Assessment of a body force modeling approach to examine the aerodynamics of high bypass ratio fan stages

The primary focus of modern civil jet engine intake design is to enhance propulsive efficiency through an increase in the bypass ratio of the turbofan engine, which requires an enlargement in fan diameter. However, this enlargement results in increased weight and drag due to the need for a larger nacelle to surround the fan. To mitigate these issues, efforts are being made to shorten the axial length of the aircraft engine intakes. Nonetheless, this reduction leads to more vulnerable fan aerodynamics since the diffusion within the intake must occur over a shorter distance, causing a higher possibility of flow separation. Common intake design methods employ throughflow nacelle models that do not consider the aerodynamic effects of the fan, including blockage, mass flow redistribution, and suction. The utilization of a full annulus domain numerical setup, which is necessary to capture inlet distortions, demands excessive computational resources particularly during the design phase. As a result, reduced order models, such as the body force model, can be utilized to simulate fan intake aerodynamics. This paper will assess the body force model and its abilities by comparing conventional bladed single passage simulations with the body force approach.