This master thesis covers the realization of a CFD calibration study regarding the numerical simulation of the ground vortex phenomenon. As part of InVIGO project (EU CleanSky2), wind tunnel test campaigns were performed using a nacelle model combined with a movable raised floor. Those tests allowed the gathering of an unprecedented amount of experimental data regarding this phenomenon, via the implementation of pressure measurements and stereo-PIV acquisition. Measured velocity fields were also post-processed to compute vortex characterization indices. In the context of this study, several Python scripts are developed to process this data through the computation of total pressure and velocity maps. A calculation matrix of 28 representative points is chosen among test cases and the corresponding nacelle geometry is prepared to generate a series of high resolution structured mesh (18.22 million cells) using an existing ICEM macro. For every case, corresponding CFD calculations are implemented on elsA using the RANS resolution method associated with the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. In parallel, a series of CFD post-processing scripts are developed using Cassiopée modules, in order to extract pressure/velocity maps and compute both distortion and convergence indices. Also, a Safran AE in-house script dedicated to vortex characterization is not only implemented to compute vortex indices, but also upgraded with an additional vortex profile extraction functionality. The cross-analysis of numerical and experimental data thus collected is performed, allowing the assessment of the great calculation representativeness regarding the overall inlet flow topology as well as the vortex apparition. The comparison of vortex characterization indices displays common tendencies, however disparities regarding the implemented processing methodologies along with convergence difficulties encountered for some vortex cases highlights the need to put the relevance of those results into perspective.

As a contribution to advancing turbofan engine ground test technology in support of propulsion system integration in modern conceptual aircraft, a novel inlet distortion generator (ScreenVaneTM) was invented. The device simultaneously reproduces combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion elements in a tailored profile intended to match a defined turbofan engine inlet distortion profile. The device design methodology was intended to be sufficiently generic to be utilized in support of any arbitrary inlet distortion profile yet adequately specific to generate high-fidelity inlet distortion profile simulation. For the current investigation, a specific inlet distortion profile was defined using computational analysis of a conceptual boundary layer ingesting S-duct turbofan engine inlet. The resulting inlet distortion profile, consisting of both total pressure and swirl distortion elements, was used as the objective profile to be matched by the ScreenVane in a turbofan engine ground test facility. A ScreenVane combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion generator was designed, computationally analyzed, and experimentally validated. The design process involved specifying a total pressure loss screen pattern and organizing a unique arrangement of swirl inducing turning vanes. Computational results indicated that the ScreenVane manufactured distortion profile matched the predicted S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile with excellent agreement in pattern shape, extent, and intensity. Computational full-field total pressure recovery and swirl angle profiles matched within approximately 1% and 2.5° (RMSD), respectively. Experimental turbofan engine ground test results indicated that the ScreenVane manufactured distortion profile matched the predicted S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile with excellent agreement in pattern shape, extent, and intensity. Experimental full-field total pressure recovery and swirl angle profiles matched within approximately 1.25% and 3.0° (RMSD), respectively. Following the successful reproduction of the S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile, a turbofan engine response evaluation was conducted using the validated ScreenVane inlet distortion generator. Flow measurements collected at discrete planes immediately upstream and downstream of the fan rotor isolated the component for performance analysis. Based on the results of this particular engine and distortion investigation, the adiabatic fan efficiency was negligibly altered while operating with distorted inflow conditions when compared to nominal inflow conditions. Fuel flow measurements indicated that turbofan engine inlet air mass flow specific fuel consumption increased by approximately 5% in the presence of distortion. While a single, specific turbofan engine inlet distortion profile was studied in this investigation, the ScreenVane methodology, design practices, analysis approaches, manufacturing techniques, and experimental procedures are applicable