J. of Thermal Science Vol.14, No.

Unsteady Operation of New Type Turbofan Engine with Aerodynamic Torque

Converter Reducing Front Fan Speed

Toshiaki KANEMOTO Seita SEKI Kazunori IDENO Ahmed Mohamed GALAL

Kyushu Institute of Technology, Sensui 1-1, Tobata, Kitakyushu 804-8550, Japan

It is desired to increase the rotational speed of the core engine of the turbofan so as to get the best efficiency for
the next leap of engine technology. The conventional mechanism in which the front fan is directly connected to
the output shaft of a core engine, have a limit of increasing the spool speed, because the fan diameter is very
large. The authors have proposed a new driving system in which the front fan is driven through the aerodynamic
torque converter. The front fan can work at the best performance at slower speed while the core engine runs
more efficiently at higher speed. Continuously, this paper discusses the response of the front fan in the unsteady
operation of the core engine, accompanying with the internal flow. The system has the acceptable responsibility
in the unsteady operation which is very important for the aircrafts.

Keywords: turbofan engine, front fan, torque converter, rotational speed.

C L C number: TK474.8+1 Document code: A Article ID: 1003-2169(2005)03-0206-05

Introduction gearbox, to reduce the rotational speed of the front fan

In turbofan engine technology of the 21st century, it
is desired to select the best possible operating conditions
for each engine section, to reduce the operating costs,
fuel bum, and noise levels. The conventional mechanism
in which the front fan is directly connected to the rest of
the core engine arrests the optimization of the spool
speed in order to avoid the flow blockage at the sonic
speed. In such circumstances, the rotational speed of the
front fan can be reduced using a gearbox, which has been
proposed and called "Geared Turbofan Engine" by Pratt
& Whitney l~l.
The authors have developed a new mechanism with
an axial flow type torque converter instead of the
Tip rin~ Front fan
Driver wheel
r
Turbine whec
Fig.1 New type turbofan engine with the proposed converter
Received May 26, 2005
Toshiaki KANEMOTO: Professor
driven by the core engine (see Fig. 1)re'31. The converter is
composed of the driver wheel, the turbine wheel and the
stator. The turbine wheel is equipped with the front fan in
the prototype.
In this paper, the flow conditions are investigated in
the steady operation, and the responses of the front fan,
namely the turbine wheel, in the unsteady operation of
the core engine, namely the driver wheel, are discussed
to guarantee the safety cruise of the aircrafts.
Model Axial Flow Type Converter
The model of the axial flow type converter is shown
in Fig.2. The prototype replaces the conventional turbofan
engine with the thrust of 130 kN, the front fan diameter
of 1,930 mm, and the core engine rotational speed of
3,300 min -1. The driver and the turbine wheel diameters
are 478 mm, and the rotational speed ratio of wheels
NDT (= n T / n o , n : rotational speed, subscripts D and T
denote the driver and the turbine wheels) is 0.39 at the
normal operating point.
The blade profiles of the driver and the turbine
wheels are similar to NACA65 series profile, and the
camber lines are single arc with the excess angle E41so as
to get the free vortex type swirling flow at each section.
T. KANEMOTO et al. Unsteady Operation of Turbofan Engine with Aerodynamic Torque Converter Reducing Fan Speed 207

Nomenclature w elative velocity (m/s)

CE power coefficient (-) Y dimensionless distance (-)
CM torque coefficient (-) Greeks
n rotational speed (min-1) a absolute flow angle (Deg)
NDT rotational speed ratio (-) fl relative flow angle (Deg)
P power (W) p air density (kg/m3)
r radius (ram) Subscripts
T torque (N-m) D driver wheel value
Time elapsed time (sec) P pump value
u tangential velocity (m/s) t blade tip
v absolute velocity (m/s) T turbine wheel value
vm meridian velocity (m/s) 1~ 6 blade inlet and outlet

wheel and is separated from the core engine shaft,

Stator namely driver wheel shaft. The turbine wheel shaft is
connected with the other isolated motor through the
Driver
I wheel
I ~ I pulley system at the steady operation and connected with
the pumping system at the unsteady operation. In the
prototype, the turbine wheel is equipped with the front
fan which is set on the tip ring and produces most of the
thrust as the same as the conventional turbofan engines.
The swirling flow v4 from the turbine wheel turns to the
axial direction in the stator passage, and the flow v6
Turbinewhee discharged from the stator not only runs into the core
compressor but also may produce the thrust through the
bypass.
(forunsteadyoperation)
V I = V m l ( 0/1 = 0 )
(a) Schematic drawing

M1 M2/3 M4
U3[df_3w " ~ _ OtL Vm4

U2 -B4 ~
V4-V5
\Yu4 (ot4=0/5
=B5)
(~ =0t3) W4~ ~Vm~
Z
i( " -- )I( - )l
(a6=,86-0)
(b) Meridian view DriverWheel TurbineWheel Stator
Fig.3 Velocity triangles of the converter
Fig.2 Model axial flow type converter

