Browse Topic: Aircraft propulsion systems

Items (4,609)
This paper proposes an electric tightening tool for screw tightening in confined spaces during aero-engine assembly. By combining a gear with a curved rack, the tool converts the motor’s rotary motion into the swing motion of the tool head, thereby addressing torque transmission problems in narrow radial spaces. The tool head features an openable clamping mechanism to facilitate operation. Finite element analysis is used to evaluate the stress distribution and strain characteristics of key components under representative loading conditions. The results show that, under the specified working conditions, the stresses and deformations of the key components remain within reasonable ranges, and the structural strength meets the requirements for use.
Bu, Xin, Feng, Junping, Peng, Shuhao, Yang, Yinfei
This document aims to define the procurement requirements for galling-resistant, corrosion-resistant steel wire, with the chemical composition per UNS S21800 and AMS5848 and spring temper, used in the manufacture of helical coil threaded inserts. It will enable insert manufacturers to adhere to specific standards to meet the criteria outlined in this procurement specification.
E-25 General Standards for Aerospace and Propulsion Systems
Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) is one of the key parameters for evaluating the thermal state of an aero-engine during flight operations. Precise EGT predictions are important in both managing engine health and optimizing performance. However, the nonlinear interactions among multiple operating parameters pose challenges for conventional prediction methods. An approach to EGT prediction presented in this paper is based on the iTransformer architecture. Unlike conventional time-series models that process temporal observations as tokens, this algorithm works with every single variable like a unique token and encodes the entire historical sequence of each variable. This design enables the model to capture inter-variable dependencies directly, thus increasing its power to capture multivariate time series. Two different datasets were used to validate the proposed approach and compared to various commonly used prediction models. The results indicate that iTransformer gives smaller prediction errors when the same conditions are met with MAE values of 0.5525°R and 0.4539K both on the two datasets. Despite the overall satisfactory performance, some prediction mismatches can be observed under extreme fast changing conditions of the engine operation. These results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively characterize the complex interactions among engine variables and has potential for practical EGT prediction applications.
Hao, Mengfu, He, Yongbo, Li, Yifan
Gas path faults in aero-engines are a major factor affecting flight safety and maintenance costs. To achieve the transition from time-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance and enhance fault prediction and health management capabilities, this paper conducts research on intelligent diagnostic methods based on performance parameters for engine gas path components. Firstly, a component-level nonlinear steady-state model of a dual-spool turbofan engine is established, employing a variable specific heat capacity method to improve computational accuracy and provide a healthy baseline for diagnosis. Secondly, addressing the strong nonlinearity and measurement underdeterminacy in fault diagnosis, a diagnostic framework integrating a multi-population genetic algorithm and multi-operating-point analysis is proposed. The multi-population genetic algorithm effectively enhances global optimization capability and solution stability through parallel evolution, migration operators, and an elite population strategy; multi-operating-point data increases information content and strengthens fault isolation capability. Finally, simulation experiments under ground test conditions are conducted to validate the diagnosis of single-component faults in the low-pressure compressor, high-pressure compressor, high-pressure turbine, and low-pressure turbine. The results show that the proposed method can accurately invert component performance degradation, with a high fault identification accuracy rate, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. This research provides a feasible technical solution for intelligent condition monitoring and precise diagnosis of aero-engines.
Cai, Na, Li, Ming, Li, BianJiang, Yu, GuangHui, Ma, ZhongYuan
Civil aircraft engine thrust reversers are easy to have overspeed faults when they are being deployed, therefore this condition is very important for flight safety and maintenance work efficiency. The low sampling frequency, about 1Hz, of onboard data recording systems, for example WQAR, together with external environment interferences such as sudden strong winds, therefore causes a quite large number of wrong and missed alarms in fault data. Therefore, the labeled data that can be obtained are not only few in number but also have low quality. In this article, a fault diagnosis framework which is based on semi-supervised learning is put forward to solve the problems of high labeling expenses and fault diagnosis under the condition of small samples. This framework makes use of a small amount of labeled data and a large amount of unlabeled data. It uses Semi-Supervised Support Vector Machines, Semi-Supervised Neural Networks, and Semi-Supervised Random Forests for dynamic self- training to realize classification of three kinds of states: “Normal State,” “Low-Speed Thrust Reverser Deployment Exceedance,” and “Medium-Speed Thrust Reverser Deployment Exceedance”. The experiment outcomes show that the Semi-Supervised Neural Network model which uses self-training method has the highest classification accuracy on the test set, achieving 94.8%. Further robustness analysis, such as label noise and feature noise disturbance experiments, indicates that this model displays the smallest performance lowering under noisy environments, hence it represents the best overall performance. This research gives an effective method for the diagnosis of engine thrust reverser function problems in an effective and strong way.