to any arbitrary, realistic combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion. / Doctor of Philosophy / As a contribution to advancing turbofan engine ground test technology in support of propulsion system integration in modern conceptual aircraft, a novel inlet distortion generator (ScreenVaneTM) was invented. The device simultaneously reproduces combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion elements in a tailored profile intended to match a defined turbofan engine inlet distortion profile. The device design methodology was intended to be sufficiently generic to be utilized in support of any arbitrary inlet distortion profile yet adequately specific to generate high-fidelity inlet distortion profile simulation. For the current investigation, a specific inlet distortion profile was defined using computational analysis of a conceptual boundary layer ingesting S-duct turbofan engine inlet. The resulting inlet distortion profile, consisting of both total pressure and swirl distortion elements, was used as the objective profile to be matched by the ScreenVane in a turbofan engine ground test facility. A ScreenVane combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion generator was designed, computationally analyzed, and experimentally validated. The design process involved specifying a total pressure loss screen pattern and organizing a unique arrangement of swirl inducing turning vanes. Computational and experimental results indicated that the ScreenVane manufactured distortion profile matched the predicted S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile with excellent agreement in pattern shape, extent, and intensity. Following the successful reproduction of the S-duct turbofan engine inlet manufactured distortion profile, a turbofan engine response evaluation was conducted using the validated ScreenVane inlet distortion generator. Flow measurements collected at discrete planes immediately upstream and downstream of the fan rotor isolated the component for performance analysis. Based on the results of this particular engine and distortion investigation, the adiabatic fan efficiency was negligibly altered while operating with distorted inflow conditions when compared to nominal inflow conditions. Fuel flow measurements indicated that turbofan engine inlet air mass flow specific fuel consumption increased in the presence of distortion. While a single, specific turbofan engine inlet distortion profile was studied in this investigation, the ScreenVane methodology, design practices, analysis approaches, manufacturing techniques, and experimental procedures are applicable to any arbitrary, realistic combined inlet total pressure and swirl distortion.

Attenuation of low frequency turbofan engine noise has been a challenging task in an industry that requires low weight and tightly-packed solutions. Without innovative advancements, the technology currently used will not be able to keep up with the increasingly stringent requirements on aircraft noise reduction. A need exists for novel technologies that will pave the way for the future of quiet aircraft. This thesis investigates acoustic metamaterials and their ability to achieve superior transmission loss characteristics not found in traditional honeycomb liners. The acoustic metamaterials investigated are an array of Helmholtz resonators with and without coupled cavities periodically-spaced along a duct wall. Analytical, numerical, and experimental developments of these acoustic metamaterial systems are used herein to study the effects of this technology on the transmission loss. Particularly focusing on analytical modeling will aid in understanding the underlying physics that governs their interesting transmission loss behavior. A deeper understanding of the physics will be used to aid in future acoustic metamaterial liner design. A parameter study is performed to understand the effects of the geometry, spacing, and number of resonators, as well as resonator cavity coupling on performance. Increased broadband transmission loss, particularly in low frequencies, is achieved through intelligent manipulation of these parameters. Acoustic metamaterials are shown to have appealing noise cancellation characteristics that prove to be effective for aircraft engine liner applications. / Master of Science / Aircraft noise reduction is an ongoing challenge for the aerospace industry. Without innovative advancements, the next generation of aircraft will not be able to keep up with increasingly stringent noise regulations; novel acoustic technology is needed to pave the way for a future of quieter aircraft. This thesis investigates acoustic metamaterials and their ability to achieve superior noise reduction over traditional methods. Modeling techniques were developed, and experimental tests were conducted to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of a new acoustic metamaterial system. The acoustic metamaterial design explored herein was proven to reduce noise effectively and shows promise for a world of quieter aircraft.