Fig.3 shows the velocity triangles around the cascades (v,
u, w and Vm: the absolute, the tangential, the relative and
the meridian velocities, cr and r: the absolute and the
relative flow angles, subscripts 1-6: the blade inlet and
outlet). The small-sized driver wheel is directly connected
to the shaft of the core engine running at higher
rotational speed in the prototype, where the wheel is
driven by the isolated motor with the inverter in the
model. The jet flow discharged from the driver wheel (v2
= v3) rotates the turbine wheel at slower speed with larger
rotational torque, which is arranged just behind the driver
In the experiments, the rotational speed of the driver
wheel was adjusted by the inverter. The turbine wheel
speed was adjusted forcedly by the inverter at the steady
operation, and controlled freely in response to the load of
the pumping system at the unsteady operation. The
rotational torques of the driver and the turbine wheels are
evaluated from the value without the mechanical losses
of the bearings and the pulley system. The pumping
system has nearly the same torque characteristics of the
imaged front fan as shown in Fig.4, where r/p and Tp are
the rotational speed and the torque of the pumping system.
208 Journal of Thermal Science, Vol.14, No.3, 2005

(=T ](RFDtUDt),
3 2 T~ rotational torque, /z. air density, rot
and Uot: radius and tangential velocities at the driver

Z 2

J
./'/ wheel tip). Both rotational torques satisfy the similarity
law for the rotational speed. The rotational torque of the
driver wheel is scarcely changed even when the rotational
speed of the turbine wheel is changed. On the contrary,
the turbine torque decreases linearly with the increase of
0I the rotational speed ratio NDT (namely, the turbine wheel
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 speed n T ), irrespective of the driver wheel speed no.
np/ rain-1 Fig.6 shows the power transmission, where Ceo and
Fig.4 Load torque to the turbine wheel Cer are the power coefficients of the driver and the
turbine wheels (= P /(pr[~tuot),
3 2 P: power). As well as
the torque characteristics, both power characteristics also
Characteristics at Steady Operation satisfy the similarity law for the rotational speed. The
turbine output is maximum at N o r = 0.39 of the normal
Torque and power
operating point.
The characteristics of the rotational torque transmission
are shown in Fig.5 in keeping the rotational speed of the 0.15
driver wheel no constant while changing the rotational
speed of the turbine wheel nT, where CUD and Cur are the 0.12 o nD=l ~min"l
torque coefficients of the driver and the turbine wheels
0.09 nD-1400min"1
t~
A nn=l Imin"1
°3° l ~ ° nD=lSO0mm-~
0.25
Q~q-[~ m uD=t400mi~a
0.20 "l~i ~' riD=1000n~
0.03 I
0.00
0 0.15 c ~
0,10 -0.03
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
0.05
NDT
0.00 N Fig.6 Power characteristics
-005 '
• 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 Flow through the converter
NDT Fig.7 shows the velocity distributions when the
Fig.5 Torque characteristics turbine wheel speed is adjusted at Nor = 0.27 (nr =594

0.4 0.4

02i~
0~
VM
°l 0E

-0.2 0.4 -0.2 9.4 -0.2 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

i
, W
0 l0 E~ ~ t¢~¢ ~ 0
----o-- N D T = 0.27
-0.2 -.-c-- NDT= 0.39
,ko:m m : ~ :v:~ ~t~co: -0.2
-0.2
+ N D T = 0.51
~xDc~ ~ :~ -0.4
-0.4 -0.4
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.00.20.40.60.81.0
Y Y Y

(a) Driver wheel inlet M1 (b) Driver wheel outlet/Turbine wheel inlet M2/3 (c) Turbine wheel outlet M4
Fig.7 Internal flows through the converter
T. KANEMOTO et al. Unsteady Operation of Turbofan Engine with Aerodynamic Torque Converter Reducing Fan Speed 209

(a) Driver wheel (b)Turbinewheel

Fig.8 Stream lines around blade profiles at the design point

minq), 0.39 (858) and 0.51 (1,120), while keeping the between 1500 and 2000 min -1 (Operation II), are shown
rotational speed of the driver wheel constant (no = 2,200 in Figs.9 and 10, where the load torque Te to the turbine
min -t) irrespective of the turbine wheel speed, where Y is
the dimensionless distance from the hub to the casing 1600 1600
I I
walls, VM and Vv are the meridian and the swirling A tIE nD 1400- --_ o ModeA
1400
(positive in the rotational direction of the driver wheel) ~ • ModeB
'e-, I¢1 1200
velocity components divided by the driver wheel tip 1200 i o Mode A
speed. The rotational speed of the turbine wheel hardly E I[ I ~, M o d e B
--~ lOOO
contributes to the flow conditions not only at the driver
1000 i • i
II
wheel inlet M1 but also at the driver wheel outlet M2, 800 800
lea
namely the turbine wheel inlet M3 (see Fig.7(a) and (b)). 600 ~f nr oA nT
The inhalation of the air into the converter, however, is 600
affected by the turbine wheel speed, and the inhalation
4000 5 10 15 20 4000 5 10 15 20
increases obviously with the decrease of the turbine
wheel speed as recognized with the meridian velocity VM. Time / sec Time / sec
The flow has somewhat of the swirling component at the (a) Excessive acceleration (b) Excessive deceleration
driver wheel inlet M1 which may be induced from the
Fig. 9 Turbine wheel speed in response to driver wheel speed
intake (Fig.7(a)), but the swirling component at the
(Operation I :nD = 1000-1500 min-1)
driver wheel outlet M2/3 is free vortex type as expected

