Transient Performance Simulation of Aircraft Engine Integrated with Fuel and Control Systems

A new method for the simulation of gas turbine fuel systems based on an inter-component volume method has been developed in this study. It is able to simulate the performance behaviour of each of the hydraulic components including pumps, valves, metering unit, etc. of a fuel system using physics-based models, which potentially offers more accurate results compared with those using transfer functions. A transient performance simulation system has been set up for gas turbine engines based on an inter-component volume (ICV) method. A proportional-integral (PI) control strategy is used for the simulation of engine control systems. An integrated engine and its control and hydraulic fuel systems has been set up to investigate their coupling effect during engine transient processes. The developed simulation method and the system have been applied to a model aero gas turbine engine to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The results show that the delay of the engine transient response due to the inclusion of the fuel system model is noticeable although relatively small. The developed simulation method is generic and can be applied to the performance simulation of any other gas turbines and their control and fuel systems.