L'objectif de ce travail est de proposer une nouvelle démarche pour améliorer et accélérer les études de dimensionnement des pièces de turboréacteurs en avant-projets. Il s'agit de fournir une méthodologie complète pour la conception robuste sous contraintes. Cette méthodologie consiste en trois étapes : la réduction de la dimension et la méta-modélisation, la conception robuste sous contraintes puis la résolution de problèmes inverses sous contraintes. Ce sont les trois principaux sujets abordés dans cette thèse. La réduction de la dimension est un pré-traitement indispensable à toute étude. Son but est de ne conserver, pour une sortie choisie du système, que les entrées influentes. Ceci permet de réduire la taille du domaine d'étude afin de faciliter la compréhension du système et diminuer les temps de calculs des études. Les méthodes de méta-modélisations contribuent également à ces deux objectifs. L'idée est de remplacer le code de calculs coûteux par un modèle rapide à évaluer et qui représente bien la relation entre la sortie étudiée et les entrées du système. La conception robuste sous contraintes est une optimisation bi-objectifs où les différentes sources d'incertitudes du système sont prises en compte. Il s'agit, dans un premier temps, de recenser et modéliser les incertitudes puis de choisir une méthode de propagation de ces incertitudes dans le code de calculs. Ceci permet d'estimer les moments (moyenne et écart-type) de la loi de la sortie d'intérêt. L'optimisation de ces moments constitue les deux objectifs de la conception robuste. En dernier lieu, il s'agit de choisir la méthode d'optimisation multi-objectifs qui sera utilisée pour obtenir l'optimum robuste sous contraintes. La partie innovante de cette thèse porte sur le développement de méthodes pour la résolution de problèmes inverses mal posés. Ce sont des problèmes pour lesquels il peut y avoir une infinité de solutions constituant des ensembles non convexes et même disjoints. L'inversion a été considérée ici comme un complément à l'optimisation robuste dans laquelle l'optimum obtenu ne satisfaisait pas une des contraintes. Les méthodes d'inversion permettent alors de résoudre ce problème en trouvant plusieurs combinaisons des entrées qui satisfont la contrainte sous la condition de rester proche de l'optimum robuste. Le but est d'atteindre une valeur cible de la contrainte non satisfaite tout en respectant les autres contraintes du système auxquelles on ajoute la condition de proximité à l'optimum. Appliquée au dimensionnement d'un compresseur HP en avants-projets, cette méthodologie s'inscrit dans l'amélioration et l'accélération des études marquées par de nombreux rebouclages chronophages en termes de ressources informatiques et humaines. / The aim of this PhD dissertation is to propose a new approach to improve and accelerate preliminary design studies for turbofan engine components. This approach consists in a comprehensive methodology for robust design under constraints, following three stages : dimension reduction and metamodeling, robust design under constraints and finally inverse problem solving under constraints. These are the three main subjects of this PhD dissertation. Dimension reduction is an essential pre-processing for any study. Its aim is to keep only inputs with large effects on a selected output. This selection reduces the size of the domain on which is performed the study which reduces its computational cost and eases the (qualitative) understanding of the system of interest. Metamodeling also contributes to these two objectives by replacing the time-consuming computer code by a faster metamodel which approximates adequately the relationship between system inputs and the studied output. Robust design under constraints is a bi-objectives optimization where different uncertainty sources are included. First, uncertainties must be collected and modeled. Then a propagation method of uncertainties in the computation code must be chosen in order to estimate moments (mean and standard deviation) of output distribution. Optimization of these moments are the two robust design objectives. Finally, a multi-objectives optimization method has to be chosen to find a robust optimum under constraints. The development of methods to solve ill-posed inverse problems is the innovative part of this PhD dissertation. These problems can have infinitely many solutions constituting non convex or even disjoint sets. Inversion is considered here as a complement to robust design in the case where the obtained optimum doesn't satisfy one of the constraints. Inverse methods then enable to solve this problem by finding several input datasets which satisfy all the constraints and a condition of proximity to the optimum. The aim is to reach a target value of the unsatisfied constraint while respecting other system constraints and the optimum proximity condition. Applied to preliminary design of high pressure compressor, this methodology contributes to the improvement and acceleration of studies currently characterized by a numerous of loopbacks which are expensive in terms of cpu-time and human resources.

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The demand for turbofan engine performance development is high in the military industry. However, to develop the engine, it is necessary to predict its performance, and engine testing is both time-consuming and costly. Therefore, simulation is an effective approach to predicting the engine’s performance. During this thesis, a low bypass ratio turbofan engine is created in the simulation tool Simulink to investigate the engine performance throughout different flight conditions and maneuvers. The engine model is constructed for the future fighter aircraft at SAAB Aeronautics. The development of a design point has received particular attention throughout the work. After that, the development of proven methods for estimating engine performance of other parts of the flight envelope, resulting in increased model fidelity and enabling simulations of the same engine type but under different conditions and flight cases. To summarize, the tests of the engine model are successful under various design characteristics, conditions, and flight cases. In addition, simulations of the performance evaluation of fighter aircraft engines have been accomplished.