!iii
in the design (Fig.7(b)). The swirling component at the 2200
turbine wheel outlet M4 decreases, that is the absolute
value increases, with the decrease of the rotational speed 2000 AI!B nD ° Mode A
ratio Nor (see Fig.7(c)) in correspondent to the torque • . ~__ ~ Mode B
1800 ]t/] I "
(Fig.5). W
= i ° Mode A
The relative stream lines predicted with CFD (CFX-5) '~ 1600 • ModeB -~ 1600 A
around both blades on the plane profiles of Y = 0.5 (the
= 1400
i ~ 1400/ II
radius position is 162 nun) at the normal operation design
point (Nor = 0.39) are shown in Fig.8. The optimum = 1200 I k 1200 - ii
profiles of the wheels will be designed in the near future a
by this CFD. 1000 '~
__J ~ nT

800
0 5 10 15 20 0 10 15 20
Turbine Wheel Response at Unsteady Operation
Time / sec Time / sce
Response at accelerating or decelerating operations (a) Excessive acceleration (b) Excessive deceleration
The turbine wheel speeds nr in response to the driver
wheel operation, whose speed no is accelerated/decelerated Fig.10 Turbine wheel speed in response to driver wheel speed
linearly between 1000 and 1500 min 1 (Operation I), and (Operation II : nD = 1500-2000 min 1)
210 Journ~ofTherm~Science, Vol.14, No.3, 2005

2400 Response of emergency operation at aircraft

Mode C
2200 Mode D landing
Mode E nD It is most important to investigate the turbine wheel
2000 response of the suddenly accelerating operation from the
"7 decelerating state, namely the emergency operation,
1800
when the aircraft is in the landing state. Responses of the
1600 C suddenly accelerating operation from the steady state
(Mode C) and the two kinds of decelerating operations
&
1400 (Mode D, E) were investigated (Fig. 11). At the high speed
~ immau~
nT operating region, the turbine wheel responds quickly to
1200
@ the emergency operation and reaches acceptably to the goal
1000 speed irrespective of the operating state of the driver
wheel (Fig.ll(a)). The responsibility at the low speed
800
5 10 15 20 25 30 35
operating region is less than that at the high speed operating
0
region as mentioned above. The accelerating conditions,
Time / sec however, are fortunately independent to the preceding
(a) High rotational speed operation states.

Concluding Remarks
1400
° Mode C
Mode D - -. The flow conditions through the axial flow type
1200 Mode E nD
torque converter were investigated at the steady operation,
1000
L
"7
and the responses of the front fan, namely the turbine
.=. ...<. i! wheel, at the unsteady operation of the core engine,
800
namely the driver wheel, were discussed to guarantee the
600 safety cruise of the aircraft. The rotation of the turbine
A wheel affects the inhalation of the air into the converter,
400 ~ Dommmmc i ~ and the converter has the acceptable responsibility at the
aaAA unsteady operation which is very important for the
200
aircrafts.
o; 5 I0 15 20 25 30 35
References
Time / sec
[1] Next Leap--The Geared Turbofan. News: Pratt & Whitney
(b) Low rotational speed operation Launches, URL: http://www.pratt-whitney.com/, 1998
Fig.ll Suddenly accelerating operation [2] Kanemoto, T, et al. Discussion of Numerical Flow
from decelerating state Simulation for Counter-Rotating Cascades, Internal Flows.
Gdansk, Poland: IFFM Publishers, 2001, 1: 264--274
wheel is given in Fig.4, Time is the elapsed time, and [3] Kanemoto, T, et al. Axial Flow Type Torque Converter
Mode is the operating condition. The turbine wheel Taking Place of Gearbox to Make Large-Sized Impeller
response comes to be acceptable with the increase of the Rotation Suppress under Sonic/Cavitating Speed. In: Proc.
unsteady operation, that is, the time getting the goal of the 12th Int. Conf. Fluid Flow Tech., Budapest, 2003.
speed at Operation II is earlier than that at Operation I. 913--918
Besides, the response in the accelerating operation is [4] Ikui,T. Fans and Compressors (in Japanese). Tokyo: Asakura
better than that at the decelerating operation. Pub. Co. Ltd, 1970. 239