Designing for V/L Performance in an Aircraft Engine Fuel Pump

Meeting the V/L (vapor to liquid) ratios specified for aircraft engine fuel pumps actually requires the designing of two pumping mechanisms in series. The first is usually a low pressure, high cavitation performance pump. The second is an efficient high pressure pump.

This report presents a procedure followed in the design of a typical aircraft engine fuel pump. Various technical parameters such as pump type, performance, efficiency, cavitation, and reliability are analyzed. Weight, envelope and cost are discussed in this paper and qualitative comparison of alternatives is presented.