Real-Time Execution of a High Fidelity Aero-Thermodynamic Turbofan Engine Simulation

Abstract

In the past, a typical way of executing simulations in the real-time environment had been to use transfer function models, state-variable models or reduced-order aero-thermodynamic models. These models are typically not as accurate as the conventional full-fidelity aero-thermodynamic simulations used as basis for generation of the real-time models. Also, there is a cost associated with creation and maintenance of these derived real-time models. The ultimate goal is to use the high fidelity aero-thermodynamic simulation as the real-time model. However, execution of the high fidelity aero-thermodynamic simulation in a real-time environment is a challenging objective since accuracy of the simulation cannot be sacrificed to optimize execution speed, yet execution speed still has to be limited by some means to fit into real-time constraint. This paper discusses the methodology used to resolve this challenge, thereby enabling use of a contemporary turbofan engine high fidelity aero-thermodynamic simulation in the real-time environments.