Method and device for processing aircraft engine performance parameters

Abstract

This invention provides a method and apparatus for processing performance parameters of aero-engines. A method for processing aero-engine performance parameters includes: acquiring multiple data points about the engine, each data point including multiple parameters about the engine; converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and engine speed of each data point to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted thrust, converted fuel flow rate, and converted engine speed; dividing the multiple data points into multiple subsets based on the Mach number of the data points, wherein the data points in each subset have the same Mach number; and for each subset of data points, constructing a fitted performance curve of the converted engine thrust and the converted fuel flow rate relative to the converted engine speed using the converted thrust, converted fuel flow rate, and converted engine speed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aero-engines, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for processing aero-engine performance parameters. Background Technology

[0002] During the design process of aero engines, a database of the relationship between performance parameters and engine speed across the entire flight envelope is required. This database is used to predict fuel consumption for the current flight and fuel consumption for the next segment during the flight, and to calculate the remaining fuel for the distance that can be flown.

[0003] Because aircraft have a very wide operating envelope—taking a certain model as an example, its operating altitude range is -2000 ft to 39800 ft, temperature range is ISA-70K to ISA+40K, Mach number range is 0 to 0.9, and engine N1 speed range is 0.2 to 1.0—to ensure the accuracy of interpolation calculations, a calculation step size of 1000 ft is typically chosen for altitude, 5K for temperature, 0.05 for Mach number, and 0.05 for N1 speed. This results in approximately 300,000 data points calculated across the entire envelope. Furthermore, considering different engine operating states (dual-engine normal operation / single-engine failure) and different bleed air configurations (air conditioning unit operating number, anti-icing bleed air on / off), the total number of calculation points is approximately 1.2 million. This imposes a huge computational burden on engine design and consumes a significant amount of time and manpower for data processing. Due to the capacity limitations of flight management software databases, the engine data package size provided according to the above model exceeds the limit.

[0004] Therefore, an improved solution for processing aero-engine performance parameters is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides a method for processing performance parameters of an aero-engine, comprising: acquiring multiple data points about the engine, each data point including multiple parameters about the engine; converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and engine speed of each data point to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted thrust, converted fuel flow rate, and converted engine speed; dividing the multiple data points into multiple subsets based on the Mach number of the data points, wherein the data points in each subset have the same Mach number; and for each subset of data points, constructing a fitted performance curve of the converted engine thrust and the converted fuel flow rate relative to the converted engine speed using the converted thrust, the converted fuel flow rate, and the converted engine speed.

[0006] Furthermore, the method further includes using the constructed performance fitting curve to predict the thrust and fuel flow of the engine during flight.

[0007] Furthermore, each data point includes the following parameters about the engine: thrust, fuel flow rate, engine speed, Mach number, temperature, and altitude.

[0008] Furthermore, converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and engine speed of each of the multiple data points to the same atmospheric conditions includes: using the engine's inlet pressure and inlet temperature to convert the thrust, fuel flow rate, and engine speed to the same atmospheric conditions.

[0009] Furthermore, the same atmospheric conditions include sea-level standard atmospheric conditions.

[0010] The present invention also provides a processing apparatus for aircraft engine performance parameters, comprising: a module for acquiring multiple data points about the engine, each data point including multiple parameters about the engine; a module for converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and rotational speed of each data point to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted thrust, converted fuel flow rate, and converted rotational speed; a module for dividing the multiple data points into multiple subsets of data points according to the Mach number of the data points, wherein the data points in each subset of data points have the same Mach number; and a module for constructing, for each subset of data points, a fitted performance curve of the converted engine thrust and the converted fuel flow rate relative to the converted rotational speed using the converted thrust, the converted fuel flow rate, and the converted rotational speed.

[0011] Furthermore, the device includes a module for predicting the thrust and fuel flow of the engine during flight using the constructed performance fitting curve.

[0012] Furthermore, each data point includes the following parameters about the engine: thrust, fuel flow rate, engine speed, Mach number, temperature, and altitude.

[0013] Furthermore, the module for converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and speed of each of the plurality of data points to the same atmospheric conditions includes: a module for converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and speed to the same atmospheric conditions using the engine's inlet pressure and inlet temperature.

