Turbofan commuter aircraft project design studies

293 Pages·2017·18.55 MB·English

Loughborough University
Institutional Repository
Turbofan commuter aircraft
project design studies
ThisitemwassubmittedtoLoughboroughUniversity’sInstitutionalRepository
by the/an author.
Additional Information:
• A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.
Metadata Record: https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7297
Publisher: (cid:13)c L.R. Jenkinson
Please cite the published version.
This item is held in Loughborough University’s Institutional Repository
(https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/) and was harvested from the British Library’s
EThOS service (http://www.ethos.bl.uk/). It is made available under the
following Creative Commons Licence conditions.

For the full text of this licence, please go to:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/
TURBOFAN COMMUTER AIRCRAFT
PROJECT DESIGN STUDIES
by
Lloyd Ross Jenkinson MSc., C. Eng., MRAeS.
A doctorial in fulfilment
thesis the
submitted partial of
for degree Doctor Philosophy
the the
requirements award of of of of the
Loughborough University Technology.
of
October 1990
© L. R. Jenkinson 1990
DECLARATION
This is by in Department
thesis the outcome of the research carried out the author the
Transport Technology, University Technology, Loughborough. It
of
of represents
independent
Work has been
the
the
work of author. of other researchers referenced
where appropriate.
The herein
that the thesis the
author also certifies neither nor original work contained
has been institution for degree.
to the
submitted any other award of a
L. R. Jenkinson.
(i)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"As learn"
a teacher so shall you
After
thirty-five have been
years working as an aeronautical engineer there many people
have helped
From first Chief Project Designer, C. F. (Charlie) Toms,
who to
me. my
last
leave have knowledge. To
the
student to my office all made contributions to my all
-
those I include here I debt
who cannot
offer a sincere of gratitude.
My
design has benefited from
recent turbo-fan the
work on commuter aircraft greatly
hours
developing
many spent and supervising the earlier research programme on
for SERC. This has formed for
turbo-prop aircraft work the starting point the current
developed in Dimitri Sifnos have be
thesis the to
and methods association with proved
invaluable.
For intricacies I Rashid Ali. His
unravelling the of computer programming thank
joint done for Shorts in 1987-89
collaboration as a consultant over the extended work
friendship.
was a constant source of support and
For it industrial framework I indebted
making possible to study the subject within an am
Mike Wilson Tom Johnston Shorts (Belfast)
to the
and at and all other members of
in FJX In I
the the this
staff company who worked on aircraft project. context must give
Keith Legg
a special word of thanks to whose wisdom proved so valuable on many
design
throughout the the
occasions of aircraft.
On I Graham Gerrard
the technical side of computing wish to record my thanks to and
for
Brian Negus
of the university computing centre their assistance over several years.
For in it for I
the encouragement to set out my work this thesis and to submit the award,
friend Stan Stevens. He 'heads' list in department in
thank my a of colleagues my who
better
have helped
one way or another me to understand the complexities of aircraft
I
design
than to
over more years care remember.
(and
Without Ann French's deciphering typing
skill at my script, retyping) and word
Francis Maccabee,
the
processing, and without the proof reading skill of script would
be I thank them both for all the effort they have put into the
still unintelligible.
the thesis.
preparation of
in I
Finally, but my appreciation, owe a special word of thanks to my wife
uppermost
deserved), helpful
Marie for her (when suggestions.
none was proof reading
patience
long duration
throughout the of this
work.
skill and constant encouragement
With her I life.
share my
(ii)
ABSTRACT
Designing
is difficult business; high
successful commercial aircraft a the stakes are and
Researchers in have developed
the
risks numerous. the past methods that assist the
designers
in In
have benefited from
reducing these risks. recent years such methods
improvements
in The described in
computer technology. work this thesis extends these
design These
to the
methods of commuter aircraft. aircraft are more sensitive to
due in high It
operational requirements than other types part to their zero-fuel mass ratio.
is for best information is
essential that, such aircraft, the possible available to the
designers. The identification
the
of optimum aircraft configuration and mission
knowledge.
characteristics constitutes a vital part of this
A literature, involving both
review of modem computer-based and traditional search
has interest in design from
methods, shown continuing aircraft project methods the
latest The in is
earliest times to the conference. work presented this thesis seen to
interest in
compliment this computer methods and to apply these techniques to the
design.
relatively neglected area of commuter aircraft
A
types the
survey of commuter operation and aircraft revealed often conflicting
design in Detailed
requirements and regulations which govern the process this area.
data
statistical analysis on a collection of commuter aircraft showed no consistent
but did indicate bouyant
patterns, the state of the market.
Earlier design had
the twin-engined turbo-prop
research work on of aircraft provided
in design The improves
some experience the of short-haul aircraft. new work these
larger faster Since
methods and applies them to and turbo-fan commuter aircraft. the
developed RAE (Farnborough) has been
turbo-prop work, the optimiser at rewritten to
larger be This
to tackled.
work more efficiently and allow problems new optimiser s
linked design. The
to turbo-fan
a new synthesis routine which simulates aircraft
industrial design
synthesis program was calibrated against calculations and shown to
The design is fully described
give acceptably accuracte predictions. resulting program
listings
and computer are presented.
To illustrate in devleopment
the use of the optimisation methods the of a new aircraft, a
industrially design is These from
the
