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Turbofan engine working principle, performance and application

Presentation · August 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.27129.08809

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‫‪Turbofan engine working principle,‬‬
‫‪performance and application‬‬
‫احمد عائد فيصل رزوق‬ ‫االسم‪:‬‬
‫كاز داينمك‬ ‫المادة‪:‬‬
‫الرابعة – عام صباح‬ ‫المرحلة ‪ /‬الفرع‪:‬‬
‫أ‪.‬م‪.‬د‪ .‬عامر الدباغ‬ ‫ر‬
‫المشف‪:‬‬
Introduction
The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used
in aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan":
the turbo portion refers to a gas turbine engine which achieves mechanical
energy from combustion and the fan, a ducted fan that uses the mechanical energy
from the gas turbine to accelerate air rearwards. Thus, whereas all the air taken in by
a turbojet passes through the turbine (through the combustion chamber), in a turbofan
some of that air bypasses the turbine. A turbofan thus can be thought of as a turbojet
being used to drive a ducted fan, with both of these contributing to the thrust.
The ratio of the mass-flow of air bypassing the engine core divided by the mass-flow
of air passing through the core is referred to as the bypass ratio. The engine produces
thrust through a combination of these two portions working together; engines that use
more jet thrust relative to fan thrust are known as low-bypass turbofans, conversely
those that have considerably more fan thrust than jet thrust are known as high-bypass.
Most commercial aviation jet engines in use today are of the high-bypass type and
most modern military fighter engines are low-bypass. Afterburners are not used on
high-bypass turbofan engines but may be used on either low-bypass turbofan
or turbojet engines.
Modern turbofans have either a large single-stage fan or a smaller fan with several
stages. An early configuration combined a low-pressure turbine and fan in a single
rear-mounted unit.

1
 Turbofan
• Powered by gas turbine
• The combination of thrust produced from the fan & the exhaust from the core is
more efficient
• Efficient at subsonic speeds
• Used in commercial jet aircraft
➢ The turbofan or fanjet is a type of air breathing jet engine that is widely used
for aircraft propulsion.
➢ The ‘turbo’ portion refers to a gas turbine engine which takes mechanical
energy from combustion
➢ The ‘fan’ uses the mechanical energy from the gas turbine to accelerate air
rearwards
➢ A jet engine is a reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that generates
thrust by jet propulsion in accordance with newton’s laws of motion.

Parts of turbofan
A. LOW PRESSURE SPOOL
B. HIGH PRESSURE SPOOL
C. STATIONARY COMPONENTS
1. NACELLE
2. FAN
3. LOW PRESSURE COMPRESSOR
4. HIGH PRESSURE COMPRESSOR
5. COMBUSTION CHAMBER
6. HIGH PRESSURE TURBINE
7. LOW PRESSURE TURBINE
8. CORE NOZZLE
9. FAN NOZZLE

2
Working principle:
The incoming air is captured by the engine inlet. Some of the incoming air passes
through the fan and continues on into the core compressor and then the burner, where
it is mixed with fuel and combustion occurs. The hot exhaust passes through the core
and fan turbines and then out the nozzle, as in a basic turbojet. The rest of the
incoming air passes through the fan and bypasses, or goes around the engine, just like
the air through a propeller. The air that goes through the fan has a velocity that is
slightly increased from free stream. So, a turbofan gets some of its thrust from the
core and some of its thrust from the fan. The ratio of the air that goes around the
engine to the air that goes through the core is called the bypass ratio.
Because the fuel flow rate for the core is changed only a small amount by the addition
of the fan, a turbofan generates more thrust for nearly the same amount of fuel used
by the core. This means that a turbofan is very fuel efficient. In fact, high bypass ratio
turbofans are nearly as fuel efficient as turboprops. Because the fan is enclosed by the
inlet and is composed of many blades, it can operate efficiently at higher speeds than
a simple propeller. That is why turbofans are found on high speed transports and
propellers are used on low speed transports. Low bypass ratio turbofans are still more
fuel efficient than basic turbojets. Many modern fighter planes actually use low
bypass ratio turbofans equipped with afterburners. They can then cruise efficiently
but still have high thrust when dogfighting. Even though the fighter plane can fly
much faster than the speed of sound, the air going into the engine must travel less
than the speed of sound for high efficiency. Therefore, the airplane inlet slows the air
down from supersonic speeds.
The mathematics describing the thrust of a turbofan engine is given on a separate
slide.

3
 Performance Parameters
❖ Thrust Equation ❖ Efficiency ❖ Specific Fuel Consumption

˙ ˙
Thrust = 𝑭 = 𝒎𝒆 𝑽𝒆 − 𝒎𝟎 𝑽𝟎

4
• The reaction to the thrust,𝔍, is transmitted to the support. The engine thrust is
thus the vector summation of all forces on the internal and external surfaces of
the engine.
→ → →→
• Therefore,∑𝑭 = ∫ 𝒖 𝝆 (𝒖𝒏) 𝒅𝑨
𝑪𝑺
• Considering the components of force and the momentum flux in the x-direction
→ →→
only, ∑𝑭 = ∫𝑪𝑺 𝒖𝒙 𝝆 (𝒖𝒏) 𝒅𝑨
• The pressure and velocity can be assumed to be constant over the entire control
surface, except over the exhaust area, Ae.
• The net pressure force acting on this control volume is (𝑷𝒂 − 𝑷𝒆 )𝑨𝒆.
• The only other force acting on the control volume is the reaction to the thrust, 𝔍
• Adding up the forces in the x-direction, ∑𝑭𝒙 = (𝑷𝒂 − 𝑷𝒆 )𝑨𝒆 + 𝕴
.
The mass flow that enters the capture area, 𝐴𝑖 , is 𝒎𝒂 = 𝝆𝒖𝑨𝒊
Similarly, the mass flow crossing the exhaust area
.
𝐴𝑒 , is , 𝒎𝒆 = 𝝆𝒆 𝒖𝒆 𝑨𝒆
. . . .
Also, 𝒎𝒆 = 𝒎𝒊 + 𝒎𝒇 Or′ 𝒎𝒇 = 𝝆𝒆 𝒖𝒆 𝑨𝒆 − 𝝆𝒖𝑨𝒊
Continuity equation for the CV gives,
. .
𝝆𝒆 𝒖𝒆 𝑨𝒆 + 𝝆𝒖(𝑨 − 𝑨𝒆 ) + 𝒎𝒔 − 𝒎𝒇 − 𝝆𝒖𝑨 = 𝟎
. .
Rearranging, 𝒎𝒔 = 𝒎𝒇 + 𝝆𝒖𝑨𝒆 − 𝝆𝒆 𝒖𝒆 𝑨𝒆𝒇
.
Which is, 𝒎𝒔 = 𝝆𝒖(𝑨𝒆 − 𝑨𝒊 )
• From the momentum balance across the CV,
→ → . . .
∫ 𝒖𝒙 𝝆(𝒖 ⋅ 𝒏)𝒅𝑨 = 𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒆 + 𝒎𝒔 𝒖 + 𝝆𝒖(𝑨 − 𝑨𝒆 )𝒖 − 𝒎𝒂 𝒖 − 𝝆𝒖(𝑨 − 𝑨𝒊 )𝒖
𝑪𝑺
• This is the net outward flux of x-momentum.
• This equation reduces to
→ → . .
∫ 𝒖𝒙 𝝆(𝒖 ⋅ 𝒏)𝒅𝑨 = 𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒆 − 𝒎𝒂 𝒖
𝑪𝑺
• From the force balance equation, we have,
. .
𝕵 = 𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒆 − 𝒎𝒂 𝒖 + (𝑷𝒆 − 𝑷𝒂 )𝑨𝒆
EFFICIENCY
Propulsion efficiency: The ratio of thrust power to the rate of production of
propellan kinetic energy.
𝕴𝒖
𝜼𝑷 = .
𝒎𝒂 [(𝟏+𝒇)(𝒖𝟐𝒆 /𝟐)−𝒖𝟐 /𝟐]

5
If we assume that 𝑓 ≪ 1 and the pressure thrust term is negligible,
(𝒖𝒆 −𝒖)𝒖 𝟐𝒖/𝒖𝒆
𝜼𝑷 = =
𝒖𝟐𝒆 /𝟐−𝒖𝟐 /𝟐 𝟏+𝒖/𝒖𝒆

Thermal efficiency: The ratio of the rate of production of propellant kinetic energy
.
𝒎𝒂 [(𝟏+𝒇)(𝒖𝟐𝒆 /𝟐)−𝒖𝟐 /𝟐] [(𝟏+𝒇)(𝒖𝟐𝒆 /𝟐)−𝒖𝟐 /𝟐
to the total energy consumption rate 𝜼𝒕𝒉 = . =
𝒎𝒇 𝑸 𝑹 𝒇𝑸𝑹
where, 𝑄𝑅 , is the heat of reaction of
the fuel.
Overall efficiency: The product of
thermal efficiency and propulsion
efficiency.
𝜼𝒐 = 𝜼𝒑 𝜼𝒕𝒉
In the case of aircraft that generate
thrust using propellers,
𝜼𝒐 = 𝜼𝒑𝒓 𝜼𝒕𝒉
Where, 𝜂𝑝𝑟 is the propeller
efficiency.
Thrust specific fuel consumption, TSFC
˙ ˙
𝒎𝒇 𝒎𝒇
𝐓𝐒𝐅𝐂 = ≈ ˙
𝕵 𝒎𝒂 [(𝟏+𝒇)𝒖𝒆 −𝒖]

Advantages of Turbofan Engines

❖ Very high power-to-weight ratio.
❖ Compact than most reciprocating engines of the same power rating.
❖ Fewer moving parts than reciprocating engines.
❖ Low operating pressures.
❖ High operation speeds.
❖ Low lubricating oil cost and consumption.
✓ Since a fan is used, more amount of air is sucked into the engine providing more thrust.
✓ The fan is enclosed by the cowling and is thus protected and its aerodynamics can be
easily controlled.
✓ Due to presence of fan, the fuel consumption is increased only a little, the
turbofan produces more thrust for same amount of fuel and is thus fuel efficient.

6
 Disadvantages of Turbofan Engines
❖ Cost
❖ Longer startup than reciprocating engines.
❖ Less responsive to changes in power demand compared to reciprocating engines.
❖ It is the most efficient at subsonic speeds only.
❖ It has a greater complexity due to addition of ducts and multiple shafts.
❖ The engine diameter is increased.
Turbofan application

Major
Model Start Bypass Length Fan Weight Thrust
applications
5.18m– 3.12–3.25
GE GE90 1992 8.7–9.9 7.56–8.62t 330–510 kN B777
5.40m m
A300/A310, A330,
P&W 3.37–
1984 4.8–6.4 2.84 m 4.18–7.48t 222–436 kN B747, B767,
PW4000 4.95m
B777, MD-11
R-R Trent
2010 9.3 5.22 m 3.00 m 7.28 t 330–430 kN A350XWB
XWB
R-R Trent 5.7–
1993 4.37m 2.79m 5.96–5.98t 411–425 kN B777
800 5.79
EA GP7000 2004 8.7 4.75 m 2.95 m 6.09–6.71 t 311–363 kN A380
R-R Trent
2004 8.7 4.55 m 2.95 m 6.18–6.25 t 340–357 kN A380
900
R-R Trent 10.8– 265.3–
2006 4.74 m 2.85 m 5.77 t B787
1000 11 360.4 kN
4.31-4.69 2.66-2.82
GE GEnx[1] 2006 8.0–9.3 5.62-5.82 t 296-339 kN B747-8, B787
m m
R-R Trent
1990 4.9 3.91 m 2.47 m 4.79 t 320 kN A330
700
A300/A310, A330,
4.00– 2.20–2.79
GE CF6 1971 4.3–5.3 3.82–5.08 t 222–298 kN B747, B767, MD-
4.41 m m
11, DC-10
R-R Trent
1999 8.5 3.91 m 2.47 m 4.72 t 252 kN A340-500/600
500
P&W 9.0– 1.42–2.06 A320neo, A220,
2008 3.40 m 2.86 t 67–160 kN
PW1000G[2] 12.5 m E-Jets E2
CFM 9.0– 3.15– 1.76– A320neo,
2013 2.78–3.15t 100–146 kN
LEAP[3] 11.0 3.33m 1.98m B737Max