[0014] Furthermore, the same atmospheric conditions include sea-level standard atmospheric conditions.

[0015] The present invention adopts the above technical solution and has the following technical advantages compared with the prior art:

[0016] This invention transforms several engine performance parameters (e.g., thrust, fuel flow rate, fan speed) to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted performance parameters. It utilizes the engine's characteristic that, at the same Mach number, the converted thrust and converted fuel flow rate are essentially identical, independent of ambient temperature and altitude. Therefore, the engine's data points can be divided into multiple subsets according to Mach number, and polynomial fitting can be performed on each subset to obtain a fitting curve for each Mach number. In this invention, the sampling step size for temperature and altitude can be increased, reducing the number of calculated operating point values ​​to one-quarter of the original while maintaining data accuracy. This significantly improves work efficiency and saves storage space. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with their description, serve to explain the invention and do not constitute an undue limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0018] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing the relationship between the engine's equivalent speed and equivalent thrust.

[0019] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing the relationship between the engine's equivalent speed and the equivalent fuel flow rate.

[0020] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method for processing aero-engine performance parameters according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a diagram of a device for processing aircraft engine performance parameters according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The described embodiments are merely some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] Engine designers obtain multiple data points (also known as operating points) by conducting tests on the engine in a test facility. Each data point includes multiple parameters of the engine under a specific operating condition, such as altitude, temperature, engine speed, Mach number, thrust, and fuel flow rate. For example, in the test facility, the engine's altitude, temperature, engine speed, and Mach number (Ma) can be set in specific increments, and then the engine's thrust and fuel flow rate can be measured. This yields the characteristic curves of thrust and fuel flow rate as a function of each parameter.

[0024] In existing technologies, engine designers can organize multiple parameters for each data point into a lookup table for subsequent parameter prediction during flight. However, this requires a large amount of storage space, and the interpolation processing during prediction is also very demanding.

[0025] To address the above problems, this invention proposes a method for fitting engine parameters, which saves storage space and significantly reduces computational load.

[0026] Specifically, this invention acquires multiple data points (e.g., test plant data points) for an aero-engine. Engine parameters (e.g., engine speed, thrust, and fuel flow rate) under different atmospheric conditions at each data point are then converted to the same atmospheric conditions. The multiple data points are categorized according to Mach number, and for each category of data points (or data points associated with each Mach number), polynomial fitting is performed using conversion parameters (converted engine speed, converted thrust, and converted fuel flow rate) to determine the fitted curves for converted thrust and converted fuel flow rate relative to converted engine speed. These fitted curves can be used to predict the thrust and fuel flow rate during flight based on the engine's performance parameters (e.g., Mach number, engine speed, etc.).

[0027] The various aspects of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] The technical solution of this invention first acquires multiple data points about an aero-engine. Each data point may include multiple parameters from the engine's test data, such as altitude, temperature, Mach number, engine speed, thrust, and fuel flow rate. For example, the format of each data point may be as shown in Table 1:

[0029] high temperature Mach number rotational speed thrust Fuel flow

[0030] Table 1

[0031] Please note that the types of parameters included in each data point are not limited to those shown in Table 1, and may include other parameters.

[0032] Different data points may have been obtained under different atmospheric conditions. If atmospheric conditions differ, the engine's characteristic curves will also change. Therefore, engine parameters under different atmospheric conditions can be converted to the same atmospheric conditions, such as standard atmospheric conditions, like sea-level standard atmospheric conditions.

[0033] Taking sea-level standard atmospheric conditions as an example, the specific method for converting parameters is explained below.

[0034] Engine thrust can be converted as follows:

[0035]

[0036] Among them, Fn,k It is a conversion of engine thrust.

[0037] F n It is the engine thrust in the data points.

[0038] P0 is the inlet air pressure at the data point (which can be represented by the aircraft's atmospheric parameters).

[0039] P std It is the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level, which is 101.325 kPa.

[0040] Fuel flow rate can be converted as follows:

[0041]

[0042] Among them W f，k It is to convert the engine fuel flow rate.

[0043] W f It refers to the engine fuel flow rate in the data points.

[0044] P0 is the engine inlet pressure at the data point.

[0045] P std This is the international standard atmospheric pressure at sea level, 101.325 kPa.

