A Novel Performance Adaptation and Diagnostic Method for Aero-Engines Based on the Aerothermodynamic Inverse Model

Aero-engines are faced with severe challenges of availability and reliability in the increasing operation, and traditional gas path filtering diagnostic methods have limitations restricted by various factors such as strong nonlinearity of the system and lack of critical sensor information. A method based on the aerothermodynamic inverse model (AIM) is proposed to improve the adaptation accuracy and fault diagnostic dynamic estimation response speed in this paper. Thermodynamic mechanisms are utilized to develop AIM, and scaling factors are designed to be calculated iteratively in the presence of measurement correction. In addition, the proposed method is implemented in combination with compensation of the nonlinear filter for real-time estimation of health parameters under the hypothesis of estimated dimensionality reduction. Simulations involved experimental datasets revealed that the maximum average simulated error decreased from 13.73% to 0.46% through adaptation. It was also shown that the dynamic estimated convergence time of the improved diagnostic method reached 2.183 s decrease averagely without divergence compared to the traditional diagnostic method. This paper demonstrates the proposed method has the capacity to generalize aero-engine adaptation approaches and to achieve unbiased estimation with fast convergence in performance diagnostic techniques.

Dissimilar tungsten inert gas welding between Inconel 718 and commercially pure titanium using a vanadium interlayer

A weight reduction of aero engines, in order to enhance their efficiency would be possible if the commercially pure titanium in the low-temperature region of the compressor could be welded with Inconel in the high-temperature portion. This joining of titanium/Inconel is challenging owing to the formation of hard TixNiy intermetallic compounds, the suppression of which is not possible using the conventional weld process optimization approach. In recent years, a number of approaches have been developed to reduce or eliminate these intermetallic compounds during welding and one approach is the use of an interlayer during the welding operation. The insertion of a V interlayer at the root side remarkably suppressed Ti and Ni diffusion across the interlayer. NiV3 and (Ti, V) solid solutions were present in the interfacial microstructure of V/Inconel 718 and V/commercially pure titanium, respectively, as characterized by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. The tensile strength of the weldment was 190 MPa (approx. 59% of the commercially pure titanium base metal) with an elastic modulus comparable with that of the base alloys. The joint exhibited brittle fracture at the Inconel 718 side near the V/Inconel 718 interface due to intermetallic compounds.

Optical Model of Thermal Radiation Loading System for Turbine Vane Leading Edge

With the increase of combustion temperatures, the thermal radiation effect for hot components in the new generation of aero-engines has become a key factor in the combustion process, cooling structure design, and thermal protection. A radiation loading system can be used as an external heat source to simulate the real thermal environment of hot components in aero-engines. Total receiving power, as well as 3-D heat flux distribution, should better coincide with real conditions. With the aid of freeform optics and the feedback optimization method, the current study develops a concentrating-type radiation heating system fit for the leading-edge surface of a C3X turbine vane. A xenon lamp combined with a freeform reflector was optimized for controllable heat flux. A design method in the area of illumination engineering was innovatively extended for the current model. Considering the effect of polar angular radiative flux distribution of a xenon lamp, a Monte Carlo ray tracing (MCRT) method was adopted to evaluate the optical performance. Feedback modifications based on Bayesian theory were adopted to obtain the optimal shape of the FFS for target heat flux. The current study seeks a feasible way to generate 3-D heat flux distribution for complex curved surfaces, such as turbine vane surfaces, and helps to simulate the real thermal environment of hot components in aero-engines.

FEM analysis of the opposed-piston aircraft engine block

An important aspect of aircraft engine design is weight minimization. However, excessive weight reduction may reduce mechanical strength of the engine. This is especially important for aero-engines due to consequences of engine failure in flight. The article presents the results of the FEM opposed-piston diesel engine block model tests. The tested engine is a PZL-100 two-stroke three-cylinder aircraft engine with two crankshafts and six pistons. Air is supplied via a mechanical compressor and a turbocharger. Stress in the engine block is induced by the operating process of the engine block. The pressure in the combustion chamber of the analyzed engine is 13 MPa. The pistons in one of the cylinders are then near their TDC, the deflection angle of the connecting rods is small so almost the entire piston force is transferred to the crankshafts and then to the main bearing supports. This results in the occurence of a tensile force for the engine block applied in the bolt holes of the shaft supports. The calculation results are presented as stress and displacement distributions on the surface and selected block sections. The maximum values on the outer surfaces of the block occurred in the area of the compressor attached to the block and reached 39 MPa. Maximum stresses were, however, observed inside the block on the air and exhaust flow separators between the cylinder liners. The stress value on the outlet side reached 44 MPa.

Spillover Effects of Intellectual Property Protection in the Interwar Aircraft Industry

Can strengthening intellectual property (IP) protection for producers of one good affect innovation in other related goods? To answer this question, we exploit a unique policy experiment in the interwar military aircraft industry. Airframe designs had little IP protection before 1926, but changes passed by Congress in 1926 provided airframe manufacturers with enhanced property rights over new designs. We show that granting property rights to airframe producers increased innovation in airframes, but slowed innovation in aero-engines, a complementary good where there was no change in the availability of IP protection. We propose and test a simple theory that explains these patterns.

A Finite-Difference Wavenumber-Time Domain Method for Sound Field Prediction in a Uniformly Moving Medium

Sound field prediction has practical significance in the control of noise generated by sources in a flow, for example, the noise in aero-engines and ventilation systems. Aiming at accurate and flexible prediction of time-dependent sound field, a finite-difference wavenumber-time domain method for sound field prediction in a uniformly moving medium is proposed. The method is based on the second-order convective wave equation, and the wavenumber-time domain representation of the sound pressure field on one plane is forward propagated via a derived recursive expression. In this paper, the recursive expression is first deduced, and then numerical stability and dispersion of the proposed method are analyzed, based on which the stability condition is given and the correction of dispersion related to the transition frequency is made. Numerical simulations are conducted to test the performance of the proposed method, and the results show that the method is valid and robust at different Mach numbers.