EVALUATION OF BOUNDARY LAYER INGESTION ON PROPULSION

LEVEL BY COUPLING OF OVERALL SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND HIGH-

FIDELITY 3D-CFD FAN SIMULATION
C. Hollmann, M. Mennicken, T. Otten, D. Schönweitz, F. Wolters
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Propulsion Technology,
Linder Höhe, 51147 Cologne, Germany

Abstract
A further increase in efficiency of civil air transport systems will continue to be a major goal of aviation
research in the future. In addition to the continuous improvement of conventional aircraft configurations, the
investigation and evaluation of new concepts is at least as important and therefore focus on current research
activities.
A currently intensively discussed approach in this context is the use of boundary layer ingesting (BLI)
propulsion systems. Conventional aircraft configurations are commonly designed for a largely undisturbed
engine inflow. The basic idea of BLI engines is however, to ingest parts of the fuselage boundary layer
resulting from the flow around the aircraft into one or multiple propulsion systems, targeting a more efficient
thrust generation and lower overall fuel consumption.
Since conventional aircraft configurations permit little or no interaction between fuselage boundary layer and
propulsion system, the consideration of novel configurations is an essential aspect of this field of research.
The concepts differ in shape of the fuselage, the arrangement of the engines as well as resulting boundary
layer quantities and profiles that are ingested into the propulsion system. However, they are all pursuing the
idea of a strong engine integration into the aircraft fuselage.
Even though the full effect of BLI can only be assessed by a combined view of aircraft and engine, the
present study deals with the consequences of increased engine integration for the propulsion system,
without directly considering interactions with the airframe. This is done in order to establish a general
evaluation capability on propulsion system level and to gain experience regarding the influence of BLI, which
can be applied profitably in further overall investigations of the airframe.
For this purpose, this paper presents a methodology to assess the influence of BLI on high-fidelity simulation
level while simultaneously allowing conclusions to be drawn about the resulting effects on the overall engine
system. Therefore a fully automated multi-fidelity process chain was set up, which directly links a high-fidelity
3D-CFD simulation of the fan component including disturbed inflow boundary conditions to a thermodynamic
overall engine simulation. The process chain was conducted for different amounts of boundary layer fluid
ingested into the engine at cruise conditions with the intention to characterize the overall performance
alteration in dependence of the momentum loss at engine entry.

Keywords
Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI); Multi-Fidelity Simulation; Zooming; Gas Turbine Performance; 3D-CFD;
Coupled Simulation
1. INTRODUCTION
Ambitious goals to reduce the environmental impact of
global air traffic pose major challenges for aircraft and
engine manufacturers. Due to the already high
technological maturity, conventional aircraft and engine
configurations offer only limited space for further
optimization.
The introduction of geared turbofans marks a significant
technological leap towards more efficient and low-
emission engines in recent times. The introduction of this
technology already lead to a distinct reduction of overall
fuel consumption and noise emission for the latest
generation of modern civil aircraft engines.
By further increasing the bypass ratio, core temperatures,
overall pressure ratios and component efficiencies, it is
expected to further improve the environmental
compatibility and cost-effectiveness of future engine
generations. Nevertheless, it is becoming apparent that
the next significant technological leap will require a
fundamental rethink of existing aircraft configurations and
far more radical changes than have been observed in
recent decades.
The identification of potentially game changing
technologies is an essential part of current research
activities. A currently intensively discussed approach in
this context is the use of boundary layer ingesting (BLI)
propulsion systems, which was already identified as a
potentially beneficial concept by Smith an Roberts [1] in
the early years of jet engine development.
While conventional aircraft configurations usually rely on
an undisturbed inflow of the engines, the basic idea of the
BLI concept is to ingest as much of the fuselage boundary
layer as possible into the propulsion system in order to
enable a more efficient thrust generation and lower overall
fuel consumption.
The assumption of an increase in efficiency of aircrafts
with BLI propulsion concepts arises hereby from two
different effects: First, BLI aircraft configurations come up
with a high degree of engine integration in order to ingest
as much fuselage boundary layer as possible. Of course,
the amount of boundary layer as well as the degree of
integration varies between the different concepts.
However, the main idea is that an increasing integration of
the propulsion system into the fuselage leads to a
decrease of the wetted aircraft surface and hence to a
decreased overall aircraft drag.
The second aspect directly relates to the propulsion
system. Due to the ingestion of boundary layer fluid, the
mean velocity at the engine inlet is decreased, which
leads to a decreasing engine inlet momentum. Assuming a
constant thrust requirement of the flight vehicle, this
results in a decrease of the total energy quantity which
needs to be supplied in order to satisfy this very thrust
requirement by the engine [2].
Despite great efforts in this field of aviation research, the
question of whether and if so how promising the use of
boundary layer ingesting engines and appropriate aircraft
configurations is has not been finally clarified. The
statements regarding a potential benefit vary depending
on the considered aircraft configuration and the type and
degree of engine integration but, referring to [3, 4, 5], even
for a single configuration, the expected benefits vary
significantly in some cases.
Of course, the increasing integration of the propulsion
system into the aircraft leads to great challenges regarding
the multidisciplinary engine and aircraft design as well as
to an increasing interaction between all participated
disciplines. In addition to a detailed but often isolated
examination of aircraft and propulsion system, only a
combined evaluation process will be able to answer the
question of whether BLI concepts will prevail in the future.
The investigation of future aircraft configurations (2035+)
and therefore also the identification and assessment of
promising BLI configurations is the major focus of the EU
founded Clean Sky 2 project HYPER-F. Within the project,
several aircraft configurations are investigated and
compared to each other in detail. Starting with an A320
similar, conventional configuration (DLR-D165), more
advanced engines are investigated for otherwise constant
technology assumptions (DLR-D165-2035) as well as a
redesign of wings and tail, followed by the final
investigation of a BLI configuration with rear mounted,
integrated engines (DLR-D165-2035-TB). A detailed
overview of all aircraft configurations assessed within
HYPER-F can be found in [6]. Due to the assessment of
the influence of BLI on the propulsion system, the present
study focuses on the BLI configuration DLR-D165-2035-
TB which is shown in FIG. 1 together with the baseline
configuration DLR-D165-2035.
FIG. 1: HYPER-F Baseline and BLI aircraft
configurations [6]
The evaluation of the selected BLI configuration within
Hyper-F takes place on two different levels: The overall
aircraft level and the propulsion system level.
The focus of the aircraft analysis is to identify the overall
benefit of the BLI aircraft configuration taking into account
the drag reduction due to the decreased wetted area,
configurational effects and also the expected impact of BLI
on the propulsion system. A detailed presentation of the
results generated so far on overall aircraft level for the
D165-2035-TB configuration is presented by Silberhorn et
al. [6].
On the propulsion system level, the influence of BLI on the
fan but also on the overall engine performance is
assessed in detail. The assessment is carried out in a
multidisciplinary analysis comprising aerodynamic, aero-
acoustic [7], aero-elastic (similar to [8]) and aero-
thermodynamic analysis. A detailed analysis of the
aerodynamic performance of the fan at BLI conditions as
well as the arising challenges for a reliable design are
presented by Mennicken et al. [9] whereas the aero-
thermodynamic analysis is subject of the present paper.
The present study focuses on the impact of BLI on the
overall engine performance. Therefore, high fidelity 3D-
CFD simulations of the fan component are coupled with a
thermodynamic performance simulation of the overall
engine in order to capture the influence of BLI on the fan
component on a high level of detail while simultaneously
allowing conclusions to be drawn on the overall propulsion
system behavior.
Even though the analysis of the overall system and the
propulsion system was carried out separately within the
initial studies presented in this paper as well as in [6,9],
both processes will be linked together in the further course
of the HYPER-F project. The aim here is to set up an
iterative design process that includes detailed engine and
aircraft design strategies but also a direct link between the
two disciplines in order to iteratively arrive at a consistent
design and a reliable statement on different BLI
configurations.
2. BLI ON PROPULSION SYSTEM LEVEL
In order to discuss the expected effect of BLI on the
propulsion system, it is worth considering the propulsive
efficiency , which is defined as the ratio of thrust
power to jet power . For non BLI mixed jet engines
and by means of various simplifying assumptions as
exemplarily shown by Farokhi [10], the propulsive
efficiency can be approximated depending on the current
flight speed of a jet engine driven aircraft and the jet
velocity at the engine outlet (EQ. 1).
2 therefore result in a shift of the operating point in all
(1) = ≈
1+
It is important to note, that this simplified definition of the
propulsive efficiency is only valid, as long as the fluid
velocity at the engine inlet corresponds to the flight
speed. However, this is no longer the case for BLI
propulsion systems, since the average fluid velocity at the
engine inlet is reduced by the velocity gradient within the
ingested boundary layer fluid. Using the jet velocity
change between engine inlet and outlet (EQ. 2), the
propulsive efficiency for BLI configurations can therefore
be formulated according to EQ. 3.
(2) = −
2 technology.
(3) = ≈
+2
In the following, it is assumed that the flight condition as
well the required thrust of a considered flight vehicle
remain constant under the influence of BLI. This leads to a
constant flight velocity and, assuming a constant mass
flow at the engine inlet, also to a constant fluid
acceleration which then represents the amount of
required thrust. For these assumptions, the result is an
increase in propulsion efficiency corresponding for a
decreasing fluid velocity at the inlet due to boundary
layer ingestion.
The thrust equation for a mixed turbofan engine is given in
EQ. 4.
(4) =( ̇ + ̇ ) − ̇ + , −
For a simplified consideration, it is assumed, that the inlet
mass flow ̇ and the fuel flow ̇ only change
negligibly due to boundary layer ingestion for a certain
flight condition and thrust setting. Also the change in static
pressure difference on the nozzle surface is assumed to
be negligible.
