Mission Optimization of an Intercooled Turbofan Engine

The use of intercooling for a 27300 lbf thrust turbofan engine is considered. Mission optimized fuel burn of the intercooled three-shaft configuration is compared with an optimized conventional two-shaft architecture. Both engines have technology representative for 2013 entry of service. The impact of the mission on the optimal engine design point is considered. The thermodynamic and mechanical design of the intercooler concept is presented. CFD studies of the concpet are described as well as used to validate the system model. The calculation predicts a 4.1% reduction in fuel burn for the intercooled engine. The engine is evaluated for the design mission of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft