Method to Explore the Design Space of a Turbo-Electric Distributed Propulsion System

Abstract

Meeting future goals for aircraft and air traffic system performance will require a fundamental shift in approach to aircraft and engine design. In 2005, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released plans of a next generation commercial airplane for 2030 combining the blended wing body (BWB) and a superconducting distributed propulsion system. The BWB concept adapts NASA’s cruise-efficient short take-off and landing (CESTOL) airframe. The propulsion system employs distributed electric fans, which are embedded on the upper surface of the airframe, driven by superconducting motors with power provided by two wing-tip mounted turboelectric generators. This paper describes a method to design a turboelectric distributed propulsion (TeDP) system on the hybrid wing body airframe, including a way to obtain the propulsor number and its weight, a method to simulate boundary layer ingestion, and a method to calculate electric system performances and its weight. An examination of the system thermodynamic performance for a range of fan pressure ratio (FPR) was also made. A comparison with results from the NASA