Under these conditions, it becomes clear that in the case
of BLI, the engine has to transfer less acceleration energy
on the working fluid in order to generate the same thrust
compared to clean inflow conditions. Accordingly, it is
expected that with an increasing amount of boundary layer
fluid being ingested into the engine and a therefore
decreasing overall inlet momentum, the amount of energy
consumed by the engine to satisfy a given thrust
requirement will decrease. [2]
Unfortunately, however, BLI also has effects which are
expected to have a negative impact on the overall engine
performance. Probably the most obvious disadvantage is
that the inhomogeneous total pressure distribution at the
engine inlet results in an aerodynamically
disadvantageous inflow for the fan component, which will
inevitably result in a loss of efficiency. Since the fan is the
decisive component for thrust generation in modern
propulsion systems, this loss of efficiency will in turn have
a corresponding negative effect on the energy
consumption of the engine.
Since all components in the engine directly interact with
each other, the change in the operating behavior of the fan
component naturally also affects the operation of all other
components. For a given flight condition and thrust
requirement, the distorted flow at the engine inlet will
components. Consequently, either a redesign of all
components must be carried out or the corresponding
consequences for an existing engine must be accepted.
Of course, the inhomogeneous inflow also results in
numerous and perhaps even more critical structural-
mechanical problems. However, if one remains with an
aero-thermodynamic approach, the question arises to
what extent the effects of a decreasing inlet momentum
and the deterioration of the aerodynamic fan performance
as well as the associated operating point shift in other
components outweigh each other.
An answer to this question will provide clarity about the
magnitude of the benefit or malus to be expected for BLI
on the propulsion side. This in turn can be used to
estimate the required benefit at aircraft level which is
needed to justify a further pursuit of BLI as a future
The detailed consideration of the aerodynamic behavior of
the fan component under BLI influence alone is a
challenging task. With further consideration of the overall
system, this problem becomes incomparably more
complex and can only be solved analytically by means of
the strong simplifications as exemplarily listed at the
beginning of this chapter.
However, it is precisely the complex inter-component
relationships that lead to the fact, that these simplifications
are actually invalid and may only be used for very
fundamental considerations. Due to the shift of the
component-specific operating points under the impact of
BLI, it cannot be assumed that mass flow rates,
mechanical spool speeds or other engine parameters
remain constant when comparing a conventional engine
with clean inflow to one under BLI influence.
, In order to finally arrive at a meaningful assessment of the
influence of BLI on the overall system level, it is therefore
absolutely necessary to reduce the amount of simplifying
assumptions as much as possible and to take into account
the complex interactions within the propulsion system
arising from the specific operating behavior of each engine are shown in TAB. 1 for the characteristic operating points
component. In order to do so, a multi-fidelity simulation Cruise (CR), Top of Climb (TOC), End of Field (EOF) and
approach was applied to achieve the goals of the present Maximum Take-Off (MTO). The according operating point
study. definitions comprising the flight altitude , the flight
For the present study this means specifically that the 3D Mach number as well as the deviation from ISA
CFD model of a fan component was loaded with (International Standard Atmosphere) standard
corresponding BLI boundary conditions and temperature are also included in TAB 1. The is
simultaneously coupled with the thermodynamic overall defined as the ratio of engine fuel flow rate ̇ and
system simulation. This enabled not only an aerodynamic generated net thrust (EQ. 5) and is commonly used as
investigation of the fan under BLI influence but also the a quality measure for the economic efficiency of aircraft
assessment of the resulting influence on the overall gas turbines. According to EQ. 6, the is defined as
system. Before the multi-fidelity process chain is described the total pressure ratio between inlet and outlet of the
in detail in chapter 4, the applied overall engine and 3D- engine’s compressor section (stations 1 and 3).
CFD fan model will first be presented.
̇
3. MODELING (5) =
The following section provides an overview of the models
used within the coupled simulation. It should be noted that ,
both, the 3D-CFD model of the fan component as well as (6) =
,
the overall thermodynamic system model were not
specifically designed for BLI applications but correspond TAB. 1: Operating point definition and selected engine
to a design for an undistorted engine inflow. Within the parameters for characteristic operating points
coupled simulation, both models are therefore running in
Unit CR TOC EOF MTO
off-design operation for all operating points considered in
this study.
[ ] 10.69 10.69 0.0 0.0
3.1. Engine Performance Model
For the overall engine simulation of aircraft gas turbines, [−] 0.78 0.78 0.25 0.0
commonly a thermodynamic simulation approach is
applied. This type of modelling enables very short [ ] 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
simulation times and thus the prediction of the engine’s
operating behavior over a wide operating range. The [ ] 22.9 27.6 114.3 142.8
component specific geometry as well as component
internal flow phenomena as they appear for BLI [−] 46.5 52.73 45.12 41.37
applications can only be taken into account indirectly.
