Publications

Advances in aeropropulsive design optimization provide new capabilities for the study of tightly integrated propulsion systems. New techniques that couple CFD solvers to thermodynamic cycle analyses showed increased robustness and proved the viability of a fully coupled approach using gradient-based optimization. However, existing work in this area has been limited to simple benchmark cases and does not contain complete engine models. In this study, we extend these methodologies beyond an electrically driven propulsor to consider a complete high-bypass turbofan engine. The high-bypass turbofan model incorporates CFD and thermodynamic cycle sub-systems into a unified model for aeropropulsive design optimization by utilizing multiple coupling techniques from prior benchmark aeropropulsive cases. We present a high-bypass turbofan design optimized for thrust specific fuel consumption with respect to coupling, geometric, and practical design constraints using this coupled approach. The integration of high-fidelity aerodynamic shape optimization with one-dimensional cycle modeling on a large scale is a major milestone for coupled propulsion system design. These developments advance the use of coupled aeropropulsive optimization earlier in the design cycle for propulsion systems.