Abstract
This article presents the development of the electric turbofan engine in distributed architecture with a design thrust in the range of 3 to 7.5 and from 7.5 to 30 kN for small and medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicles. The engine subsystems are considered as separate smart modules with a built-in control system, exchanging data via a digital channel with the central engine control and diagnostics unit. The key smart engine units are combined in the following subsystems: starter and turbine generators, oil pumps, actuator of guide vanes, fuel pumps, fuel metering unit, control and diagnostic unit. All pumps and guide vane actuator are electrically driven. Control and monitoring signals are transmitted via a digital bus. Functional and reliability analysis and the technical configuration design of each subsystem are presented. Based on analysis of the architecture of distributed control systems for a gearbox-free electric engine, different configurations of described subsystems are proposed.
Highlights
The traditional architecture of a turbofan engine provides an accessory gearbox that transfers mechanical power from the engine shaft to the units: starter, generator, fuel and oil pumps, as well as other auxiliary units
To control the mechanisms of the engines, hydraulic servo actuators are used, driven by the high pressure of the fuel taken from the pump outlet [1]
Significant progress in power electronics, as well as increasing requirements for maintainability, survivability, the possibility of modernization and environmental compatibility of engines and power-to-weight ratio of aircraft lead to the need of a more electric engine [2,3,4,5]
Summary
The traditional architecture of a turbofan engine provides an accessory gearbox that transfers mechanical power from the engine shaft to the units: starter, generator, fuel and oil pumps, as well as other auxiliary units. Significant progress in power electronics, as well as increasing requirements for maintainability, survivability, the possibility of modernization and environmental compatibility of engines and power-to-weight ratio of aircraft lead to the need of a more electric engine [2,3,4,5]. It leads in terms of the design of power drives to replacing traditional hydro-mechanical drives with electric ones.
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