The reference case in the present study is an advanced
ultra-high bypass ratio (UHBR) geared turbofan engine [ / ] 13.12 13.04 8.71 5.87
which was tailored to the requirements of the D165-2035-
TB aircraft configuration. It is a two spool unmixed flow [−] 15.7 14.7 15.6 15.3
engine configuration rated at 142.8 kN take-off thrust. The
general engine layout as well as the according station For off-design calculation of the core engine components,
numbering used within the thermodynamic model is shown generic turbo component characteristics are used, which
in FIG. 2. represent the operating behavior of a specific component
over a wide operating range. In general, original
component maps are commonly not available to non-OEM
and research organizations. For this reason, it is common
practice to use standard component maps which are
scaled during an engine design run, to match defined
engine component design targets.
For the fan component, a 3D-CFD derived component
map was used which is based on the model of the DLR-
UHBR fan [11]. The underlying fan geometry is a DLR
FIG. 2: General engine layout and station numbering of internal development targeting a fan design for UHBR
the thermodynamic engine model aero engines. It has already been subject to numerous
The fan with a diameter of 2.34m provides a bypass ratio theoretical and experimental research activities of DLR
of 15.3 at sea level static take-off conditions. The [12, 13] and will be described in detail in the following
according overall engine pressure ratio (OPR) amounts to section. The resulting efficiencies from CFD were
41.4. Due to the low fan pressure ratio, a variable bypass calibrated to match experimental results. In order to meet
nozzle is required in order to ensure a safe operation of the mass flow requirements of the thermodynamic engine
the fan throughout the entire flight envelope. An model, the CFD generated characteristic was scaled
appropriate schedule for the nozzle area dependent on appropriately.
flight Mach number and rotational speed was derived in As a special feature of the engine modelling, tailored to
order to achieve minimum fuel consumption. Selected the challenges coming with BLI simulation, it must be
engine parameter comprising the generated net thrust, the pointed out that the fan component is modeled by means
engine’s overall pressure ratio ( ), the thrust specific of a parallel compressor approach. This means that not
fuel consumption ( ) as well as the bypass ratio ( ) one single component module represents the core- and
bypass section of the fan model but that two completely
independent compressor modules are used for this
purpose. This has the advantage that the inlet conditions
of the different fan sections can be defined separately
from each other which in turn enables a physically correct
modelling of the influence of BLI on an overall engine
level. For the following considerations, thermodynamic
stations 11 and 12 are therefore introduced as extensions
to FIG. 2, which indicate the bypass flow conditions
corresponding to stations 1 and 2 which from now
represent the core stream (FIG. 3).
FIG. 3: Additional engine stations 11 and 12 introduced for
BLI consideration
The thermodynamic engine cycle is modeled by means of
DLR’s object oriented in-house gas turbine performance
code GTlab-Performance [14], which is part of the
preliminary design environment GTlab (Gas Turbine
Laboratory).
3.2. 3D-CFD Fan Model
The fan used in the present study is the DLR-UHBR-Fan
which has been designed and experimentally validated at
DLR. It is a representative fan for a state-of-the-art UHBR
aero-engine. At cruise condition the fan features to a
meridional Mach number of 0.6 at a total pressure ratio of
1.31. In comparison to the experimental rig scale, the fan
diameter is scaled up to 2.34m (compare [9]). The fan
stage is composed of 22 rotor blades and 38 outlet guide
vanes (OGV). While in the DLR-UHBR design the core is
neglected [12], the applied coupled simulation approach
requires the consideration of the core section to assess
the engine cycle performance. Therefore, within the 3D-
CFD model, the flow path is split in a core flow path and a
bypass flow path downstream the OGV (FIG. 4).
FIG. 4: Schematic representation of the DLR-UHBR-Fan
3D-CFD Setup
The CFD model consists of an inlet duct with spinner, the
rotor, the OGV and a splitter geometry that branches the
flow channel out into a core flow path and a bypass flow
path. As the original DLR-UHBR design does not include a
splitter, an infinitely thin viscid wall was used to account
for the branching of the flow path.
The inlet boundary condition (see FIG. 4) imprints the
ingested boundary layer (for deduction and shape of the
boundary layer see next paragraph) of the specific
operating point. For this purpose, total pressure and total
temperature as well as flow angles are prescribed as local
quantities in the form of a Riemann-invariant boundary
condition formulation, allowing to preserve the topology of
the distortion.
The subdivision of the total pressure distortion into
dynamic and static pressure (compare [15]) occurs in the
full annulus model of the inlet duct. At both outlets,
boundary conditions with constant mass flow specified by
the thermodynamic cycle simulation are employed. The
interface between inlet duct and rotor as well as between
rotor and OGV make use of a conservative mixing plane
interface between rotating and static system. This results
in a circumferential averaging of the ingested boundary
layer and an according inflow to the rotor.
The structured simulation mesh for the fan was created
using DLR's internal meshing tool PyMesh. Each blade
row uses an OCH multi-block topology that was adapted
for a wall function formulation of the boundary layers on
solid walls. For a radial resolution of 68 lines (whereof 11
lines are applied in the tip gap) this results in a mesh of
1,600,000 cells for the inlet duct (full annulus), 375,000
cells for the rotor and 255,000 cells for the OGV (both
single passage). For the cruise operating point, this mesh
resulted in a dimensionless first wall distance y+ between
30 and 80.
