Jet Engine Thermal Transport Bus Pump Sizing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designing thermal transport bus (TTB) pumps for aircraft gas turbine engines that improve specific fuel consumption (SFC) without increasing pump size or weight, as conventional designs often result in either oversizing or undersizing, leading to inefficient fuel consumption and engine performance.
Innovation Solution
The development of TTB pumps with specific power and rotor diameter relationships, normalized based on fluid properties, to optimize pump power and fuel flow rates, ensuring efficient heat transfer and reducing fuel consumption while maintaining a compact and lightweight design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional TTB pump designs are used, then pump size and weight may be reduced, but specific fuel consumption efficiency deteriorates due to oversizing or undersizing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by establishing specific mathematical relationships between pump power (PP), rotor diameter (DR), and corrected fuel flow rate (FFR) for different engine thrust classes. These parametric equations allow precise determination of pump dimensions and power requirements, eliminating conventional oversizing or undersizing issues and optimizing fuel consumption efficiency.
2Use of energy by moving object
If pump power is increased to improve heat transfer efficiency, then fuel consumption improves, but pump size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent determines optimal pump power parameters through specific equations relating pump power to corrected fuel flow rate and engine thrust class. This parametric approach identifies the minimum necessary pump power to achieve optimal fuel consumption without excessive power input that would increase pump size and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates scaled versions of the pump design for different engine thrust classes using parametric relationships. Each thrust class has a corresponding optimized pump configuration that maintains the optimal power-to-performance ratio, allowing the design to be replicated across different engine sizes without proportionally increasing pump weight beyond what is necessary.
3Productivity
If pump rotor diameter is increased to improve mass flow rate, then heat transfer to fuel improves, but pump size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes a specific parametric relationship between rotor diameter (DR) and corrected fuel flow rate (FFR) for different engine thrust classes. This equation allows determination of the optimal rotor diameter that achieves the necessary mass flow rate for efficient heat transfer without excessive diameter that would increase pump volume and weight.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The optimized TTB pump design improves SFC by matching working fluid pressure demands with fuel rates and temperature conditions, avoiding oversized or undersized configurations, thus enhancing engine efficiency and reducing fuel consumption without increasing pump size or weight.
Implementation Method 1
a mass flow rate that improves heat transfer to the fuel
Data Source
AI summary
Jet engine thermal transport bus pumps are disclosed. Disclosed herein is an aircraft comprising a gas turbine engine configured to burn fuel at a fuel flow rate to generate an engine power (Pengine), the fuel characterized by a first specific heat capacity (cp_fuel) and a net heat of combustion (NHCfuel); and a thermal management system configured to transfer heat from a working fluid to the fuel, the working fluid characterized by a second specific heat capacity (cp_pump) and a first density (ρpump), the thermal management system including a pump configured to generate a pump power (Ppump) to pressurize the working fluid, and whereinPOW=Ppump(cp_pumpcp_water)(ρwaterρpump)2,FFR=(PengineNHCfuel)(cp_fuelcp_pump)0.008≤POW/FFR5/3≤12, FFR is between 0.05 pounds-mass per second and 16 pounds-mass per second, and ρwater and cp_water is the density and specific heat capacity of water, respectively.