Hybrid Laminar Flow Control Applied to Advanced Turbofan Engine Nacelles
920962
04/01/1992
- Event
- Content
- In recent years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in cooperation with U.S. industry has performed flight and wind-tunnel investigations aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of obtaining significant amounts of laminar boundary-layer flow at moderate Reynolds numbers on the swept-back wings of commercial transport aircraft. Significant local drag reductions have been recorded with the use of a hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) concept. In this paper, we address the potential application of HLFC to the external surface of an advanced, high bypass ratio turbofan engine nacelle with a wetted area which approaches 15 percent of the wing total wetted area of future commercial transports. A pressure distribution compatible with HLFC is specified and the corresponding nacelle geometry is computed utilizing a predictor/corrector design method. Linear stability calculations are conducted to provide predictions of the extent of the laminar boundary layer. Performance studies on an advanced twin-engine transport configuration are presented to determine potential benefits in terms of reduced fuel consumption.
- Pages
- 11
- Citation
- Collier, F., Arcara, P., and Wie, Y., "Hybrid Laminar Flow Control Applied to Advanced Turbofan Engine Nacelles," SAE Technical Paper 920962, 1992, https://doi.org/10.4271/920962.