On the Design and Analysis of Electrified Aero-engine Families

Abstract

Rather than designing a new engine from scratch for every aircraft application, manufacturers often develop families of engines that share a common core; typically comprising the high-pressure compressor, combustor, and high-pressure turbine. This strategy reduces cost, shortens development time, and mitigates technical risk, making it an attractive option in today’s evolving aerospace landscape. Common-core variants are always associated with performance penalties compared to individually optimized clean-sheet engines because the initial core design is compromised to allow for adjustment of its component map entry points, but there is a high potential for better economics of the entire engine program.

To address these challenges, this thesis introduces a simulation methodology for assessing both conventional and electrified aero-engine architectures, including turbofans, turboprops, and distributed electric propulsion systems. Based on a multi-point synthesis approach, the framework supports performance evaluation across multiple fidelity levels: from 0D thermodynamic cycle modeling, to 1D mean-line design, and up to 2D throughflow component analysis.A particular focus is placed on electrically driven propulsors, evaluated both as standalone units and within turbo-electric configurations. These include variants featuring variable geometry, such as variable pitch fans and variable area nozzles, when necessary.

Building on the standalone engine modeling foundation, a novel methodology is introduced for simulating common-core engine variants within an aero-engine family. This extends the multi-point synthesis approach by treating the design point of each variant as an additional off-design condition of the baseline (first-to-enter-the-market) engine. To demonstrate its application, an electrified turboprop engine family is designed and analyzed across a range of power growth scenarios. Clean-sheet engine designs are developed in parallel to serve as benchmarks, enabling quantification of the performance penalties associated with enforcing commonality across various levels of power growth.