[0046] T0 is the engine inlet temperature.

[0047] T std It is the international sea level standard temperature, which is 288.15K.

[0048] The engine fan speed can be converted as follows:

[0049]

[0050] Where N 1，k This is the converted engine speed.

[0051] N1 is the physical fan speed in the data point.

[0052] T0 is the engine inlet temperature.

[0053] T std It is the international sea level standard temperature, which is 288.15K.

[0054] The applicant analyzed a large number of engine parameters, compiling thrust and fuel flow data at different altitudes, temperatures, Mach numbers, and speeds into converted parameters. Through analysis, it was found that Mach number and converted thrust F... n，k Calculate fuel flow rate (W) f，k With conversion speed N 1，kThe relationship between ambient temperature and altitude on the equivalent thrust F at the same Mach number: n，k And converting fuel capacity (W) f，k The impact is minimal.

[0055] like Figure 1 As shown, the converted thrust F is displayed at Ma=0, Ma=0.4, and Ma=0.8 respectively. n，k Mach number, converted speed N 1，k The relationship between altitude and temperature. The equivalent rotational speed (N) can be calculated for different altitudes, temperatures, and Mach numbers. 1，k and converted thrust F n，k As coordinate points, drawn in Figure 1 From. Figure 1 It can be seen that, at the same Mach number, the equivalent thrust F varies with different altitudes and temperatures. n，k With conversion speed N 1，k The curves essentially overlap. In other words, at the same Mach number, ambient temperature and altitude have a similar effect on the converted thrust F. n，k The impact is very small and can be ignored.

[0056] like Figure 2 The figure shows the converted fuel flow rate W at Ma=0, Ma=0.2, Ma=0.6, and Ma=0.8, respectively. f,k Mach number, converted speed N 1,k The relationship between altitude and temperature. The equivalent rotational speed (N) can be calculated for different altitudes, temperatures, and Mach numbers. 1,k And convert fuel flow rate W f,k As coordinate points, drawn in Figure 2 From. Figure 2 As can be seen, at the same Mach number, the converted fuel capacity W varies with different altitudes and temperatures. f,k With conversion speed N 1,k The curves essentially overlap. In other words, at the same Mach number, ambient temperature and altitude have a similar effect on the calculated fuel capacity (W). f,k The impact is very small and can be ignored.

[0057] Therefore, the converted speed N of the engine fan and the Mach number are... 1,k When these parameters are equal, the engine's operating conditions (converted thrust and converted fuel capacity) are similar, and the effects of flight altitude and ambient temperature can be disregarded. Therefore, when acquiring engine data points, the calculation step size for altitude and temperature can be increased. For example, the calculation step size for altitude can be increased from 1000ft to 3000ft, and the calculation step size for temperature can be increased from 5K to 10K. This reduces the workload of data point acquisition and calculation, and saves database storage space.

[0058] Please note that the “calculation step size” of the parameters mentioned in this article refers to the step size for obtaining the parameters for subsequent processing.

[0059] Furthermore, this invention classifies multiple data points of an aero-engine based on Mach number. For example, data points with the same Mach number can be grouped into a subset of data points.

[0060] For example, when the Mach number ranges from 0 to 0.9 and the calculation step size of the Mach number is 0.05, the acquired data points can be divided into 19 data point subsets, such as the data point subset with a Mach number of 0, the data point subset with a Mach number of 0.05, the data point subset with a Mach number of 0.1, ..., and the data point subset with a Mach number of 0.9.

[0061] Then, for each subset of data points, we can... Figure 1 and 2 Polynomial fitting is performed on the curve band corresponding to each Mach number. That is, polynomial fitting is performed on the curve bands of equivalent thrust, equivalent fuel flow and equivalent speed at different altitudes and temperatures under the same Mach number to obtain the fitting curves of equivalent thrust, equivalent fuel flow and equivalent speed under the Mach number related to the subset of data points.

[0062] Polynomial fitting can be achieved using MATLAB or Excel software.

[0063] For example, for each Mach number, one can obtain information about the converted thrust F. n,k And converted fuel flow rate W f,k The following fitted curve relationship is given:

[0064]

[0065]

[0066] In one example, Ma = 0, m = 6.