7
 A320, A340-
2.36– 1.52–
CFM56 1974 5.0–6.6 1.95–2.64t 97.9-151 kN 200/300, B737,
2.52m 1.84m
KC-135, DC-8
IAE V2500 1987 4.4–4.9 3.20m 1.60m 2.36–2.54t 97.9-147 kN A320, MD-90
P&W
2000 4.90 2.73m 1.44m 2.36t 100.2 kN Airbus A318
PW6000
B717, Global
3.41– 1.32– 68.9–
R-R BR700 1994 4.2–4.5 1.63–2.11t Express,
3.60m 1.58m 102.3 kN
Gulfstream V
GE Passport 2013 5.6 3.37m 1.30m 2.07t 78.9–84.2 kN Global 7000/8000
2.62– 1.25– Challenger 600,
GE CF34 1982 5.3–6.3 0.74–1.12t 41–82.3 kN
3.26m 1.32m CRJ, E-jets
P&WC Gulfstream
2012 5.5 1.30m 67.4–69.7 kN
PW800 G500/G600
1.12– Gulfstream IV,
R-R Tay 1984 3.1–3.2 2.41m 1.42–1.53t 61.6–68.5 kN
1.14m Fokker 70/100
Cit. Hemisphere,
Silvercrest 2012 5.9 1.90m 1.08m 1.09t 50.9 kN
Falcon 5X
R-R AE
1991 5.0 2.71m 1.11m 0.72t 33.7 kN ERJ, Citation X
3007
Cit. Sovereign,
P&WC 1.92–
1988 3.8–4.5 0.97m 0.45–0.47t 23.4–35.6 kN G200, F. 7X, F.
PW300 2.07
2000
HW Challenger 300,
1999 4.4 2.29m 0.87m 0.62t 28.9 kN
HTF7000 G280, Legacy 500
2.66– 1.52– 0.72- Learjet 70/75,
HW TFE731 1970 0.34–0.45t 15.6–22.2 kN
3.9 2.08m 0.78m G150, Falcon 900
Williams 1.36– CitationJet, Cit.
1985 3.3–4.1 .53-0.57m 0.21–0.24t 6.7–15.6 kN
FJ44 2.09m M2
P&WC Citation Excel,
1993 3.90 1.52m 0.70m 0.28t 13.3 kN
PW500 Phenom 300
GE-H HF120 2009 4.43 1.12m 0.54 m 0.18t 7.4 kN HondaJet
Williams
1998 0.98m 0.53 m 0.14 t 6.7 kN Cirrus SF50
FJ33
Cit. Mustang,
P&WC
2001 1.8–2.8 0.67m 0.36m 0.15t 6.0 kN Eclipse 500,
PW600
Phenom 100
Il-76, Il-96, Tu-
PS-90 1992 4.4 4.96m 1.9m 2.95t 157–171 kN
204
PowerJet Sukhoi Superjet
2008 4–4.1 3.59m 1.22m 2.260t 71.6–79.2 kN
SaM146 100

8
Types of turbofan
1. Single-shaft turbofan
2. Aft-fan turbofan
3. Basic two-spool
4. Boosted two-spool
5. Three-spool
6. Geared fan
7. Military turbofans
8. High-pressure turbine
9. Low-pressure turbine

9
 References
[1] V.Arya “Introduction to Turbo Jet Engines, Working Principle And
Performance” available at:
https://www.slideshare.net/VedprakashArya2/turbo-jet-engine

[2] Wikipedia “Turbofan” this article available at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbofan#:~:text=The%20turbofan%20or%20fanjet
%20is,widely%20used%20in%20aircraft%20propulsion.&text=Thus%2C%20whe
reas%20all%20the%20air,that%20air%20bypasses%20the%20turbine.

[3] w.Yingjun, Guo Minghao & Hu Yu , beihang university “CJ-3000 Turbofan

Engine Design Proposal”
https://www.aiaa.org/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/education-and-
careers/university-students/design-competitions/1stplace_beihang-
university_design_report.pdf?sfvrsn=9393aae1_0

[4] Shailesh Kumar, MAHARAJA AGARSAIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

“Turbofan engine” https://www.slideshare.net/ShaileshKumar273/turbofan-engine-
ppt?from_action=save

[5] SHAMBU.S, “turbofan engine”

https://www.slideshare.net/shambuvtk/turbofan-engine-
59779978?from_action=save

[6] “How Does A Turbofan Engine Work?” this article available at:
https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/aircraft-systems/how-does-a-jet-engine-
turbofan-system-work-the-basics/

[7] National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “Turbofan Engine”, NASA

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-
12/airplane/aturbf.html#:~:text=How%20does%20a%20turbofan%20engine,with%
20fuel%20and%20combustion%20occurs.&text=This%20means%20that%20a%2
0turbofan%20is%20very%20fuel%20efficient.

10

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