Yuan, Xiaojiang, Liu, Nan
In order to meet the airworthiness regulations, the civil aircraft propulsion system needs to carry out the necessary fireproof test. The measurement of the flame temperature is very essential for the certification and validation of fire protection thermal simulation models, and also helps to establish the empirical understanding of complex flame behaviors. In order to investigate the influence of the specimen on the flame temperature distribution, the two dimensional flame temperature distribution of the free burning test and several fireproof tests, including titanium panel fireproof tests, stainless steel panel fireproof tests, composite laminated panel fireproof tests, honeycomb sandwich panel fireproof tests, were experimental investigated in this paper. The test results shows that panel specimens significantly alter the temperature distribution of the standard flame and interfere with radiation heat transfer measured by thermocouple, resulting in a significant reduction in the temperature gradient of the flame and a obvious increment in the temperature of the surrounding non-flame-impinging zone. The central flame-impinging zone exhibits minimal temperature variation compared to the baseline flame at 1093 °C, with temperature elevation restricted to approximately 40 °C (within 4% deviation). Both metal panels and composite panels demonstrate consistent trends in affecting flame temperature distribution. However, compared to metal panels, composite materials induce smaller temperature gradients and more uniform temperature fields. Multiple burning tests on same panel progressively intensify the oxidation on the specimen surface, leading to a gradual decrement in flame temperature. Especially, this temperature reduction becomes statistically significant as early as the second time burning test.
Chen, Fang, Guo, Junxian, Peng, Sen
The simulation verification of functional model systems still runs into a familiar set of obstacles: the link to the original design tends to break, models drawn from different sources are hard to unify, and the confidence in the results is often hard to defend. This paper proposes an integrated design-verification technology framework for functional models to address these issues and to provide a basis for application research. The framework rests on three core technologies. The first is an automatic design-simulation connection built on metamodel mapping, which converts a SysML design model into a simulation model and feeds results back in both directions. The second unifies multi-source heterogeneous models under the FMI standard, using a standardized encapsulation process to make multi-domain co-simulation workable. The third performs automatic model correction through multi-objective intelligent optimization, giving the simulation models an automatic calibration loop that raises confidence. The approach was applied to a particular aero-propulsion system: the functional model was built first, multidisciplinary analyses were then integrated, and the result was checked against measured data. The application shows a seamless design-simulation connection, keeps the error of key parameters below 5% in real time, and markedly improves the automation level, integration efficiency, and model accuracy of the simulation process..
Qiao, Youwei, Jin, Hailiang, Xiao, Wei, Huang, Gong, Zhang, Wenzhuo
In air-breathing hypersonic flight, when the flow conditions upstream and downstream are not appropriate, the air inlet is prone to failure to start, which can lead to engine stall or even flight failure. Therefore, real-time identification methods for air inlet flow modes must be developed. This paper takes the hypersonic inlet as the research object. In the wind tunnel experiment, the switching of the inlet unstarting/restarting was achieved by changing the Angle of attack, and the shadow images during the mode switching process and the pressure signals of multiple wall measurement points were obtained. The study shows that the traditional modal recognition method based on pressure amplitude, standard deviation, and power spectrum has a weak ability to recognize the starting/unstarting flow modes of the inlet in this paper. For this purpose, this paper proposes a flow mode recognition method based on pressure difference and standard deviation, which can achieve good recognition ability for each measurement point and has strong applicability. In addition, the method identifies the unstart point and the restart point separately instead of using a single detection threshold for judgment, significantly improving the accuracy of flow mode identification.
Si, Jinglin, Pi, Cuixuan, Xu, Shangcheng, Wang, Yunlong
As key aerodynamic components of an aircraft propulsion system, the design quality of the inlet and nacelle directly affects engine intake quality and overall aircraft stability. Nacelle design is trending towards greater compactness, making the coupling and matching between the inlet and fan increasingly critical. To investigate the mechanism by which fan rotation influences inlet aerodynamic performance, this study takes the NASA ROTOR 67 fan model as the research object and couples it with a specific civil aircraft nacelle model to conduct research on the effect of fan rotation on inlet performance. Through computational analysis of the flow field characteristics and aerodynamic performance of the inlet before and after coupling under cruise, high-angle-of-attack climb, and crosswind conditions, the results show that under cruise conditions, the inlet performance with and without the coupled fan is essentially consistent. Under high-angle-of-attack climb and crosswind conditions, the fan suction effect effectively mitigates open separation on the wall, disrupts the secondary flow vortices, and improves the exit flow field quality. After coupling with the fan, the total pressure recovery coefficient at the AIP plane shows significant improvement under both high-angle-of-attack and crosswind conditions. Fan rotation demonstrates a notable flow rectification effect under adverse inlet conditions, effectively enhancing inlet aerodynamic performance.