[0067] Multiple test data points can be used for curve fitting to determine the coefficients a in equations (4) and (5) respectively. i and b i .

[0068] For example, when the Mach number range is 0-0.9 and the calculation step size of the Mach number is 0.05, 19 conversion thrust Fs can be obtained respectively. n,k Fitting curve and converted fuel flow rate W f,k The fitted curves can be used to predict engine thrust and fuel flow during flight. Compared to the lookup table method in the prior art, the fitted curves provided by this invention significantly save storage space.

[0069] Based on statistical principles, the dispersion of the entire curve relative to the original data can characterize the error caused by the predicted parameters using conversion over the entire flight segment. Therefore, the dispersion of the engine parameters (thrust, fuel flow) obtained from the fitting formula of the converted parameters at a given Mach number relative to the original parameters is defined as:

[0070]

[0071] Where δ represents the relative error of the engine parameters (thrust and fuel flow) obtained by fitting the conversion parameters at a given Mach number relative to the original parameters.

[0072] n is the number of original data points at a given Mach number.

[0073] According to the applicant's tests, the thrust obtained from the fitted curve relationship at different Mach numbers has a dispersion of no more than 3% relative to the original data, which basically meets the data accuracy requirements of flight management software.

[0074] Table 2 shows the dispersion of the thrust fitting curves at different Mach numbers relative to the original data.

[0075] Ma 0 0.4 0.8 Dispersion 1.35％ 2.09％ 2.88％

[0076] Table 2

[0077] The obtained fitted curves can be used to predict the engine's thrust and fuel flow rate during flight. For example, a fitted curve corresponding to the engine's Mach number during flight (Equations (4) and (5)) can be selected, and the converted thrust and converted fuel flow rate of the engine can be obtained using the converted speed. Furthermore, the obtained converted thrust and converted fuel flow rate, along with temperature and altitude parameters (altitude parameters are related to air pressure), can be substituted into Equations (1) and (2) to obtain the values ​​of thrust and fuel flow rate under the original atmospheric conditions for use in the prediction function.

[0078] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method for processing aero-engine performance parameters according to the present invention.

[0079] In step 302, multiple data points about the engine can be obtained, each data point including multiple parameters about the engine.

[0080] Specifically, multiple test data points about the engine can be obtained in the test workshop. Each data point includes multiple parameters of the engine under one operating condition, including altitude, temperature, speed, Mach number, thrust, and fuel flow.

[0081] In step 304, the thrust parameters, fuel flow parameters, and speed parameters of each data point in the multiple data points can be converted to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted thrust, converted fuel flow, and converted speed.

[0082] The thrust parameters, fuel flow parameters, and speed parameters of each data point can be converted to the same atmospheric conditions, such as standard atmospheric conditions at sea level, using the temperature and inlet air pressure (which can be derived from the engine's altitude parameters) according to equations (1) to (3).

[0083] In step 306, the multiple data points can be divided into multiple subsets of data points according to the Mach number, wherein the data points in each subset of data points have the same Mach number.

[0084] Multiple data points for an aero-engine can be categorized based on their Mach number. For example, data points with the same Mach number can be grouped into a subset of data points.

[0085] For example, when the Mach number ranges from 0 to 0.9 and the calculation step size of the Mach number is 0.05, the acquired data points can be divided into 19 data point subsets.

[0086] In step 308, for each subset of data points, a fitting performance curve of the converted engine thrust and converted fuel flow relative to the converted speed can be constructed using the converted thrust, converted fuel flow and converted speed.

[0087] As mentioned above, at the same Mach number, the equivalent thrust F varies with different ambient temperatures and altitudes. n，k And converting fuel capacity (W) f，k They are basically overlapping, such as Figure 1 and 2 As shown. It can be... Figure 1 and Figure 2 Polynomial fitting is performed on the curve band corresponding to each Mach number to obtain the fitted curves of engine thrust and fuel flow relative to engine speed. For example, when the Mach number range is 0-0.9 and the calculation step size of the Mach number is 0.05, 19 curves of converted thrust F can be obtained. n，k The fitted curve and the converted fuel flow rate W f，k The fitted curve.

[0088] In step 310, the thrust and fuel flow of the engine during flight can be predicted based on the fitted curve.

