Application of Different Zooming Strategies in Aero-Engine Simulation

In order to investigate the implement method with both fully coupled approach and iterative coupled approach and to study the differences between the two approaches, the two-dimensional fan model was built and integrated into the cycle analysis with fully coupled approach and iterative coupled approach to establish the multi-level model for turbofan engine. The differences of simulation results, calculation speed and operability between the two zooming strategies were analyzed. A comparison of the results obtained from the zero-dimensional engine model based on component default map and multi-level was presented. The results indicate that the iterative variables need to be adjusted based on the requirements of the two-dimensional fan model for boundary conditions in order to establish the multi-level model with fully coupled approach, and the result of zero-dimensional engine model is used to initialize the iterative variables to ensure the convergence of the multi-level model. As for iterative coupled approach, the key is the control of the data transfer between the two-dimensional fan model and the zero-dimensional engine model, and it is easier to carry out than fully coupled approach. When the computation converges, there is no difference in the results obtained from the multi-level models using different zooming strategies, but the calculation speed of the multi-level model with iterative coupled approach is faster. Compared with the result of the baseline model, the maximum difference in the thrust solved from the zero-dimensional engine model is bigger than 8.34%, and the maximum differences in the thrust and specific fuel consumption of the multi-level model are less than 3%, which means that the multi-level model can predict the engine performance more accurately. © 2020, Editorial Department of Journal of Propulsion Technology. All right reserved.