EPEM - Engine performance and energy management for engine installations with large power off-takes

Important results from the project

Military aircraft are undergoing a rapid technological shift where the need for electrical power is constantly increasing. A modern engine integration must be designed to meet both a large continuous power demand and rapid variations in power output. The project has studied how an increased power output, in the form of electric power, static and dynamic, affects engine performance and how the engine and aircraft system can be designed to optimize the aircraft´s performance and energy efficiency and to evaluate a generator integrated in a turbofan engine via rig tests.

Expected long term effects

The project has given Swedish industry and academia an increased understanding of how the requirement for a greatly increased electrical power output affects a turbofan engine with a low by-pass ratio, a typical engine in a fighter aircraft, and methods for designing a more robust system. Furthermore, the project has strengthened the collaboration between Sweden´s leading companies in aviation (Saab and GKN) and academia in Sweden and Brazil.

Approach and implementation

The project resulted in three publications, two own and one as co-author, a conference contribution and a licentiate thesis with a system for simulating high power outputs in different parts of the flight envelope and at different engine loads as a focus. Via simulations, the impact on the engine was studied when the power was taken from the high-, low-pressure root or a combination, and in a rig test, a generator directly mounted on the engine shaft was studied.