Ultra High Bypass Ratio Engines Research Articles

A Rapid RI-TP Model for Predicting Turbine Wake Interaction Broadband Noise

Future UHBR (Ultra-High Bypass-Ratio) engines might cause serious ‘turbine noise storms’ but, at present, turbine noise prediction capability is lacking. The large turning angle of the turbine blade is the first major factor deserving special attention. The RANS (Reynold Averaged Navier–Stokes equation)-informed (here called RI) method and LINSUB (the bound vorticity 2D model LINearized SUBsonic flow in cascade), developed to predict fan broadband noise, coupled with a two-flat-plates (here called TP) assumption for the turbine blade, is applied here, and one autonomous rapid RI-TP model for predicting turbine wake interaction broadband noise has been developed. Firstly, taking the single axial turbine test rig NPU-Turb as the object, both the experimental data and the DDES/AA (delayed Detached Eddy Simulation/Acoustic Analogy) hybrid model have been used to validate the RI-TP model. High consistency in the medium and high frequencies among the three designed and off-designed rotation speeds indicates that the RI-TP model has the ability to predict turbine broadband noise rapidly. And compared with the original RANS-informed method, with one thin-flat-plate assumption on the blade, the RI-TP model can enhance the PWL (sound power level) in almost the whole spectral range below 10 KHz, which, in turn, is closer to the experimental data and the DDES/AA prediction results. The PWL trend with a ‘dividing point’ position is also studied. The spectrum would move up or down if the location is away from true value. In addition, the extraction location for turbulence as an input for the RI-TP model is negligible. In the future, multi-stage characteristics and the blade thickness effect should be further considered when predicting turbine noise.

Impact of 2D engine nacelle flow on buffet

Numerical studies on the interaction of nacelle and airfoil shock dynamics are performed. To keep the computational cost at an acceptable level, first 2D investigations on the interaction of nacelle and airfoil are performed that cover basic dynamic phenomena of this configuration. The transonic flow around the OAT15A airfoil is computed at buffet conditions, i.e., freestream Mach number Ma∞=0.73\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$Ma{_\\infty } = 0.73$$\\end{document}, chord-based freestream Reynolds number Rec=2·106\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$Re_c = 2\\cdot 10^6$$\\end{document}, and angle of attack α=3.5∘\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha = 3.5^\\circ $$\\end{document} using wall-modeled LES. Two configurations are considered, one which includes a generic 2D ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) engine nacelle geometry and one without an engine, which is denoted the baseline case. In addition to the airfoil shock, the flow field of the nacelle configuration is characterized by a shock wave on the upper part of the nacelle. Furthermore, the introduction of the UHBR-engine nacelle leads to a reduced effective angle of attack and Mach number in the flow to the airfoil. The changes in the topology of the flow to the airfoil caused by the nacelle lead to a reduced strength of the airfoil shock and a less developed buffet, which resembles the behavior close to the stability limit. The reduced shock dynamics yields lower pressure fluctuations at the airfoil trailing edge. A frequency analysis of time series data from the airfoil shock location shows a reduction of the buffet frequency for the nacelle configuration. Further investigations of the flow field dynamics using sparsity-promoting dynamic mode decomposition reveal a mutual mode between the airfoil shock and the nacelle shock. The existence of this mode has consequences for future investigations of nacelle airfoil interaction in transonic flow.

Acoustic absorption of the over-the-rotor liner applied to a ducted fan

The shortened intake length of the ultra-high bypass ratio engine leaves limited space for acoustic liner installation. The conventional intake liner has to extend to the proximity of the fan rotor to reach the same acoustic level, forming a so-called over-the-rotor (OTR) liner. Large eddy simulation method is used in this paper to analyze the acoustic absorption of the OTR liner. The results show that the dissipated energy of OTR liner orifices varies along the duct axial direction. The orifices close to the blade leading edge have the highest velocity and thereby dissipate the most energy. The magnitude and pattern of orifice velocity are different distinctly at the upstream and downstream of the rotor affected by the pressure distribution inside the duct as well as the blade surface. The time delay of orifice flow along the circumferential direction indicates that the motion of fluid inside of the orifice is primarily driven by the hydrodynamic pressure perturbance of the passing rotor. The OTR liner exhibits more complicated acoustic absorption characteristics than conventional intake liner so further investigation is necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms.

