{"id":4968,"date":"2023-04-06T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2023-04-06T10:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leichtbau.dlr.de\/?p=4968"},"modified":"2023-04-06T13:10:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T11:10:39","slug":"learning-from-birds-design-more-efficient-aircraft-engines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leichtbau.dlr.de\/en\/learning-from-birds-design-more-efficient-aircraft-engines","title":{"rendered":"Learning from Birds: Design More Efficient Aircraft Engines"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When we look at how birds fly, we can see that they modify the shape of their wings during flight. They do this because they know that to be more performant, faster and, among others, get their food, they need to adapt to different flying conditions, such as those from variable winds. Aircraft engines consist of several blades acting like small wings, each of them helping to rotate each engine stage and propel the aircraft. Unfortunately, the blades of all current aeronautical engines are rigid and offer the same profile all throughout flight. This remains so despite the fact that aircraft, as birds, also encounter a wide variety of environmental conditions during their missions. As a result, during most flight phases engine blades are not operating with an ideal shape and can\u2019t reach their best levels of performance. Since engines are a crucial component regarding aircraft efficiency, engine blades capable of adapting to different flight phases can improve overall engine and aircraft performance, all while reducing fuel consumption, toxic emissions and costs, and while becoming more environmentally friendly.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Engines and Morphing<\/h4>\n

From all the bladed engine stages, the compressor stages are the ones affecting an aircraft\u2019s performance the most. This is because the compressor is in charge of increasing the pressure and temperature of the incoming airstream so that the airflow can reach the ideal conditions for an optimum combustion. Compressor blades are geometrically designed to offer the best performance under the most energy intensive flight phase (usually cruise or top-of-climb). Such flying conditions are called the design point conditions. In order to compensate for the effects of flying under the different atmospheric conditions of other flight phases, e.g. at different altitudes, current engines vary their rotational speed. Even though this allows to diminish losses, performance can still be improved. By taking advantage of active materials, such as piezoelectric ceramics or shape memory alloys, it is possible to design compressor blades that can change their shape during flight and offer an optimum performance also outside the design point, under off-design conditions. The potential of such morphing compressor blades has been investigated during the last years within the frame of the Sustainable and Energy Efficient Aviation (SE2<\/sup>A)<\/a><\/em> excellence cluster, as a cooperation between DLR\u2019s Institute of Lightweight Systems and the TU Braunschweig.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space]