Investigation of a Novel Turboprop-Driven Aircraft Concept Including Future Technologies

Abstract

This paper presents a novel concept for a highly efficient and ecological propeller-driven aircraft. The aircraft has a high wing, T-tail, and two turboprop engines with large propeller diameters decreasing disc loading and therefore increasing propeller efficiency. The aircraft also features a strut-braced wing with natural laminar flow. It is shown that direct operating costs can potentially be reduced by about 17 % while reducing trip fuel mass and therefore CO₂ emissions by about 36 % compared to the reference aircraft Airbus A320.

Appendix

Notation

A :

Aspect ratio

A _W,eff :

Effective aspect ratio of the wing

b _W,geo :

Geometrical span

c _fuel :

Fuel cost

C _L :

Lift coefficient

d _prop :

Propeller diameter

DOC:

Direct Operating Costs

E _max :

Maximum glide ratio

EIS:

Entry into service

G :

Standard gravity

h _CA :

Cruise altitude

h _ICA :

Initial cruise altitude

k _a :

Constant

m _F :

Fuel mass

M _CR :

Cruise Mach number

M :

Mass

m _F :

Fuel mass

m _F,trip :

Fuel mass for the DOC range

m _MPL :

Maximum payload mass

m _MTO :

Maximum take-off mass

m _OE :

Operating empty mass

m _PAX :

Passenger mass

m _PL,DOC :

Payload mass for the DOC calculation

n _PAX :

(1-cl HD) Number of passengers in a one-class high density layout

P _eq,ssl :

Equivalent take-off power at static sea level

PSFC:

Power-specific fuel consumption

P/W:

Power-to-weight ratio

R _DOC :

Range for the DOC calculation

R _MPL :

Maximum range (with maximum payload

s _TOFL :

Take-off field length

s _LFL :

Landing field length

SP:

Seat pitch

S _W :

Wing area

t _TA :

Turnaround time

t/c:

Thickness ratio

U _a,f :

Utilization

V :

Speed

η _prop :

Propeller efficiency

λ :

Taper ratio

ρ :

Air density

ρ ₀ :

Air density at sea-level of the International Standard Atmosphere

φ ₂₅ :

Sweep angle at 25 % chord