Experimental investigation on a lightweight, efficient, counter-rotating fan with and without boundary layer ingestion

Abstract

The experimental investigations on the counter-rotating CRISPmulti fan with boundary layer ingestion are presented in this paper. The Counter Rotating Integrated Shrouded Propfan (CRISP) was designed, aerodynamically optimized and manufactured in lightweight material by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The main task was to maximize the aerodynamic efficiency under restricted static, dynamic and acoustic properties of the blade designed with lightweight carbon-fiber material and to apply it as a demonstrator for the development of a new innovative blade manufacturing technology. The rotors were manufactured at the DLR Institute of Structures and Design and tested on the Multi-stage 2-shaft Compressor Test Facility (M2VP) at the DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology. The instrumentation enabled the measurement of the aerodynamic, static, dynamic and acoustic behavior of the fan. In general, the targets of the experimental investigation were to validate the optimization results, the numerical calculational methods and the acoustic tools. Additionally, inlet distortion measurements were carried out on the fan rig to investigate the effect of the boundary layer ingestion on a real counter-rotating propfan. A radially traversable disturbance body, designed to simulate the boundary layer of the aircraft fuselage on an aircraft architecture with embedded engines, enables a comprehensive measurement program to be carried out for both undisturbed and disturbed inflow.