Energy consumption characteristics of transports using the prop-fan concept. Final report

Technical Report · Fri Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1976

OSTI ID:5286185

The fuel saving and economic potentials of the prop-fan high-speed propeller concept were evaluated for twin-engine commercial transport airplanes designed for 3333.6 km range, 180 passengers, and Mach 0.8 cruise. A fuel saving of 9.7% at the design range was estimated for a prop-fan airplane having wing-mounted engines, while a 5.8% saving was estimated for a design having the engines mounted on the aft body. The fuel savings and cost were found to be sensitive to the propeller noise level and to aerodynamic drag effects due to wing-slipstream interaction. Uncertainties in these effects could change the fuel savings as much as + or - 50%. A modest improvement in direct operating cost (DOC) was estimated for the wing-mounted prop-fan at current fuel prices. This improvement could become substantial in the event of further relative increases in the price of oil. The improvement in DOC requires the achievement of the nominal fuel saving and reductions in propeller and gearbox maintenance costs relative to current experience.

• Research Organization: Boeing Commercial Airplane Co., Seattle, Wash. (USA). Dept. of Preliminary Design
• OSTI ID: 5286185
• Report Number(s): N-77-14029; NASA-CR-137937; D-6-75780
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320201* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Transportation-- Air & Aerospace
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330103 -- Internal Combustion Engines-- Turbine
AERODYNAMICS
AIRCRAFT
COST
DESIGN
DRAG
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
FLUID MECHANICS
FUEL CONSUMPTION
FUELS
JET ENGINE FUELS
MACH NUMBER
MECHANICS
VELOCITY