Yang, Fei, Zhao, Qiang, He, Bihai, Yan, Yan, Zhou, Leisheng
This SAE Aerospace Standard (AS) specifies the characteristics of screw threads - UNJ profile, inch, series, including a mandatory controlled radius as specified in Table 1 at the root of the external thread. The minor diameter of both external and internal threads provides a basic thread height of .5625H to accommodate the external thread maximum root radius. The following detailed design requirements are included: Screw threads - UNJ basic profile and design profiles. Standard series of diameter-pitch combinations for nominal thread diameters from 0.060 to 6.000 inches. Standard thread classes and form tolerances. Formulae for thread dimensions and tolerances. Method of designating UNJ threads. Tables for selected diameter-pitch combinations for close tolerance mechanical thread applications. Tables for screw thread - UNJ profile thread limit dimensions.
E-25 General Standards for Aerospace and Propulsion Systems
This SAE Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) addresses aeronautical Propulsion System Health Management. Aircraft propulsion systems are broader than gas turbine engines and include electric and hybrid propulsion systems. Furthermore, health management of auxiliary systems such as for thermal management of electric propulsion modules is also included in the scope. This document uses the term Engine Health Management (EHM) to include health management of propulsion systems and related equipment such as electric motors and heat exchangers for thermal management in an integrated power and propulsion system (IPPS). This keystone document gives a top-level view and addresses EHM description, benefits, and capabilities, and provides examples. This ARP purposely addresses a wide range of EHM architectures to demonstrate possible EHM design options. This ARP is not intended as a legal document and does not provide detailed implementation steps but does address potential benefits and general implementation issues. Other SAE documents (aerospace standards, aerospace recommended practices, and aerospace information reports) address specific component specifications, procedures, and “lessons learned.”
E-32 Aerospace Propulsion Systems Health Management
E-25 General Standards for Aerospace and Propulsion Systems
As the operating conditions of aircraft engines become more complex, the traditional maintenance strategies based on experience or fixed cycles are difficult to balance economic efficiency and reliability. This paper tentatively proposes a maintenance decision-making method driven by life prediction for aircraft engines. In the life prediction stage, considering the complex spatio-temporal coupling relationships contained in the degradation signals of multiple sensors, a spatio-temporal feature fusion transformation network is designed to jointly model the spatial dependence and temporal dynamics. At the same time, a probabilistic deep learning model is introduced to model the mean and uncertainty of the remaining life, providing risk warnings beyond point estimation. In the maintenance decision-making stage, the predicted distribution parameters are introduced into the Markov decision process state space. Based on the deep Q-network, a reward function is designed, and cost constraints are considered, thereby achieving a balance between safety and economy. Experimental results based on the C-MAPSS dataset show that this method achieves reasonable performance in common prediction indicators and demonstrates certain advantages over traditional maintenance strategies in the comparison experiments of maintenance decisions. The effectiveness of the method has been verified.
Yu, Sijia
For the mixing of hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) with silicon dioxide particles, this study adopts the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method to conduct a visual analysis on the fluid flow field characteristics generated by the umbrella-frame impeller (UF impeller) and umbrella-frame combined impeller (UFC impeller). Comparative studies are carried out from the dimensions of particle concentration distribution, fluid flow trend, vorticity, and path line. The results show that compared with the UF impeller, the UFC impeller, equipped with an upper blade structure, enables its generated flow field to cover the entire stirred tank more effectively, significantly improving the solid-liquid mixing efficiency. In addition, the fluid-structure coupled numerical method is used to analyze the structural deformation characteristics and stress distribution law of the impellers. The research findings can provide a reference for the optimization of dispersion and mixing processes of solid particles in high-viscosity fluids.
Li, Ruizheng, Sun, Zhenxing, Zhang, Yan, Wu, Qiong
The determination of flight thrust for aircraft engines is an important means of evaluating engine and aircraft performance. The characteristics of the tail nozzle of the tested engine are an important data support for calculating flight thrust. In order to accurately evaluate the flight thrust of a certain type of engine, an “engine nozzle characteristic determination test system” is developed to obtain the thrust characteristic curve and flow characteristic curve of the nozzle. A calibration device and calibration process were designed for the experimental system to achieve in-situ calibration of the system.