series of related studies presented. studies range
initial baseline
selection of the configuration, through various parameters sensitivit`-
investigations,
to the evaluation of aircraft and engine stretch options.
design in
To demonstrate
types
more general of study, a series of optimisations which
is This designer knowledge
the
the engine size variable was conducted. provides with a
design him judge 'penalties' inherent
(optimum)
to the
of the absolute surface and allows
in his
chosen configuration.
(iii)
The lies in fact designer is
the that the
main criticism of optimisation methods seldom
interested in design. He know flexibility is
only the optimum point needs to what there
in from influences
the choice of configuration away the optimum so that non-quantifiable
design be The design developed here has
the
on specification may considered. program
been (approximate) design
extended to offer the option of showing the shape of the
This
surface around the optimum point. type of plot provides a measure of the sensitivity
design in location
of the variables this region, around the optimum point and the and
boundaries.
the
nature of constraint
The discussion
thesis concludes with a on the merits of optimisation studies and offers
for design These
some suggestions changes to the optimisation strategies adopted.
involve lead for further
to
non-gradient search methods and recommendations research
develop into design
tools.
work to such methods useful
(iv)
CONTENTS
Declaration
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Preview
1.2 Scope
the
of study
1.3 Description design
of aircraft project
1.4 Insufficiency knowledge
of
1.5 Research
objectives
1.6 Structure
the thesis
of
References for 1
chapter
Chapter 2: Review Literature
of
2.1 Literature
search methods
2.2 Review literature design
of on aircraft and operation
References for 2
chapter
Chapter 3: Commuter Operations Aircraft Configurations
and
3.1 Short-haul
transport
3.2 Short-haul
aircraft
3.3 Development
transport
of commuter air operations
3.4 Development
of commuter aircraft
References for 3
chapter
Figures for 3
chapter
Chapter 4: Optimisation Methods
4.1 Selection
of analytical methods
4.2 Problem formulation
4.3 Executive description (RQPMII N)
program
4.4 Aircraft (USERF)
synthesis modules
4.5 The PERI-OPT
option
References for 4
chapter
Figures for 4
chapter
Chapter 5: Detail Design Studies
5.1 Industrial design
related studies
5.1.1 Initial Studies
5.1.2 FJX Development
5.1.3 FJX/RR Stretch Study
5.1.4 PERI-OPT Study
(v)
Chapter
5: (continued)
5.2 Generalised design
studies
5.2.1 Generalised design
Mass
5.2.2 estimation sensitivity
5.2.3 80-Seat designs
5.2.4 Wing
aspect ratio sensitivity
5.2.5 Summary
References for
5
chapter
Figures for
5
chapter
Chapter 6: Commentary
6.1 Discussion
6.1.1 Literature
survey
6.1.2 Commuter
operations and aircraft
6.1.3 Design
synthesis model
6.1.4 Design
studies
6.1.5 Overall
assessment
6.1.6 PERI-OPT
option
6.1.7 New
studies
6.2 Conclusions
6.2.1 Aircraft design
6.2.2 Optimisation
method
6.2.3 Miscellaneous
topics
6.3 Recommendations for further
work
Appendices:
A. Quest (ESAIIRS) Library Searches
B. Aircraft Survey Data (from Chapter 3)
C. Description (from 4)
of aircraft synthesis modules chapter
Cl Input
specification
C2
Aircraft
geometry
C3 Mass
estimation
C4 CG balance
Aircraft
and
CS
Aerodynamic
analysis
C6 Stability
assessment
C7 Engine data
C8 Performance
estimations
C9 Cost
analysis
C10 Output format
References for C
appendix
Figures for C
appendix
Study (from 5)
D.
results chapter
Synthesis Program
E. Description
the
of
Specimen Input Output Files
F.
and
(vi)
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Preview
Although
'commuter
is
the term in literature describe
aircraft'
widely used the to
by
is
aircraft operated definition
regional airlines, there
no exact of the aircraft
design
In broadest definition,
classification. the
the term to
refers all commercial
from light/general
the large by
aircraft aircraft class to aircraft used smaller airlines
This
is becoming blurred
on short-haul schedules.
categorisation
now as several
forming
the trunk links
of major airlines are close operational the
with regionals
larger
high density 'spokes'
and using even aircraft types on some of the to the
'hub'
central airports.
The in
is
size of aircraft the commuter classification considered to extend over the
from hundred
between 200 1000
range about ten to one seats with range to miles.
In longer larger but historical
the
general, ranges are associated with the aircraft
fly increased for
trends show that all aircraft are required to an range as the market
The longer larger
regional networks expands. current range and aircraft
have been few
specifications would associated with the major carriers only a years
There fundamental difficulties in designing
ago. are no aircraft over such a wide
but intrude design
spectrum of size, several operational requirements on the
For designed less
to
specification. example, aircraft carry nineteen passengers or
lower by bodies.
are allowed to operate with equipment standards some regulatory
They (the flight
are also allowed to operate without a cabin attendant second crew
As designed
to
member attending passenger services). another example, aircraft
less from
to carry than seventy passengers are excluded some of the mandatory
European Bilateral freely
therefore
controls of agreements and can operate on
inter-regional These
routes. two considerations are sometimes used to narrow the
definition 19-70
of commuter aircraft to the seat range.
lies in
The difficulty linking definition
to
of the of classification regulatory aspects
be Already
legislation
the
the that will suddenly changed.
strong possibility
19 down 15
airworthiness authorities are attempting to alter the seat rule to seats
It is
for (i. that,
aircraft. also anticipated with
pressurised e. more sophisticated)
introduction EEC
the the
the relaxation of air traffic regulations associated with of
for 70 limit be
Single Market Act, looking the seat to raised to
manufacturers are
inter-regional
100 They argue that this will stimulate traffic on the
seats.
(e. Bordeaux Dusseldorf).
to
trans-state secondary routes g.
70
for
In the USA, which is the largest market commuter aircraft, the seat
busy impose 55
does not apply but air traffic regulations at airports a
restriction
1