Aircraft-engine-mounting analysis

Engineers from Honeywell adapted a rapid analysis approach to develop and validate a complex propulsion system.

To develop a new aircraft in the era of expanding global markets, the ability of risk-sharing partners to deliver faster results during the design, modeling, and analysis between partners is imperative. Good practices within the design and analysis process can support the integration and transitions of design definition and minimize the number of trials and errors normally associated with building new aircraft. In some situations, the design and analysis processes can be performed in parallel instead of sequential. A key to the process development is the ability to establish analysis methods to accommodate all Federal Aviation Administration requirements. By understanding and mastering the capabilities of CAE software, the integration of these tools into the design and analysis process should result in a high-quality design that meets the schedule.

Honeywell has developed techniques for an efficient design and analysis process to develop a complete engine mounting system using CATIA from Dassault Systemes and ANSYS from Ansys Inc. For this application, dual turbine engines transfer power to a common gearbox and a single propeller, which powers the aircraft. The propulsion system attachment points are at the gearbox mount pads. The gearbox, in turn, supports two gas turbine engines by means of two torque tubes, attaching the engines' front frames to the gearbox input flanges, with a welded space frame that supports the engines' mounting brackets at the rear (Figure 1). The propeller is fully supported by the gearbox through its internal bearings and internal structure.