Propulsion System Modeling and Reduction for Conceptual Truss-Braced Wing Aircraft Design

A truss-braced wing (TBW) aircraft has recently received increasing attention due to higher aerodynamic efficiency compared to conventional cantilever wing aircraft. For conceptual TBW aircraft design, we developed a propulsion-and-airframe integrated design environment by replacing a semi-empirical turbofan engine model with a thermodynamic cycle-based one built upon the numerical propulsion system simulation (NPSS). The constructed NPSS model benefitted TBW aircraft design study, as it could handle engine installation effects influencing engine fuel efficiency. The NPSS model also contributed to broadening TBW aircraft design space, for it provided turbofan engine design variables involving a technology factor reflecting progress in propulsion technology. To effectively consolidate the NPSS propulsion model with the TBW airframe model, we devised a rapid, approximate substitute of the NPSS model by reduced-order modeling (ROM) to resolve difficulties in model integration. In addition, we formed an artificial neural network (ANN) that associates engine component attributes evaluated by object-oriented weight analysis of turbine engine (WATE++) with engine design variables to determine engine weight and size, both of which bring together the propulsion and airframe system models. Through propulsion-andairframe design space exploration, we optimized TBW aircraft design for fuel saving and revealed that a simple engine model neglecting engine installation effects may overestimate TBW aircraft performance.