Army Researchers Look to Improve Aircraft Engines and Publish Findings in ASME Applied Mechanics Reviews

Researchers from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) recently reviewed studies aiming to gain insight into how to improve the performance of aircraft engines in extreme conditions. The peer-reviewed research was then published in the ASME Applied Mechanics Reviews as “A Critical Review of Physical Models in High Temperature Multiphase Fluid Dynamics: Turbulent Transport and Particle-Wall Interactions.”
 
Military aircraft must function in extreme environments such as sand, ash, dust, and clouds. The debris that enter the engines in these environments limit the functionality of the gas turbine engines. To better understand how the gas turbine engines will function in extreme conditions, the Army creates a “digital twin” to better predict performance.
 
Army researcher Dr. Luis Bravo commented that the review has led the Army to focus research on critical challenges in propulsion leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). In implementing emerging AI/ML technologies into future research and simulations, the Army will be able to better test new combustion designs and develop predictive models that allow for more accurate visualizations of how the aircraft will function.
 
“There is a need for physics-informed smart design going forward,” commented Dr. Anindya Ghoshal, Army researcher and DEVCOM ARL Turbine Power Research team lead. “Understanding the design space, gas turbine engine component interaction models, compression models and machine learning algorithms will help us to understand how the engine will operate under different regimes.”
 
Ghoshal has been working with advanced thermal barrier coatings and next generation materials to help solve some of the problems traditional gas turbine engines face in conditions with microparticles. He and the team of researchers at ARL continue to explore new methods in turbine power sciences to achieve a more optimal engine for military use.
 
For more information, visit: https://www.army.mil/article/248607/army_researchers_examine_solutions_for_improving_aircraft_engines.