[0089] Based on the fitted curves (Equations (4) and (5)), the engine's equivalent thrust and equivalent fuel flow rate can be obtained using the speed parameters.

[0090] The obtained converted thrust and converted fuel flow rate, as well as temperature and altitude parameters (altitude parameters are related to air pressure), can then be substituted into equations (1) and (2) to obtain the values ​​of thrust and fuel flow rate under the original atmospheric conditions.

[0091] Figure 4 This is a diagram of an aero-engine performance parameter processing device 400 according to the present invention.

[0092] The device 400 includes a data point acquisition module 402, a parameter conversion module 404, a data point division module 406, a fitting curve construction module 408, and a prediction module 410.

[0093] The acquisition module 402 is used to acquire multiple data points about the engine. Each data point includes multiple parameters about the engine, such as engine thrust, fuel flow rate, speed parameters, Mach number, temperature, and altitude.

[0094] The parameter conversion module 404 is used to convert several parameters of each data point in the acquired multiple data points to the same atmospheric conditions.

[0095] For example, the thrust parameters, fuel flow parameters, and speed parameters of each data point can be converted to the same atmospheric conditions, such as standard atmospheric conditions at sea level.

[0096] The data point partitioning module 406 is used to partition the multiple data points into multiple data point subsets based on the Mach number of the data points.

[0097] The curve fitting module 408 is used to construct performance fitting curves of engine thrust and fuel flow relative to converted speed for each subset of data points, using converted thrust, converted fuel flow, and converted speed.

[0098] The prediction module 410 is used to predict the thrust and fuel flow of the engine during flight using the constructed performance fitting curve.

[0099] The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations fall within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwired, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions can also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed such that different parts of the function are implemented at different physical locations.

[0100] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the specific implementation of the present invention or equivalent substitutions can be made to some technical features without departing from the spirit of the technical solutions of the present invention, and all such modifications and substitutions should be covered within the scope of the technical solutions claimed in the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for processing performance parameters of an aero-engine, comprising: Acquire multiple data points about the engine, each data point including multiple parameters about the engine; The thrust, fuel flow rate, and speed of each data point in the plurality of data points are converted to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted thrust, converted fuel flow rate, and converted speed; The multiple data points are divided into multiple subsets of data points based on the Mach number of the data points, wherein the data points in each subset of data points have the same Mach number. as well as For each subset of data points, a fitting performance curve for the converted thrust and the converted fuel flow rate relative to the converted speed is constructed using the converted thrust, the converted fuel flow rate, and the converted speed. The process of converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and engine speed of each of the multiple data points to the same atmospheric conditions includes: The thrust, fuel flow, and speed are converted to the same atmospheric conditions using the engine's inlet pressure and inlet temperature.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, This further includes using the constructed performance fitting curve to predict the engine's thrust and fuel flow during flight.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Each data point includes the following parameters about the engine: thrust, fuel flow rate, engine speed, Mach number, temperature, and altitude.

4. The method as described in claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, Its features are, The same atmospheric conditions include sea-level standard atmospheric conditions.

5. A device for processing performance parameters of an aero-engine, comprising: This module is used to acquire multiple data points about the engine, each data point including multiple parameters about the engine; A module for converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and speed of each data point among the plurality of data points to the same atmospheric conditions to generate converted thrust, converted fuel flow rate, and converted speed; A module for dividing the plurality of data points into a plurality of subsets of data points based on the Mach number of the data points, wherein the data points in each subset of data points have the same Mach number; as well as A module for constructing, for each subset of data points, a fitted performance curve of the converted thrust and the converted fuel flow rate relative to the converted speed, using the converted thrust, the converted fuel flow rate, and the converted speed. The module for converting the thrust, fuel flow rate, and engine speed of each of the multiple data points to the same atmospheric conditions includes: A module used to convert thrust, fuel flow, and speed to the same atmospheric conditions using the engine's inlet pressure and inlet temperature.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that, It further includes a module for using the constructed performance fitting curve to predict the thrust and fuel flow of the engine during flight.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that, Each data point includes the following parameters about the engine: thrust, fuel flow rate, engine speed, Mach number, temperature, and altitude.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5 or 7, characterized in that, Its features are, The same atmospheric conditions include sea-level standard atmospheric conditions.

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