DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A TURBOFAN ENGINE FOR OPTIMAL OPERATION

Engine efficiency and transient performance are vital in a turbofan engine. This affects drivability and fuel consumption in a turbofan engine. The main problem faced by a turbofan engine constitutes low response in a low-speed operation and this often creates “turbo lag” which affects turbofan engine performance and efficiencies. A hybrid turbofan engine design system is a promising technology for improving efficiency and performance during the operation. This research studies the possibility of implementing a hybrid turbofan engine design for optimal performance. The major parameters that impact thermal, propulsive and overall efficiency are modelled and characterized for optimal performance. The tool of SOLIDWORKDS CFD and CAD are used in modelling and simulation of the critical parameters that impacts performance. Correlation analysis of the critical design parameters for optimal performance is revealed. The following facts are theoretically revealed and validated. It was shown that the performance of the system is greatly influenced by thermal properties and the vane angular flow geometry. It was also revealed that there are critical operating variables that gave optimal performance of the turbofan engine during operation. It was also shown that the therm al, propulsive and overall efficiency are geometrically characterised by the system mass flow rate of air and ambient pressure of the system during throttling. It was observed that the system performance and system efficiency significantly increased at low speed. This was alluded to the fact that at optimal design performance proper mechanical hybrid calibration was done at varying effective mass flow rate of air in the system.