Characterization of Thermodynamic Irreversibility for Integrated Propulsion and Thermal Management Systems Design

There is a growing need for the integrated investigation of propulsion and thermal management system performance during the design of the gas turbine engine cycle. Previously, studies have focused on the development of transient, thermodynamic models of the energy conservation between the various subsystems to carry out these investigations. The current work builds on these previous studies by directly considering the exergy destruction throughout the integrated system. Physics-based formulations involving the concurrent usage of the first and second laws of thermodynamics are incorporated into an integrated propulsion and thermal management systems model. The inclusion of this information leads to the direct thermodynamic prediction of the system losses. The characterization of the thermodynamic irreversibility distribution helps give the propulsion systems designer an absolute and consistent view of the tradeoffs associated with the design of the entire integrated system.