IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v319y2025ics0360544225007133.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigation on cycle modes and energy distribution strategies of a novel combined cycle aviation engine

Author

Listed:
  • Song, Yue
  • Zhou, Yu
  • Li, Xueyu
  • Zhong, Zhiming
  • Yan, Huansong
  • Xu, Zheng
  • Ding, Shuiting

Abstract

The development of high-performance small aviation engines requires higher power-to-weight ratios, improved fuel efficiency, reduced costs, and sustainable emissions—goals unattainable with standalone piston engines or gas turbines. The combined cycle mode, integrating the piston engine's Dual cycle with the gas turbine's Brayton cycle, offers an innovative approach. This study examines a combined cycle aviation engine (CCAE) and evaluates the effects of various air distribution ratios (α) and air-fuel ratios (λbr) on performance. The research findings indicate that an α below 20 % is more advantageous for achieving a high power-to-weight ratio. Additionally, a performance simulation model for the CCAE was developed, and a testing platform was designed to validate the accuracy of the simulation model. The study further investigated the impact of different fuel and air distribution strategies on acceleration performance, high-altitude power recovery, economic performance, and emission characteristics. The results suggest that when α = 10 % and λbr = 15, the time to reach minimum takeoff power decreases by 23.9 %. In addition, HC and PM emissions are significantly reduced, with HC decreasing by over 40 % and PM by more than 30 % compared to the prototype. These findings offer valuable insights for the practical implementation of combined cycle power systems in the aviation sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Song, Yue & Zhou, Yu & Li, Xueyu & Zhong, Zhiming & Yan, Huansong & Xu, Zheng & Ding, Shuiting, 2025. "Investigation on cycle modes and energy distribution strategies of a novel combined cycle aviation engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:319:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225007133
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135071
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225007133
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.135071?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cai, Changpeng & Chen, Haoying & Fang, Juan & Zheng, Qiangang & Chen, Cheng & Zhang, Haibo, 2023. "Thermodynamic analysis of a novel precooled supersonic turbine engine based on aircraft/engine integrated optimal design," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    2. Kroyan, Yuri & Wojcieszyk, Michał & Kaario, Ossi & Larmi, Martti, 2022. "Modeling the impact of sustainable aviation fuel properties on end-use performance and emissions in aircraft jet engines," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    3. Wang, Haoran & Zhao, Shengfeng & Luo, Qiaodan & Lu, Xingen & Junqiang, Zhu, 2024. "Quasi-steady state mechanism study of a three bypass variable cycle engine fan based on variable outlet guide vane and variable area bypass injector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    4. Wang, Xinran & Li, Tie & Chen, Run & Li, Shiyan & Kuang, Min & Lv, Yibin & Wang, Yu & Rao, Honghua & Liu, Yanzhao & Lv, Xiaodong, 2024. "Exploring the GHG reduction potential of pilot diesel-ignited ammonia engines - Effects of diesel injection timing and ammonia energetic ratio," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 357(C).
    5. Galindo, José & Serrano, José Ramón & De la Morena, Joaquín & Gómez-Vilanova, Alejandro, 2022. "Physical-based variable geometry turbines predictive control to enhance new hybrid powertrains’ transient response," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    6. Chen, Haoying & Wang, Yifan & Chen, Sijing & Cai, Changpeng & Zhang, Haibo, 2024. "Performance analysis of the adaptive cycle engine with cooling air: From propulsion performance, thermodynamic efficiency, exergy and infrared characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    7. Xu, Zheng & Ji, Fenzhu & Ding, Shuiting & Zhao, Yunhai & Zhang, Xiangbo & Zhou, Yu & Zhang, Qi & Du, Farong, 2020. "High-altitude performance and improvement methods of poppet valves 2-stroke aircraft diesel engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    8. Chintagunti, Sam Joe & Agarwal, Avinash Kumar, 2024. "Effect of ambient pressure on macroscopic and microscopic spray characteristics of gasoline-diesel blends for gasoline compression ignition engine applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 376(PB).
    9. Song, Yue & Zhou, Yu & Zhao, Shuai & Du, Fa-rong & Li, Xue-yu & Zhu, Kun & Yan, Huan-song & Xu, Zheng & Ding, Shui-ting, 2024. "Cyclic coupling and working characteristics analysis of a novel combined cycle engine concept for aviation applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    10. Chen, Zaiwang & Cai, Yikang & Xu, Guangfu & Duan, Huiquan & Jia, Ming, 2022. "Exploring the potential of water injection (WI) in a high-load diesel engine under different fuel injection strategies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    11. Zhao, Zhenfeng & Cui, Huasheng, 2022. "Numerical investigation on combustion processes of an aircraft piston engine fueled with aviation kerosene and gasoline," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    12. Gunerhan, Ali & Altuntas, Onder & Caliskan, Hakan, 2024. "Analyzing the influence of feedstock selection in pyrolysis on aviation gas turbine engines: A study on performance, combustion efficiency, and emission profiles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    13. Ye, Lan & Zhou, Rongyin & Chen, Weihao & Gong, Shiqi & Zhou, Xinyi & Li, Jing, 2024. "Effect of in-cylinder flow on the combustion and flame propagation characteristics of an ammonia/diesel dual-fuel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    14. Li, Yuhui & Huang, Yinmin & Chen, Hanyu & Wei, Feng & Zhang, Zunhua & Zhou, Mengni, 2024. "Combustion and emission of diesel/PODE/gasoline blended fuel in a diesel engine that meet the China VI emission standards," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Kai & Yu, Xuanfei & Zhang, Duo & Guo, Jian & Qin, Fei, 2025. "Evaluation of multi-mode shared combustor with different flame holder designs for an innovative turbo-ramjet combined cycle engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    2. Xu, Yuchen & Sun, Min & Chen, Guisheng & Xiao, Renxin & Gong, Hang & Yang, Jie & Yang, Sen, 2025. "Multi-objective optimization of variable altitude high-dimensional compression-ignition aviation piston engine based on Kriging model and NSGA-III," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    3. Wang, Bin & Xie, Fangxi & Li, Xiaoping & Jiang, Beiping & Su, Yan & Wang, Zhongshu & Liu, Yuhao & Liang, Zhendong, 2025. "Optical and simulation investigation of effect of jet-wall interaction on combustion performance of methanol pre-chamber turbulent jet ignition system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 385(C).
    4. Li, Shiyan & Wang, Ning & Li, Tie & Chen, Run & Yi, Ping & Huang, Shuai & Zhou, Xinyi, 2024. "Experimental investigation on liquid length of direct-injection ammonia spray under engine-like conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    5. Lingfeng, Zhong & Siyu, Liu & Rui, Liu & Yufeng, Chen & Jing, Li & Xiaodong, Miao, 2025. "Mixture formation characteristics and comprehensive evaluation of a biodiesel-fueled spark ignition aviation piston engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    6. Ullah, Zia & Alam, Md. Mahbub & El-Zahar, Essam R. & Shahab, Sana & Abu-Zinadah, Hanaa & Seddek, Laila F. & Ebaid, Abdelhalim, 2025. "Wave oscillation in periodic-boundary layers and turbulent heat flow using Powell-Eyring nanofluid, nonlinear radiation and entropy generation via finite-difference method," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    7. Kirmizi, Mehmet & Aygun, Hakan & Turan, Onder, 2023. "Performance and energy analysis of turboprop engine for air freighter aircraft with the aid of multiple regression," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    8. Zhao, Deyang & An, Yanzhao & Pei, Yiqiang & Hu, Junnan & Wang, Changhui & Sun, Yuxing & Xu, Linxun & Zhang, Zhiyong & Sun, Jian, 2024. "Numerical study on the inner spray and combustion of active pre-chamber jet ignition for achieving higher performance of a hybrid engine under ultra-lean conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    9. Fu, Wei & Razak, N.A. & Wang, Haixin & Sun, Xiaohui & Song, Zongxian, 2025. "Improvement of the fuel mixing of ramp injector system via 4-lobe nozzle at scramjet engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    10. Chen, Guisheng & Sun, Min & Li, Junda & Wang, Jiguang & Shen, Yinggang & Liang, Daping & Xiao, Renxin, 2024. "Study on high-altitude ceiling strategy of compression ignition aviation piston engines based on BP-NSGA II algorithm optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    11. Guo, Xinpeng & Li, Tie & Chen, Run & Huang, Shuai & Zhou, Xinyi & Wang, Ning & Li, Shiyan, 2024. "Effects of the nozzle design parameters on turbulent jet development of active pre-chamber," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    12. Dániel Szőllősi & Péter Kiss, 2024. "Effects of Water Injection in Diesel Engine Emission Treatment System—A Review in the Light of EURO 7," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-29, October.
    13. Liu, Shang & Lin, Zhelong & Qi, Yunliang & Wang, Zhi & Yang, Dongsheng & Lu, Guoxiang & Wang, Bo, 2024. "Combustion and emission characteristics of a spark ignition engine fueled with ammonia/gasoline and pure ammonia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 369(C).
    14. Ershov, Mikhail A. & Savelenko, Vsevolod D. & Burov, Nikita O. & Makhova, Uliana A. & Mukhina, Daria Y. & Aleksanyan, David R. & Kapustin, Vladimir M. & Lobashova, Marina M. & Sereda, Alexander V. & A, 2023. "An incorporating innovation and new interactive technology into obtaining sustainable aviation fuels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    15. Zhang, Xiaolei & Tian, Jiangping & Cui, Zechuan & Yin, Shuo & Ye, Mingyuan & Yang, Hongen & Zhou, Qingxing & Shi, Song & Wei, Kaile, 2024. "Visualization study on the flame propagation and distribution characteristics and exploration of optimal injection strategy in ammonia/diesel dual direct injection mode," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    16. Chen, Yanhui & Zhang, Jian & Zhang, Zhiqing & Zhang, Bin & Hu, Jingyi & Zhong, Weihuang & Ye, Yanshuai, 2024. "Effect of ammonia energy ratio and load on combustion and emissions of an ammonia/diesel dual-fuel engine," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    17. Zhang, Hao & Lei, Nuo & Wang, Zhi, 2024. "Ammonia-hydrogen propulsion system for carbon-free heavy-duty vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 369(C).
    18. Serrano, José Ramón & Martín, Jaime & Piqueras, Pedro & Tabet, Roberto & Gómez, Javier, 2023. "Effect of natural and forced charge air humidity on the performance and emissions of a compression-ignition engine operating at high warm altitude," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    19. Kim, Keunsoo & Lee, Wooyoung & Wiersema, Paxton & Mayhew, Eric & Temme, Jacob & Kweon, Chol-Bum M. & Lee, Tonghun, 2023. "Effects of the cetane number on chemical ignition delay," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    20. Lv, Chengkun & Huang, Qian & Wang, Ziao & Chang, Juntao & Yu, Daren, 2024. "Mode transition control law analysis of ammonia MIPCC aeroengine considering inlet–compressor safety matching," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:319:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225007133. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.