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N+3 Aircraft Concept Designs and Trade Studies

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N+3 Aircraft Concept Designs and Trade Studies Volume 1: N+3 Aircraft Concept Designs and Trade Studies FINAL REPORT Cooperative Agreement Number NNX08AW63A Submitted to: Hyun Dae Kim Project Technical Monitor NASA Glenn Research Center Mail Stop 5-11 21000 Brookpark Road Cleveland, OH 44135 Prepared by: The MIT, Aurora Flight Sciences, and Pratt&Whitney Team E. M. Greitzer, Principal Investigator H. N. Slater Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Massachusetts Institute of Technology 31 March 2010 1 Program Abstract MIT, Aerodyne Research, Aurora Flight Sciences, and Pratt & Whitney have collaborated to address NASA’s desire to pursue revolutionary conceptual designs for a subsonic commercial transport that could enter service in the 2035 timeframe. The MIT team brings together multidisciplinary expertise and cutting-edge technologies to determine, in a rigorous and objective manner, the potential for improvements in noise, emissions and performance for subsonic fixed wing transport aircraft. The collaboration incorporates assessment of the trade space in aerodynamics, propulsion, operations, and structures to ensure that the full spectrum of improvements is identified. Although the analysis focuses on these key areas, the team has taken a system-level approach to find the integrated solutions that offer the best balance in performance enhancements. Based on the trade space analyses and system-level assessment, two aircraft have been identified and carried through conceptual design to show both the in- depth engineering that underpins the benefits envisioned and also the technology paths that need to be followed to enable, within the next 25 years, the development of aircraft three generations ahead in capabilities from those flying today. 2 Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Configuration Definition ............................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................................................... 10 2 Scenario ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 11 2.2 Method ....................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Scenario Dimensions .................................................................................................................................. 12 2.4 Requirements ............................................................................................................................................. 30 3 Figures of Merit ........................................................................................................................................... 36 3.1 NASA N+3 Metrics ...................................................................................................................................... 36 3.2 Climate ....................................................................................................................................................... 46 4 Program Approach ...................................................................................................................................... 50 4.1 Overall Process ........................................................................................................................................... 50 4.2 Rationale for Examination of Two Different Aircraft Configurations ......................................................... 51 5 D8 “Double-Bubble” Design Concept ........................................................................................................... 53 5.1 Design Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 53 5.2 Design Concept and Technologies .............................................................................................................. 56 5.3 Configuration Geometry / Dimensions ....................................................................................................... 66 5.4 D8.5 Performance ...................................................................................................................................... 76 5.5 Technology Contributions to NASA N+3 Goals for the D8 Series Aircraft ................................................... 97 5.6 Trades ....................................................................................................................................................... 102 5.7 Design Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 107 6 Hybrid Wing Body (HWB) Design Concept ................................................................................................. 123 6.1 Design Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 123 6.2 Technologies............................................................................................................................................. 126 6.3 Design Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 130 6.4 H3.2 Configuration ................................................................................................................................... 137 6.5 Performance ............................................................................................................................................. 145 6.6 HWB Technology Contributions to NASA PFEI Goal ................................................................................. 151 6.7 PFEI – Noise Tradeoff ............................................................................................................................... 152 6.8 Potential for Further PFEI Improvements on the H3.2 Design .................................................................. 156 6.9 Discussion on Technologies Explored But Not Selected ............................................................................ 157 3 7 Concept Trades – Impact of Payload and Range on D and H Configuration ................................................ 159 7.1 Assessment of H-Series Aircraft Configuration for Varied Mission and Payload ...................................... 159 7.2 Assessment of D Series Aircraft Configuration for B777 Mission and Payload ........................................ 161 7.3 Comparison of Aircraft Configurations at Varied Payload ....................................................................... 163 8 Technology Roadmaps .............................................................................................................................. 165 8.1 Risk Assessment and Technology Maturation Plans ................................................................................ 165 8.2 Technology Roadmaps ............................................................................................................................. 170 Appendices included in separate volume, “Design Methodologies for Aerodynamics, Structures, Weight, and Thermodynamic Cycles.” 4 1 Executive Summary Content and Scope of the Report This final report for the NASA N+3 Phase 1 project “Aircraft and Technology Concepts for an N+3 Subsonic Transport” represents the results of research carried out from 1 September 2008 to 31 March 2010 by a team from MIT, Aerodyne Research, Aurora Flight Sciences, and Pratt&Whitney. This research included development of the conceptual design of two advanced civil aircraft for the 2030- 2035 time period, as well as trade studies relating aircraft performance (fuel burn, field length requirement), noise, and emissions for the defined mission to each of the identified advanced technologies, and specific steps needed to advance these technologies. The principal findings are summarized in this section. Scenario Development as a Driver for Aircraft Selection To define the conditions that aircraft attributes must address in the 2030-2035 timeframe, we have developed a scenario that adopts the economic, environmental, and mobility issues expected to exist at that time. This scenario drove the requirements specifications for the design of two conceptual aircraft that targeted the NASA N+3 goals. The missions of the two were selected from different market segments, but chosen so together they would represent a substantial fraction of the commercial fleet; this in turn implies that adoption of such a design could have major impact on fleet-wide fuel burn, noise, emissions, and airport utilization. One aircraft addresses the role currently filled by the B737/Airbus A320 class, accommodating 180 passengers for 500 nm to transcontinental range trip length. The other is aimed at the market served by a B777, accommodating 350 passengers in a multiclass configuration with cargo and a range of at least 7000 nm. For both, the passenger trip time was
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