Influence of swirl and ingress on windage losses in a low-pressure turbine stator-well cavity

As part of the drive towards achieving net-zero flight by 2050, the development of ultra-high bypass ratio engines will place greater importance on the efficiency of the low-pressure turbine. Stator-well cavities can be a significant source of loss within this system, primarily due to the ingestion of annulus air, which can rotate at a speed less than that of the disc. This paper presents the results of a joint experimental/numerical campaign to relate windage torque to the flow physics in a scaled, engine-realistic stator-well geometry with superposed flows. The primary variables were the pressure ratio across the stator row and the swirl ratio at inlet to the cavity. This is the first paper to relate simultaneous torque and swirl measurements in a stator-well cavity. The numerical simulations have also provided insight into the fluid dynamic behaviour. A reduction in cavity windage torque with superposed flow rate was shown, consistent with the increase in swirl measured by experiments and predicted by computations. The pre-swirled superposed flows reduce the ingestion of negatively swirling fluid from the annulus, effectively increasing the swirl ratio of the flow in the cavity towards that of the rotor. This reduces windage losses; at the design condition with superposed flow, the cavity windage torque reduced by 60% of that of the reference case. Sealing effectiveness increased with superposed flow rate. This was demonstrated through gas concentration measurement/simulations, a reduced radial flow velocity into the cavity and a reduced mass flow rate across the interstage seal. The application of a turbulent transport model showed that ingestion could be explained by shear-driven diffusion. Ingestion increased as inlet swirl ratio reduced, while the pressure ratio was found to have a negligible influence on windage moment coefficient, swirl ratio and sealing effectiveness. In addition to providing fluid dynamic insight, the gas concentration results can be used for validating thermomechanical models. The results in this paper will be of practical interest to the engine designer who wishes to scale information to engine-operating conditions.

On the reduction of the noise in a low-pressure turbine cascade associated with the wavy leading edge

The low-pressure turbine (LPT) has become a potential noise source for future ultra-high by-pass ratio engines. In this paper, the feasibility and mechanism of wavy leading edge (WLE) noise control in the LPT cascade model are analyzed. The flow field and acoustic data are obtained with the large eddy simulation and Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings methods, which are validated using experimental data. The acoustic results are compared for different models; the maximum noise reduction can achieve 8.6 and 3.7 dBA in the frequency bands of FR#2 (315–4000 Hz) and FR#4 (6300–16 000 Hz), respectively; the noise reduction does not vary proportionally to the WLE parameter. The noise source is identified in the baseline model, and then the effect of WLE amplitude and wavelength on the noise source and its control on pressure fluctuations are evaluated. The pressure statistics demonstrate that WLE with a smaller wavelength and a larger amplitude can reduce the impingement of stator wakes on the leading edge of the rotor and stabilize the pressure fluctuation. To analyze the mechanism of WLEs on noise control, the pressure spectrum in terms of amplitude and coherence coefficient is utilized to explain the excellent noise performance of the WLE model in FR#2. The proposed similarity coefficient of coherence can quantify the destructive interference level and thus the coherence characteristics of the sound source. Generally, the noise reduction level can be predicted by the combination of the similarity coefficient and the amplitude spectrum of the pressure fluctuations for the WLE models.

Design Investigation of Potential Long-Range Hydrogen Combustion Blended Wing Body Aircraft with Future Technologies

Present work investigates the potential of a long-range commercial blended wing body configuration powered by hydrogen combustion engines with future airframe and propulsion technologies. Future technologies include advanced materials, load alleviation techniques, boundary layer ingestion, and ultra-high bypass ratio engines. The hydrogen combustion configuration was compared to the configuration powered by kerosene with respect to geometric properties, performance characteristics, energy demand, equivalent CO2 emissions, and Direct Operating Costs. In addition, technology sensitivity studies were performed to assess the potential influence of each technology on the configuration. A multi-fidelity sizing methodology using low- and mid-fidelity methods for rapid configuration sizing was created to assess the configuration and perform robust analyses and multi-disciplinary optimizations. To assess potential uncertainties of the fidelity of aerodynamic analysis tools, high-fidelity aerodynamic analysis and optimization framework MACH-Aero was used for additional verification. Comparison of hydrogen and kerosene blended wing body aircraft showed a potential reduction of equivalent CO2 emission by 15% and 81% for blue and green hydrogen compared to the kerosene blended wing body and by 44% and 88% with respect to a conventional B777-300ER aircraft. Advancements in future technologies also significantly affect the geometric layout of aircraft. Boundary layer ingestion and ultra-high bypass ratio engines demonstrated the highest potential for fuel reduction, although both technologies conflict with each other. However, operating costs of hydrogen aircraft could establish a significant problem if pessimistic and base hydrogen price scenarios are achieved for blue and green hydrogen respectively. Finally, configurational problems featured by classical blended wing body aircraft are magnified for the hydrogen case due to the significant volume requirements to store hydrogen fuel.

Air Ejector Analysis in Extended Operational Perimeter for Control Oriented Simulation of Bleed-Air Aircraft Systems

The integration of large size Ultra High Bypass Ratio (UHBR) engines introduces new restrictions of space for their integration with the aircraft wing. Under this scenario, a reduction of the size of the bleed air system and particularly of the pre-coolers is requested. The current research aims to introduce air-air ejectors as a potential solution. A combined methodology based on experimental and CFD analyses is proposed to obtain physical insights and validation material for the development of a robust and accurate lumped model, capable of simulating the static and dynamic ejector behaviour in normal and abnormal conditions. In this paper, an overview on the performed initial activities on the dynamic aspects is provided.

High-speed Digital Image Correlation (DIC) for measuring deformation and vibration of fast rotating fan blades

Due to ecological requirements, the bypass-ratio of future civil turbofan engines will be increased. This leads to ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) engines, which bring in new challenges concerning the blade material, structural integration, and aeroelastic behaviour of the fan. The ambition of the project Composite fan Aerodynamic, Aeroelastic, and Aeroacoustic Validation Rig (CA3ViAR) is to design and test an open-test-case fan that experiences instability mechanisms, which are representative for UHBR fans of civil aircrafts. The optical measurement technique Digital Image Correlation (DIC) allows for the spatial measurement of deformations. The aim is to apply this technique to measure rotor blade deformation under loading and its vibration due to aeroelastic phenomena to get a better understanding of the structural and aeroelastic behaviour of the composite fan. However, the high rotational speeds, blade vibration frequencies, and expected amplitudes pose challenges for the measurement setup. In this work, a high-speed DIC system is prepared and tested to measure deformation and vibration of a fast rotating blade. Additionally, the requirements for the DIC setup are defined and presented. The expected blade tip speeds in the CA3ViAR project are up to 295 m/s and the blade frequencies of interest up to 650 Hz. Therefore, particular emphasis must be given to the setup in order to eliminate motion blur due to the rotation and to achieve the required frequency. This leads to a setup with synchronised high-speed cameras and a laser to measure frequency vibrations up to 1 kHz with an exposure time below 210 ns. Test measurements are conducted on a stationary beam and an axial blower with a max. blade tip speed of 50 m/s. A data analysis method is developed and described to eliminate the rigid body rotation, analyse the deformation of each blade compared to a reference condition, and analyse the spatial vibration in the frequency domain for a high number of data points per time step. The results of the structural beam are in agreement with the reference measurements and numerical simulations. By analysing the spatial vibration modes of the axial blower, the 1F-flap mode is identified at 38 Hz. In conclusion, this DIC setup shows promising results for future deformation and vibration measurements on a scaled UHBR fan.

Prediction of wing buffet pressure loads using a convolutional and recurrent neural network framework

AbstractIn the present study, a hybrid deep learning reduced-order model (ROM) is applied for the prediction of wing buffet pressure distributions on a civil aircraft configuration. The hybrid model is compound of a convolutional variational neural network autoencoder (CNN-VAR-AE) and a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network. The CNN-VAR-AE is used for the reduction of the high-dimensional flow field data, whereas the LSTM is applied to predict the temporal evolution of the pressure distributions. For training the neural network, experimental buffet data obtained by unsteady pressure sensitive paint measurement (iPSP), is applied. As a test case, the Airbus XRF-1 configuration is selected, considering two different experimental setups. The first setup is defined by a wind tunnel model with a clean wing, whereas the second setup includes an ultra high bypass ratio engine nacelle on each wing. Both configurations have been tested in the European Transonic Windtunnel, considering several transonic buffet conditions. Finalizing the training of the hybrid neural networks, the trained models are applied for the prediction of buffet flow conditions which are not included in the training data set. A comparison of the experimental results and the pressure distributions predicted by the hybrid ROMs indicate a precise prediction performance. Considering both aircraft configurations, the main buffet flow features are captured by the hybrid ROMs.

