Engine Strut Trailing-Edge Pressure Taps for Accurate Inlet Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Struts in aircraft engines face structural challenges due to premature wear when instrumentation passages and the like are integrated, posing issues with stress and loading forces.
Innovation Solution
The integration of static pressure measurement taps on the trailing edge of struts, specifically designed to minimize dynamic pressure contribution and enhance accuracy, allows for precise determination of total pressure at the compressor inlet, thereby improving engine performance and control systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If instrumentation passages are integrated with the strut, then measurement capability is improved, but structural strength deteriorates due to premature wear and stress concentrations
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure sensing function is extracted from the strut structure itself and placed in a separate, removable probe. This allows the strut to maintain its structural integrity without instrumentation passages, while still enabling pressure measurements through the probe that can be positioned in the wake region.
2Measurement precision
If pressure taps are located on the trailing edge of the strut, then total pressure determination accuracy is improved, but measurement reliability deteriorates due to dynamic pressure contribution and icing effects
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement location is moved from the two-dimensional surface of the strut (prone to icing and dynamic pressure effects) to the three-dimensional wake region behind the strut. This spatial relocation allows the probe to measure pressure in a region less affected by surface-related issues while still capturing accurate total pressure information.
3Ease of manufacture
If the strut design is simplified without instrumentation passages, then manufacturing ease is improved, but measurement capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system is segmented into a separate, modular probe that can be independently manufactured and positioned. This allows the strut to be manufactured simply without instrumentation passages, while the probe provides the necessary measurement capability when deployed in the strut wake region.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
An aircraft engine includes an air inlet duct and at least one strut having a leading edge and a trailing edge (31B). The at least one strut (30) extends across at least part of the air inlet duct and has a strut passage. The trailing edge (31B) has one or more edge contours (39), each defining a contour edge wall (39W) recessed from a baseline surface (31 BS) of the trailing edge (31B). The one or more edge contours (39) have a recessed tap (38) in fluid communication with the strut passage.