The TRACE suite developed at DLR for the simulation of
internal flows is used as flow solver. TRACE is a
comprehensive program package for flow simulations and
offers besides nonlinear frequency-domain methods, an
adjoint solver and modules for Discontinuous-Galerkin-,
LES- and DES-simulation also the classical RANS solver
used in this study. For modelling turbulence, Wilcox' kω-
model [16] was used with additional terms for turbulence
decay in rotational flows [17] and for correction of the
stagnation point anomaly in production of turbulent kinetic
energy [18]. Convergence of the simulations was assumed
if the inlet and outlet mass flows as well as the isentropic
efficiency of the fan stage changed by less than 0.1% for
1000 time steps.
3.3. Boundary Layer Modeling
The aim of this study is to qualitatively assess the
influence of boundary layer ingestion at overall engine
level for the given aircraft configuration as well as to
quantitatively estimate expected advantages or
disadvantages regarding the engine’s fuel consumption. In
order to get a general overview of existing trends, it was
desirable that the quantity of boundary layer fluid ingested
into the engine could be varied in an easy to handle and
well reproducible way. Also, the total pressure profile of
the boundary layer should correspond approximately to
that which would occur under real conditions for the
present aircraft configuration.
Instead of measured boundary layer profiles which are
hardly available, a turbulent plate boundary layer model
was applied, allowing the generation of according
boundary layer profiles with varying heights.
The authors are aware that the application of this model
represents a simplification compared to real boundary
layer profiles. However, by this approach the amount of
boundary layer fluid sucked into the propulsion system
could be easily controlled and varied. The assumption that
this approach to boundary layer modeling is suitable for
the present study naturally arises from the peculiarities of
the present aircraft configuration whose top and front view
is shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 5: Top and front view of the D-165-2035-TB BLI
aircraft configuration [6]
Simplified, the fuselage is considered as a flat plate,
leading to a growing boundary layer height with
increasing distance travelled by the fluid on the fuselage
surface. The successive increase of the boundary layer
height with an increasing distance is exemplarily shown
in FIG. 6.
FIG. 6: Schematic representation of the boundary layer
formation due to a longitudinal flow over a flat plate
In the following, the boundary layer height is defined as
the vertical distance to the plate, at which the fluid velocity
reaches 99% of the far field velocity . According to
Sigloch [19], for the given assumptions, the velocity
distribution in a turbulent boundary can be calculated
appropriate to EQ. 7.
/ 4. MULTI-FIDELITY SIMULATION APPROACH
(7) ( , )=
( )
In order to translate a velocity distribution for a given
boundary layer height into a total pressure distribution
which can be applied as a boundary condition within the
3D-CFD simulation of the fan, it is further assumed that
the static pressure of the far field , is applied to the
boundary layer flow as well and therefore remains
constant. Since the fluid does not perform any work within
the boundary layer, the total temperature also remains
unchanged compared to the far-field value , .
Both, the static pressure and the total temperature are
known for each flight condition by applying a suitable
atmospheric model (dependent on altitude and flight Mach
number) [20]. Using the total temperature of the far field, a
static temperature distribution can be calculated according
to EQ. 8. The determination of the static temperature field
in turn allows a direct conclusion on the flow Mach number
distribution within the boundary layer (EQ. 9), which finally
leads to the desired distribution of the total pressure
according to EQ. 10.
( )
(8) ( )= , −
2
( )
(9) ( )=
( )
(10) −1
( )= , 1+ ( )
2
The calculated total pressure distribution, valid for a
certain set of ambient flight conditions and a given
boundary layer height, is finally mapped on a meshed
circular area, representing the engine inlet area. Hereby it
needs to be assured, that the mesh topology matches the
exact geometrical dimensions of the inlet section of the
3D-CFD fan model in order to guarantee that the
generated boundary condition can be properly used within
the 3D-CFD simulations.
In order to ensure the correctness of the gas properties
used in the calculation ( , , ), the same temperature-
dependent gas model as applied in the thermodynamic
engine simulation was used to determine the boundary
layer profiles. FIG. 7 shows two exemplary boundary layer
profiles, generated with the described procedure, whereby
the boundary layer height was defined to 5% and 50% of
the radius of the entry surface.
FIG. 7: Exemplary total pressure distributions for boundary
layer heights of 5% (left) and 50% (right) relative to the
inlet radius
Multi-fidelity simulation in the context of jet engine
research is applied in various ways. A common approach
is to analyze parts of a larger simulation space using high-
fidelity simulation methods with a particular regard to
certain physical effects and to subsequently use the
knowledge gained within the overall context. The process
chain used for the present study aims at combining the
advantages of thermodynamic overall system simulation
with the advantages of high-fidelity component simulation
by means of a direct and fully automated coupling. The
coupled simulation approach was developed and built at
DLR in the recent past and has already been successfully
demonstrated by Klein et al. in several multi fidelity studies
in the field of engine condition monitoring [21, 22].
In general, the procedure described below allows the
integration of higher-value turbo component simulations
into thermodynamic overall system simulation and aims to
achieve a quick convergence between the different fidelity
levels. In principle, it can be applied to turbo component
simulations on all fidelity levels from 1D to 3D, but was
clearly developed with the focus on the integration of high-
fidelity procedures.
The iterative process chain always starts with an
execution of the steady-state thermodynamic overall
engine simulation in off-design mode. In order to generate
boundary conditions for the high-fidelity fan model, the
overall engine simulation is carried out for a certain
operating point. The selected operating point definition
remains constant during the following iteration across the
different fidelity levels and comprises flight Mach number,
altitude and corresponding ambient conditions as well as a
further parameter which represents the load condition of
the engine. This can be, for example, a certain low
pressure spool speed or fuel flow rate but also a thrust
requirement which needs to be satisfied by the engine.
In compliance with the elementary conservation equations,
the engine condition for the selected boundary conditions
is determined iteratively by solving a nonlinear system of
equations. Finally, the result is the thermodynamic state at
inlet and outlet of each component as well as
characteristic component specific performance parameters
such as total pressure ratios or isentropic efficiencies.
These results were obtained using component specific
characteristics, in particular those of the fan, which,
however, do not contain any influence from BLI.
The next step must therefore be to generate a prediction
on characteristic performance parameters of the fan by
means of the high-fidelity simulation tool at the exact
operating point which was determined by the overall
engine simulation.
For this purpose, the mass flow rates for core and bypass
section and the mechanical speed of the low-pressure
shaft are extracted from the performance simulation
results and used as boundary conditions for the upcoming
3D-CFD simulation. As a further boundary condition, a
total pressure distribution defined according to chapter 4.3
is imposed on the CFD simulation, which represents the
boundary layer flow at the engine inlet.
Irrespective of the boundary layer height, it was ensured
that the total pressure of the undistorted far-field flow
contained in the generated pressure distribution
corresponds exactly to the total pressure at the engine
inlet determined by the thermodynamic overall system
simulation for the considered flight conditions.
After the 3D-CFD simulation has converged, the resulting
flow field is mass averaged to obtain representative mean
values for state variables such as total pressure and
temperature on the inlet and outlet surfaces of the fan
model. Based on these, characteristic performance
parameters such as isentropic efficiencies as well as total
pressure ratios can be calculated for both, the core and
the bypass section of the 3D-CFD model.
The averaging of the flow quantities on the inlet surface of
the CFD model is carried out irrespective of the flow
division into core and bypass flow. Applying the total
pressure field used as boundary condition in combination
with the mass flow distribution calculated by the CFD, a
compared to the far-field flow reduced total pressure on
the inlet surface is the result.
However, due to the topology of the boundary layer profile
used within the present study, it is assumed in the
following that no boundary layer fluid enters the core
stream of the engine for all investigated boundary layer
heights. It follows from this that the total pressure at the
inlet to the core section is expected to remain constant for
the calculation of all core section performance parameters,
while the reduced total pressure due to the BLI influence is
used to determine the performance parameters for the
bypass section.
As a result, the average total inlet pressure of the bypass
is slightly overestimated, since the mass fraction of the
core stream is also taken into account within the
calculation process. Consequently the BLI effect in terms
of inlet momentum decrease is slightly reduced. Due to
the extremely high bypass ratio of the engine, however,
this is considered negligible for the present study.
After the desired fan performance parameters have been
determined from the 3D-CFD simulation, predictions for
the total pressure ratio and isentropic efficiency of both
fidelity stages are available and will most likely differ from
each other. In order to bring the fidelity levels into
coverage, the next step of the process chain is to scale
the fan characteristics used within the thermodynamic
model, so that they better represent the operating
behavior of the 3D-CFD fan model for the next iteration.
Also, the inlet pressure of the bypass section used in the
overall system simulation must be adapted according to
the results generated by the 3D-CFD fan simulation under
BLI influence.
In order to take into account the decreased total pressure
predicted by the 3D-CFD fan simulation, the equation
system of the overall system simulation was appropriately
adapted. In each performance simulation run, the Mach
number for the bypass section inlet is iteratively varied in
order to match the total pressure value predicted by the
3D-CFD simulation. Simultaneously, the static
temperature has to be increased to keep the total
temperature constant at the value of the far field.
Therefore, the deviation from the ISA standard
temperature is iteratively varied.
The described process needs now to be repeated
iteratively until the deviations between high-fidelity 3D-
CFD fan and low-fidelity performance simulation have
been reduced to a satisfactory level. A detailed overview
on the map scaling process including different approaches
for the calculation of appropriate map scalers is given by
Klein et al. [21, 22].
Once the two fidelity levels have converged, the results for
the operating point and models under consideration can
be reproduced quickly and easily by reapplying the map
scaler within the overall system simulation. A re-execution
of the process chain is not necessary. In addition, the
scaling values can be used as starting values for
comparable operating points to reduce the number of
required iterations.
The whole process chain described above is fully
automated and directly built into the GTlab framework. It
can be easily controlled via a graphical user interface. The
cross-tool communication needed within the iterative
process is managed directly by GTlab using standardized
data exchange interfaces and a central data model. Also (11) = ̇ + ̇
the convergence monitoring of both, high- and low-fidelity
simulation as well as of the entire process is managed by FIG. 9 shows the change of the combined inlet momentum
the GTlab internal process management. A detailed of core and bypass flow , which also decreases
presentation of the architecture and capabilities of the inversely proportional to the area wetted by the boundary
GTlab framework will shortly be presented in [23]. layer fluid by up to 1.74% as the relative boundary layer
The results on the influence of BLI on the performance of height increases. It becomes apparent that the presented
the overall system achieved with the described process procedure offers valuable advantages, since not only a
chain using the models used in Chapters 3.1 and 3.2 are consideration of the reduced entry velocity but at the same
presented in the following section. time the change of the entry mass flow caused by a shift
of the engine operating point can be taken into account in
the evaluation of the reduced inlet momentum due to BLI.
5. RESULTS In order to present the following results independently of
the type of boundary layer modelling applied for this study,
For the present study the influence of boundary layer
all upcoming result parameters are presented as a
investigation was assessed for cruise operating conditions
function of the reduced inlet momentum.
(TAB. 2), comprising coupled simulations for boundary
layer heights of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5%, 25%,
37.5% and 50% of the fan radius. For all coupled
simulations, a constant engine thrust was defined as the
global engine power parameter within the overall system
simulation, independent of the boundary layer profile
considered in the different cases. This means that the
operation of the engine is always based on a constant
transport task independent of the boundary layer profile
considered in the different cases. In the following, all result
variables are presented as relative deviations with regard
to a BLI free inflow of the engine.
FIG. 8 shows the progression of the total inlet pressure for
the fan bypass and core section. According to the
assumption of an undisturbed inflow into the core section,
the averaged total pressure in this area remains constant
regardless of the boundary layer height considered. The
development of the mean total pressure for the bypass FIG. 9: Engine inlet momentum for cruise conditions
section is correspondingly different. As the boundary layer depending on the relative boundary layer height
height increases, the mean total pressure in the bypass
FIG. 10 shows the impact of the ingested boundary layer
section of the engine inlet decreases by up to 0.83% as
fluid on characteristic performance parameters of the fan
predicted by the 3D-CFD simulation. It can be shown that,
component as predicted by the 3D-CFD model. The graph
for the considered value range, the part of the inlet surface
shows the total pressure ratios as well as the associated
wetted by boundary layer fluid increases in a sinusoidal
isentropic efficiencies achieved in the core- and bypass
way as a function of the relative boundary layer height.
section.
Correspondingly, this increase is reflected inverse-
proportionally in the decrease of the averaged total
pressure at bypass area inlet.

FIG. 10: Characteristic fan performance parameters

FIG. 8: Total pressure at the inlet of core and bypass flow
depending on the relative boundary layer height
For the influence of BLI, however, it is even more decisive
to consider the development of the inlet momentum, which
naturally results indirectly from the given total pressure
distribution and is defined as the product of velocity and
mass flow at the engine inlet (EQ. 11).
depending on the relative inlet momentum deficit
It can be clearly seen that the ingested boundary layer
fluid essentially affects the isentropic efficiency of the fan
for both, core and bypass section which can be traced
back to the boundary layer-related total pressure gradient
at the engine inlet, running from the blade tip in direction
of the fan’s axis of rotation (compare FIG. 7).
As shown by Mennicken et al. [9] the ingested boundary
layer fluid causes a change of the static pressure and
velocity distribution in the rotor inlet section. Since the
distortion is mainly located in the blade tip area, this
inevitably leads to an aerodynamically disadvantageous
rotor inflow due to incidence in the fan bypass section and
a corresponding efficiency decrease by up to 0.77%.
However, the primarily radial static pressure gradient
within the flow field leads to a redistribution of the fluid
within the entire radial span of the annulus. This in turn
has the consequence that also the flow field in the core
section experiences a distortion which leads to a
decreasing efficiency by up to 1.01%.
The total pressure ratio in the fan bypass section remains
approximately constant which goes along with the demand
for a constant engine thrust for all considered boundary
layer heights. According to the decreasing fan core
efficiency, the total pressure ratio in this section also
slightly decreases by up to 0.13%.
As shown in FIG. 11, despite the significant loss of
efficiency in the fan, there is only a slight change in TSFC
as a function of the decreasing inlet momentum, which
merely increases by up to 0.08%. That means in turn that
the energy required by the engine to satisfy the given
thrust requirement remains approximately constant which
corresponds to the expectation described above regarding
a more efficient thrust generation with a decreasing engine
inlet momentum.