Suction and Pulsed Blowing Applied to Local Separation Downstream of Slat Cutout

An experimental study on the application of active flow control (AFC) to a .4 scale model of a swept wing in a landing configuration was conducted. The wing is fitted with an ultrahigh bypass ratio (UHBR) engine nacelle. The highly efficient UHBR engines are characterized by a large diameter that interferes with the flow around the wing, especially with slats deflected, degrading its performance. An innovative AFC device, creating steady suction and pulsed blowing (PB), was installed in the leading-edge region of the wing, above the nacelle, and its performance was experimentally evaluated. The effects of the suction and PB mechanisms were examined individually and simultaneously using relevant normalized parameters to pave the way to a full-scale wind-tunnel test. It was shown that the AFC actuators increased lift by up to 3%, redirected the flow to the desired downstream direction, and reduced the size of the separation zone created due to the implementation of the UHBR nacelle. The next step is validating the small-scale results of this study in a full-scale wind-tunnel tests that would be the last step before the technology is flight test ready.

Analysis of working fluids applicable for high-temperature loop heat pipe applications

An objective of this study was to perform an analysis of available working fluids and select those one(s) that will be able to comply with the specific requirements of the ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) engine air bleed system and ensure efficient LHP operation. A multi-step approach was applied to analyse more than 700 working fluids and select four potential candidates, taking into account (1) working fluids compliance with EU regulations; (2) working fluids freezing, boiling, and critical points for the operating temperature range; (3) working fluids specific properties that influence the LHP performances. Selected fluids (toluene, acetone, methanol, 1,2-dichlorobenzene) were subjected to accelerated life tests to check their chemical compatibility with AISI 316 stainless steel to be used as the LHP material. Based on the results obtained, the toluene was selected as the working fluid for application in the innovative LHP-based thermal management solution for the UHBR engine air bleed system.

The preliminary design of a scaled Composite UHBR Fan for a wind tunnel test campaign

The ambition of the CA3ViAR project is to design an open test case fan that experiences instability mechanisms, which are representative for ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) fans of civil aircrafts, and to perform a comprehensive experimental investigation to measure aerodynamic, aeroelastic and aeroacoustic performance in a wide range of operational conditions. Experimental tests will be performed in the Propulsion-Test-Facility (PTF) of the Institute of Jet Propulsion and Turbomachinery (IFAS) of Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany. The final objective of the project is to provide an open test case for the entire research community, with geometries, numerical and experimental results to establish a new reference for composite UHBR fan design. This will support the development of new methods and tools for the development of safer, lighter and more efficient composite fans for greener UHBR engines. In this work the preliminary design of the low transonic fan (LTF) to be used as test article, whose main requirement is to be operated in a safe and controlled way in conditions of aerodynamic and/or aeroelastic instability during wind tunnel operations, is presented. More in particular, consolidated aerodynamic design, strategy adopted to drive the structural design, flutter analysis taking into account acoustic reflection at the intake, dynamic and stress analyses, as well as aeroacoustic measurement optimization are presented and discussed. The preliminary mechanical design of composite blades and the rotor hub, together with the rotor instrumentation and related studies to embed sensors in the composite blades, are also part of this article, and complemented by manufacturing trials and demonstration tests give the full picture of all the project activities up to the preliminary design review.