Ren, Boyang, Jia, Wenjie, Song, Jiangtao
As critical components of aircraft, hypersonic inlets utilize shock wave compression effects to pressurize incoming flow. The interaction between shock waves and the boundary layer tends to generate separation zones, and it adversely affects inlet performance. As a method to significantly enhance inlet performance, suction technology can substantially reduce the size of separation zones when they form in the inlet. However, when the inlet is started and operating normally, suction configurations may cause mainstream leakage and make it difficult to meet the requirements of inlets with wider speed ranges. This paper designs an adaptive scaliform suction structure that utilizes a lift-generating design to induce a slight upward deflection of high-speed near-wall flow. It can reduce high-speed mainstream leakage without compromising the effectiveness in low-speed separation zones. Numerical simulations are employed to evaluate its suction performance in both inlet separation zone flow fields and supersonic mainstream flow fields. The internal flow mechanisms of the scaliform suction structure are investigated, and differences in its behavior across various suction flow fields, as well as its interference with the mainstream, are discussed. The study reveals that when the height of the scaliform suction structure is approximately 1/8 of the incoming flow’s velocity boundary layer height, the suction flow coefficient in the separation zone is twice that in the hypersonic mainstream. Furthermore, the loss in Mach number and total pressure recovery coefficient of the near-wall supersonic mainstream is controlled within 5%. This structure exhibits an adaptive suction capability for separation zones, thereby extending the starting speed range of the inlet.
Zhao, Xuening, Zhao, Yilong
Aircraft engine parts are extremely precise, and for deep, small-hole machining of the stainless steel 05Cr17Ni4Cu4Nb valve seat, the quality and sealing of the parts machined with current machining parameters are poor. This greatly affects production efficiency and quality. This article takes the optimization of the three elements of cutting as the starting point, uses the orthogonal experimental method to study which force most affects machining quality in the three directions of boring force, and selects the appropriate three elements of cutting to reduce cutting force. And analyzed the simulated chip shapes before and after optimization, and finally verified the optimization effect through the instrument equipment. A micro three- axis accelerometer was used to conduct machining experiments on deep small holes with cutting parameters before and after optimization. After optimization of cutting parameters, the tool's maximum axial deformation showed a reduction of about 51.60%, a reduction of approximately 58.75% was achieved in the maximum radial deformation, the maximum tangential deformation exhibited a decline of about 45.17%, and the peak overall deformation was reduced by approximately 50.66%. Compared with the pre-optimized state, using optimized cutting parameters to machine deep small holes resulted in a 72.31% reduction in the tool's axial acceleration, the radial acceleration by 63.36%, and the tangential acceleration by 71.68%, the tangential force by 65.29%, the axial force by 27.93%, and the radial force by 31.16%. Effectively reducing tool chatter and lowering chatter amplitude led to the disappearance of surface vibration patterns on the machined parts.
Liu, Xinwei, Shi, Guangfeng, Zhou, Yuning, Gao, Jinglong
The pose-solving method for aero-engine component docking assembly often faces challenges such as slow convergence and susceptibility to local optima when dealing with complex optimization problems involving multiple features and constraints. This paper proposes an optimized assembly pose solution method for engine sections based on an improved multi-objective optimization algorithm. The method first preprocesses the high-density point clouds obtained from 3D scanning to extract geometry such as feature points, lines, and surfaces. It builds an assembly constraint model with geometric relations and process needs. It focuses on the pose solution phase: we transform the assembly problem into a nonlinear optimization problem to minimize parallelism error, gap error, and step error. In order to solve this multi-objective problem efficiently, we propose an iterative multi- objective optimization algorithm as the optimization engine and propose a dynamic weight allocation strategy. During iteration, the strategy adaptively adjusts the weight coefficients of three error terms in the overall fitness function due to the evolution of the population and convergence of each error term, guiding the search direction and balancing the algorithm's global exploration and local exploitation ability. Our results show that instead of adopting an optimization algorithm with fixed weights and a multi-Objective optimization system with fixed weight, the proposed pose solution method based on dynamic weight multi- objective optimization algorithm achieves a high accuracy and stability of the solution and can easily and accurately produce a good pose matrix which meets challenging assembly constraints, providing a practical theoretical framework and technical support for achieving high-quality automated engine assembly.
Huang, Mi, Wu, Guanghui, Su, Xun, Xu, Yongqian, Ding, Han, Liu, Xiaopeng
Inertial Friction Welding (IFW) equipment is essential for the welding process of aircraft engine shaft components. However, the absence of comprehensive fault-handling standards for domestically produced inertial friction welding equipment has hindered its further development. This study focuses on the connecting rod and motor of the 30T-IFW equipment, employing a model-based fault detection method. Through simulation, the deformation of the connecting rod and the frequency response of motor vibration acceleration under different working conditions are obtained. Additionally, a monitoring platform is proposed to collect real-time data on connecting rod deformation and motor vibration from actual welding equipment. By establishing a quantitative correlation model of connecting rod deformation-force and revealing the coupling mechanism between motor eccentricity faults and modal frequency vibrations, a hybrid diagnostic framework that combines simulation of primitive warning and measurement of calibration is proposed. At last, the simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the fault diagnosis method proposed in this paper.
Yang, Haifeng, Yuan, Mingqiang, Sun, Tao, Liang, Wu, Gong, Maolin, An, Xingyi, Wang, Qisong, Liu, Dan
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