybrid electric propulsion system using the concept of fuselage BLI (Boundary Layer Ingestion). Various BLI configurations were explored and a rear mounted axisymmetric configuration for the BLI engine was chosen for present study. CFM56-7B24 engine was selected as the baseline engine and the performance of the engine was replicated using the GasTurb 14 software. GasTurb electric module was used to integrate an electric propulsion system with the gas turbine engine and detailed parametric studies for the newly proposed engine were conducted to optimize important performance parameters. The amount of power to be extracted from the primary (underwing) engines to run the BLI fan on the design point was decided by a systematic trade-off study between the net TSFC and the mass of the electric propulsion system, where net TSFC is defined as the ratio of total fuel consumed and the sum of thrusts generated by the primary engines and the aft-body BLI fan. A significant decrease in net TSFC was observed at the design point. To meet the high efficiencies and power requirement, HEMM (High-Efficiency Megawatt Motor) was chosen for running the electric fan. GasTurb’s inbuilt feature was used for estimation of weight for the newly configured engine. A simple mission was generated to compare the performance of the baseline engine with the newly proposed engine and to analyse the performance maps of compressors and turbines. The operating line for the simple mission was plotted over the maps of compressor and turbine to assess their performance throughout the mission. The newly proposed engine was then simulated at off-design conditions in GasTurb. An impressive 13% fuel benefit was observed due to the incorporation of BLI and hybrid operation compared to the baseline engine. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a hybrid electric propulsion system using BLI and provides insights into the design and manufacturing of individual components. The results obtained can thus serve as a valuable reference for future studies in the field of hybrid aircraft propulsion systems.