Maximisation of installed net resulting force through multi-level optimisation of an ultra-high bypass ratio engine nacelle

Engine/wing interference in podded installations can introduce relevant changes to their isolated behaviour, especially for large turbofans with an ultra-high bypass ratio. With such coupled flow field, the interaction is best described by the integrated force acting on the whole aircraft. Rather than focusing on drag or thrust metrics separately, in this paper we maximise the net resulting force on the NASA CRM wing body with underwing-installed turbofans through a multi-level optimisation procedure of the engine nacelle. The first stage involves two-dimensional axisymmetric geometries for cowl and exhaust ducts shapes optimisation. The solutions are transformed into three-dimensional nacelles with pylon, featuring a non-axisymmetric inlet. The impact of the pylon on the exhaust flow is evaluated through a design of experiment and a successive surrogate-based optimisation. In the last step, nacelle/wing offset, intake angles, and engine orientation are assessed in the installed configuration at fixed lift. The final optimised design is compared with a baseline geometry initially defined, showing a significant improvement of the net vehicle thrust equal to 3% of the reference force. The result highlights a counteracting effect of individual force components, in a way that the installed resulting force can only be improved when considering them globally.

Proposal of Acoustic Liners Combined with Fine-Perforated-Film

This paper deals with a resonant type liner panel with a special surface structure. A typical resonant type liner panel generally consists of a perforated face plate, cells, and a back rigid plate. One of the technical challenges of the acoustic liners applied to the future ultra-high bypass ratio engines is to increase the sound absorption efficiency under grazing conditions because the nacelle, covering of the engine, tends to reduce its length and the lined area. It is known that the sound absorption of the conventional liners tends to deteriorate as grazing flow increases. The authors introduced a special thin acoustically transparent film over the face plate of the acoustic liner. The film, a fine perforated film (FPF), is expected to prevent the interaction of the grazing flow with the opening of the liner face plate. An experimental result with a flow duct rig in JAXA confirmed that the proposed combination of the acoustic liner and the FPF improved the absorption in acoustic energy under grazing conditions, compared with the sole acoustic liner and simple treatment of the FPF.

Analytical model of the source and radiation of sound from the trailing edge of a swept airfoil

Highly-swept blades are used in automotive cooling systems, in the fans of modern ultra-high by-pass ratio engines and in counter-rotating open rotors, in part in order to reduce noise emission. The present work investigates the effect of sweep on the free-field noise emission from the trailing edge of an isolated airfoil analytically, as a first step towards a more complete approach dedicated to rotating blades. Firstly, Amiet–Schwarzschild’stechnique is extended to the case of a swept airfoil in order to assess the effect of sweep on the sound directivity both by a single three-dimensional gust and by the combined effect of all gusts at a given frequency. It is found that sweep produces a non-symmetric directivity pattern, similar to the effect of a skewed gust. Sweep also affects the wavenumber distribution of the wall-pressure fluctuations beneath a turbulent boundary layer. This effect is studied by means of a generalised Corcos’ model, which allows distributing energy in the chordwise and spanwise wavenumber ranges independently. The role of the spanwise-wavenumber distribution of wall-pressure power spectral density in amplifying the radiated noise is investigated and shown to have a limited impact.

A review of installation effects of ultra-high bypass ratio engines

The adoption of ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBPR) engines has been long recognised to bring about reduction of specific fuel consumption and noise emission. In the need to fulfil ambitious environmental targets and mitigate the aviation sector impact, they represent a smoother technology change, compared to futuristic aircraft designs featuring electric, distributed and boundary layer ingesting propulsion. However, the challenges related to UHBPR adoption can prevent a real system performance improvement, due to interdependent counteracting factors and enhanced interference between engine and airframe. This paper reviews the installation effects on underwing-mounted UHBPR turbofan engines, first presenting the cycle design studies and how they are affected by considering integration. The advancements in nacelle components modelling and optimisation are then reviewed, where new numerical models, statistical methods and optimisation algorithms are employed to tackle the inherently multi-objective problems. The computational estimation of installation effects and the studies on optimal engine position are also presented, highlighting the overall effect on the aerodynamic characteristics. Finally, the wind tunnel tests using powered engine simulators are discussed. The tools developed to quantify the thrust and drag figures of installed propulsors and obtain indications on their best underwing location now allow quite accurate estimations, both in numerical and experimental simulations. The higher level of interaction and the increased mutual sensitivity of engine operation and wing flow field, however, suggest the need to elaborate closely coupled methods to correctly replicate these effects and an assessment of current wind tunnel practices for the design and operation of powered engine simulators.

Aeroelastic behaviour of a wing with over-the-wing mounted UHBR engine

The aeroelastic behaviour of a wing with an over-the-wing pylon-mounted ultra-high bypass ratio engine and high-lift devices is studied with a reduced-order model. Wing, pylon and engine structures are reduced separately using the modal approach and described by their natural frequencies and modes. The characteristic aerodynamic loads are investigated with steady and unsteady flow simulations of a two-dimensional profile section. These results indicate possible heave instabilities at strongly negative angles of attack. Three-dimensional effects are taken into account using an adapted lifting line theory according to Prandtl. Due to high circulations resulting from the high-lift systems, the effective angles of attack are in the range of the potential instabilities. The substructures and aerodynamic loads are coupled in modal space. For the wing without three-dimensional effects, the bending instability occurs at the corresponding negative angles of attack. Even though there is potential for improvement, including the three-dimensional effects shifts the endagered area to possible operation points.

Reynolds number and wind tunnel wall effects on the flow field around a generic UHBR engine high-lift configuration

RANS simulations of a generic ultra-high bypass ratio engine high-lift configuration were conducted in three different environments. The purpose of this study is to assess small scale tests in an atmospheric closed test section wind tunnel regarding transferability to large scale tests in an open-jet wind tunnel. Special emphasis was placed on the flow field in the separation prone region downstream from the extended slat cut-out. Validation with wind tunnel test data shows an adequate agreement with CFD results. The cross-comparison of the three sets of simulations allowed to identify the effects of the Reynolds number and the wind tunnel walls on the flow field separately. The simulations reveal significant blockage effects and corner flow separation induced by the test section walls. By comparison, the Reynolds number effects are negligible. A decrease of the incidence angle for the small scale model allows to successfully reproduce the flow field of the large scale model despite severe wind tunnel wall effects.

Turbo-electric propulsive fuselage aircraft BLI benefits: A design space exploration using an analytical method

ABSTRACTTurbo-electric propulsive fuselage aircraft featuring Boundary-Layer Ingestion (BLI) are considered promising candidates to achieve the emissions reduction targets set for aviation. This paper presents an analytical method capable of estimating the BLI benefit at aircraft level, enabling a quick exploration of the propulsive fuselage design space. The design space exploration showed that the assumptions regarding the underwing turbofans and BLI fan mass estimation can have an important impact on the final fuel burn estimation. The same applies to the total efficiency assumed for the electric transmission, the range of the aircraft mission, and the propulsive efficiency of the engines used as benchmark. The regional jet and short- to medium-range aircraft classes seem to be the most promising as the ingested drag and power saving are among the largest, with long-range aircraft being just behind. The future introduction of advanced technologies, which target the reduction of vortex and wave dissipation at aircraft level, could increase the potential benefit of propulsive fuselage BLI. On the other hand, the potential benefit would be decreased if more efficient and lighter ultra high bypass ratio engines were used as benchmark.

DLR TAU-Code uRANS Turbofan Modeling for Aircraft Aerodynamics Investigations

In the context of an increased focus on fuel efficiency and environmental impact, turbofan engine developments continue towards larger bypass ratio engine designs, with Ultra-High Bypass Ratio (UHBR) engines becoming a likely power plant option for future commercial transport aircraft. These engines promise low specific fuel consumption at the engine level, but the resulting size of the nacelle poses challenges in terms of the installation on the airframe. Thus, their integration on an aircraft requires careful consideration of complex engine–airframe interactions impacting performance, aeroelastics and aeroacoustics on both the airframe and the engine sides. As a partner in the EU funded Clean Sky 2 project ASPIRE, the DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology is contributing to an investigation of numerical analysis approaches, which draws on a generic representative UHBR engine configuration specifically designed in the frame of the project. In the present paper, project results are discussed, which aimed at demonstrating the suitability and accuracy of an unsteady RANS-based engine modeling approach in the context of external aerodynamics focused CFD simulations with the DLR TAU-Code. For this high-fidelity approach with a geometrically fully modeled fan stage, an in-depth study on spatial and temporal resolution requirements was performed, and the results were compared with simpler methods using classical engine boundary conditions. The primary aim is to identify the capabilities and shortcomings of these modeling approaches, and to develop a best-practice for the uRANS simulations as well as determine the best application scenarios.