Research Focus
The aviation industry is known to be one of the major contributors to greenhouse gases accounting for 4.9% of the global greenhouse emissions. With the ever-increasing threat of climate change to the overall survival of the planet, the exploration of new technologies and alternative energy sources that minimize greenhouse gas emissions are of paramount importance. In this regard, the development of propulsion systems well suited for performance and emissions requirements of future commercial aircrafts plays a crucial role.
This project will investigate N+3 and N+4 technology level propulsion systems that have been proposed by NASA as a possible propulsion system for an advanced single-aisle commercial aircraft. Numerical simulations will be performed to evaluate the performance and emissions associated with the engines. The simulation will be performed using the software called NPSS which is a component based object-oriented engine cycle analysis and simulation tool. Biofuels, Liquid hydrogen (LH2) liquefied natural gas (LNG), and ammonia (NH3) will be explored as alternative fuel sources alternative to the conventional Jet-A fuel.
The engine size is fixed using published reference data from NASA and a fixed core engine model has already been developed using NPSS and validated against the results obtained from fundamental propulsion equations coded in MATLAB; good agreement has been obtained (with in ±8%) for variation in Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption (TSFC) with engine Bypass Ratio (BPR). This validated NPSS model will be used in this study to evaluate and compare the potential of various alternative fuels for improving the efficiency and reducing the emissions.
Research Conditions
Student will work in the CFD laboratory of MEMS department and will be assisted by a graduate student in leaning the software and running it on a workstation. He will be helped with the formulation of the problem and assisted in its implementation in MATLAB and NPSS. The environment will be friendly and conducive to research.
Team Structure and Opportunities
Team structure will involve the PI, GRA and the undergraduate student. Once trained, the student should be able to perform independent research.
Requirements
The student should have basic skills in MATLAB and some familiarity in using any software. Sophomore level background in chemistry and physics will be helpful.
