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An estimation method for the fuel burn and other performance characteristics of civil transport aircraft during cruise: part 2, determining the aircraft’s characteristic parameters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

D.I.A. Poll Open the ORCID record for D.I.A. Poll [Opens in a new window]  and
U. Schumann
D.I.A. Poll*
Affiliation:
Emeritus Professor of Aerospace Engineering Cranfield University
U. Schumann
Affiliation:
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre Oberpaffenhofen Germany
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

A simple yet physically comprehensive and accurate method for the estimation of the cruise fuel burn rate of turbofan powered transport aircraft operating in a general atmosphere was developed in part 1. The method is built on previously published work showing that suitable normalisation reduces the governing relations to a set of near-universal curves. However, to apply the method to a specific aircraft, values must be assigned to six independent parameters and the more accurate these values are the more accurate the estimates will be. Unfortunately, some of these parameters rarely appear in the public domain. Consequently, a scheme for their estimation is developed herein using basic aerodynamic theory and data correlations. In addition, the basic method is extended to provide estimates for cruise lift-to-drag ratio, engine thrust and engine overall efficiency. This step requires the introduction of two more independent parameters, increasing the total number from six to eight. An error estimate and sensitivity analysis indicates that, in the aircraft’s normal operating range and using the present results, estimates of fuel burn rate are expected to be in error by no more than 5% in the majority of cases. Initial estimates of the characteristic parameters have been generated for 53 aircraft types and engine combinations and a table is provided.

Keywords

Optimum fuel burnMinimum fuel burnEnvironmental impactCruise emissionsMinimum fuel trajectoryAircraft characteristics
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 125 , Issue 1284 , February 2021 , pp. 296 - 340
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

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