Investigating the green performance limits of a cargo aircraft engine during flight: a thermo-environmental evaluation

Abstract

The environmental impact of flight operations is related to aircraft-engine pairing and various engine efficiency factors. In this paper, the thermo-environmental calculations of a cargo aircraft equipped with a turboprop engine are taken for a given flight path and mission profile. The aircraft’s flight path is outlined with taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing, and missions profile covering a series of velocities and altitudes. Functions (ecological, thermo-environmental, ecologic-based thermo-environmental, and ecologic-environmental) are subject to study as thermo-ecological evaluation criteria. In addition, finite-time exergo-environmental criteria are assessed during the flight path and mission profile. Outcomes show that the exergy efficiency of the cargo aircraft’s engine is found to be in the range of 29–32%, and that it is inversely proportional to power specific fuel consumption. Furthermore, it has been noted that the ecological function is directly proportional to the engine power and the exergy efficiency of the engine. It is recommended that the thermo-ecological criteria should be used for comparison of cargo aircraft equipped with different engines with the same flight route and mission structure or of different cargo aircraft in terms of environmental sensitivity.