Structural model for jet engine configuration using knowledge-based engineering

Abstract: This project belongs to one of three parts of a bigger project: the aim of
the big one is to develop an automated routine which will do the mechanic
analysis of a piece of an aircraft engine, such as the stress analysis, the
displacement analysis, or the stiffness analysis, all of them by using FEA
systems.

This Master thesis project is a piece of study of a simplified turbofan jet
engine, which will be called during the project “the whole engine model”
(WEM). The project was done in collaboration with Volvo Aero which is a
Swedish company that deals with aerospace business, specialized in structural
jet commercial engines. The purpose of this labor is to try to make Volvo
Aero’s product development activities more effective, by making the right
things, and efficient by automating processes.

In the general project, the aim of the model is to calculate some design
parameters which need to be optimized, as they can be, for instance, the
relation among the tip clearance, the hole radius and the fan radius: in
order to get a maximum power by reducing the tip clearance surface, but with
enough security to assure that there won’t be contact between the fan and the
case. Other parameters such as the optimal length of the bearing will be
discussed and calculated also.

The specific goal within this Master’s thesis project is to develop a model,
with its geometric features added with rules.