Preliminary Secondary Power System Thermodynamic Analysis for Tactical Aircraft Pulsed Loads

Abstract

Abstract A computerized thermodynamic analytical program has been developed to investigate the impact of secondary power system improvements on mission effectiveness and efficient pulsed power generation in a conventional tactical aircraft. Besides indicating that the engine performance in a conventional aircraft was more sensitive to pneumatic bleed than to shaft power extraction, the analysis also revealed a 5% improvement in fuel consumption with the use of a more electric secondary power system. Using the total fuel consumed by the conventional aircraft for a typical tactical mission as a baseline, several investigative options were considered for the excess fuel availability, for an identical situation with the more electric secondary power system. The result was the availability of multiple combat mission legs or an equivalent of 24 kW of pulsed power that could potentially be used for communications purposes or as a weapon load. The improvements in the quality of the pulsed power with the incorporation of cryogenic technologies and a trade study between open and closed cryogenic cooling systems are also presented in this investigation.