FIG. 11: Engine TSFC depending on the relative inlet
momentum deficit
FIG. 12: Engine drag, net thrust and gross thrust
depending on the relative inlet momentum deficit
The reason for this can be found in a consideration of the
different thrust components that, in addition, make up the
ultimately constant net thrust of the engine. FIG. 12 shows
the progression of the drag force which can be equated
with the inlet momentum as well as the gross thrust
required to overcome the drag and achieve a constant net
thrust requirement for all considered boundary layer
heights. It becomes clear that the gross thrust to be
generated by the engine to meet the desired net thrust
decreases linearly with the engine drag respectively the
engine inlet momentum by up to 1.31%. It can therefore
be stated, that the engine operates less efficient due to the
reduction in isentropic fan efficiency, however, the
required load also decreases with an increasing quantity
of boundary layer fluid ingested, which ultimately results in
an almost constant fuel consumption under BLI influence
for a constant net thrust requirement.
The same can be observed when considering different
efficiencies. FIG. 13 shows the propulsive efficiency
, thermal efficiency and overall engine
efficiency depending on the relative inlet momentum
deficit. The corresponding efficiency definitions are given
in EQ. 12-14.
FIG. 13: Propulsive, thermal and overall efficiency
depending on the relative inlet momentum deficit
2
(12) = =
̇ , + ̇ , − ̇ − ̇
(13) = =
̇ ̇
=
(14)
It should be noted at this point that the ideal nozzle
speeds are used to calculate the jet power . The ideal
nozzle speed is defined as the one that would result from
an expansion of the working fluid to ambient static
pressure. Depending on the actual geometric design of the
nozzle, this is not always guaranteed. However, this
approach allows a view of the potential capability of the
engine cycle, decoupled from geometric influences.
As to be expected, the propulsive efficiency increases with
an increasing amount of boundary layer fluid ingested into
the engine by up to 0.55%. The reason for this is the
reduction of the jet power to be generated by the engine in
order to achieve the defined net thrust requirement while
the engine inlet momentum decreases.
The thermal efficiency allows to assess the quality of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
conversion process from fuel energy to jet power
generated by the engine. As shown in FIG.12 it slightly The present study was realized within the scope of the
decreases by up to 0.34%. Here, too, the main influencing HYPER-F project, which received funding from the Clean
factor is the decreasing jet power, which is generated Sky 2 joint Undertaking under the European Union’s
using an approximately constant quantity of fuel, Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under
independent of the amount of ingested boundary layer grant agreement number CS2-GAM-2016-2017-LPA.
fluid. This means that the fuel energy is used less
efficiently in the engine, which in turn can be mainly
related to the performance deterioration of the fan.
Finally, a combined consideration of thermal and
propulsive efficiency results in the overall efficiency which
slightly decreases by up to 0.034%.

6. CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK

The objective of the present study was a first estimation of NOMENCLATURE
the expected benefit of BLI on the propulsion system of Abbreviations
the D165-2035-TB aircraft configuration, without having to
put up with any coarse simplifications. With the coupled
Ambient
simulation of 3D-CFD fan model and thermodynamic
overall system model, the effect of BLI could be captured
at a high level of detail and successfully included in the Boundary Layer Ingestion
analysis on an overall engine level.
In general, it can be seen that the negative effect of a Bypass Ratio
decreasing aerodynamic fan efficiency and the positive
effect of a decreasing inlet momentum due to BLI are well Computational Fluid Dynamics
outweighing each other for the assessed configuration.
The present study does not show any benefit on the part Combustor
of the propulsion system coming with BLI nor a
deterioration in fuel efficiency. Cruise
Of course, the models for engine and fan were not
originally designed for BLI applications. In further
German Aerospace Center
investigations it must therefore be examined to what
extent the aerodynamic efficiency loss on the part of the
fan and the associated effects on the overall system can End of Field
be reduced with a targeted design. In this context
however, attention must also be paid to a structurally valid Gearbox
design, which becomes much more challenging compared
to a conventional engine, due to the inhomogeneous Gas Turbine Laboratory
inflow and tends to have a negative effect on the
aerodynamic fan performance. Regarding the engine High-Pressure Compressor
model, also a redesign must be considered, in order to
take into account the changed operating behavior of the High-Pressure Shaft
fan component and integrate it optimally into the overall
engine system.
The authors are aware, that the present study is still High-pressure Turbine
fraught with uncertainties, which should be further reduced
in upcoming studies focusing a close cooperation across Low-Pressure Compressor
all relevant design disciplines. In general, however, the
currently available results already suggest that BLI will not Low-Pressure Shaft
lead to any significant increase in efficiency on the
propulsion system level. This applies at least to the aircraft Low-Pressure Turbine
configuration considered in the present study. It can
therefore be stated that the benefit to justify BLI as a Maximum Take-Off
promising future technology must be found at the overall
aircraft level as a result of an increasing integration of the
Original Equipment Manufacturer
propulsion system into the aircraft. However, according to
the results presented by Silberhorn et al. [6], even at
overall aircraft level, only a benefit in the low single-digit Outlet Guide Vane
range can be expected for the D-165-2035-TB aircraft
configuration. Operating Point

Overall Pressure Ratio

Top of Climb
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