Axisymmetric CFD Modeling of Contrails Downstream of a Turbofan Engine

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Saxena, Shreshth
Area of Honors:
Aerospace Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
David K Hall, Thesis Supervisor
Sven Schmitz, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
CFD
Engine Cycle Analysis
Turbofan Engine
2D Axisymmetric
Contrails
Schmidt Appleman Criterion
Abstract:
Aircraft contrails contribute to aviation’s climate impact by modifying atmospheric radiation and cloud formation. Predicting the conditions under which contrails form is therefore important for assessing and potentially mitigating these effects. This thesis investigates contrail formation in the wake of a turbofan engine using a combination of engine cycle analysis, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and the Schmidt-Appleman Criterion. For contrail formation, a thermodynamic cycle analysis of a representative turbofan engine is first performed to determine exhaust properties relevant to contrail formation, including temperature and pressure. A MATLAB code is developed to carry out the engine cycle analysis and to generate exhaust conditions for subsequent modeling. These outputs are then incorporated into a two-dimensional CFD simulation conducted in ANSYS Fluent. The computational grid is generated in Pointwise and imported into Fluent, where the flow field is solved using appropriate turbulence modeling. An approach to predict contrail formation based on the Schmidt-Appleman Criterion is proposed, which may enable identification of contrail regions in the exhaust plume. The proposed approach of coupling engine performance analysis with flow-field simulations provides a foundation for future investigations of contrail mitigation strategies.