SBIR-STTR Award

We propose to design and develop a turbine-driven fan module that will attach to the exhaust duct of an expendable turbojet converting it into an aft-fan turbofan. Depending upon selected bypass ratio, thrust can be increased as much as 70% and TSFC can be reduced more than 50%. The complete fan unit would weigh roughly 4-5 lbs and provide significant increase in range and/or mission duration. Design will be similar to the GE CF-700 and to an aft-fan module that M-DOT designed for the Army for the Allison-Rolls Model 150 turbojet. The Army augmenter design is scalable to roughly 44% of its current size to be under 6 inches diameter. In Phase I, mission requirements and core engine data will be obtained. Trade studies of throttle settings, bypass ratios and fan pressure ratios will be conducted and a design point selected. Flowpath geometry will be created. The existing Army augmentor will be used as a baseline for preliminary hardware design and creation of a cross-sectional layout. Weight and production cost will be estimated. At Phase I conclusion, a preliminary design will exist that can be structurally analyzed in detail, fabricated and tested in Phase II. This program will yield a heavy-fueled propulsion system with a significant improvement in TSFC over existing turbojets. This system will have application on any small powered UAV or munition and could improve performance of MALD, LOCAAS, Bird-Dog and other small UAVs and munitions. The USAF Miniature Munition (MM) Phase III program could utilize up to 12,000 of these powerplants over a period of 9 years.

Based on the positive results obtained from the cycle analysis and preliminary design conducted during Phase I, M-DOT Aerospace proposes to design, analyze, fabricate and test a low-cost high-bypass turbofan engine based on a scaled TPR 80 Gas Generator module. This engine is intended to produce 79 lbf of thrust at a flight Mach number of 0.7 and altitude of 20,000 feet. TSFC at these conditions is predicted to be 0.946 lb/hr/lbf. Successful demonstration of engine performance will provide the Air Force with an engine capable of meeting requirements for a Low-Cost Mini Cruise Missile such as the planned USAF Miniature Munition. This program will yield a heavy-fueled propulsion system for smaller cruise missiles with a significant improvement in TSFC over existing turbojets. This system will have application on any small powered UAV or munition and will form the basis for a commercial turboshaft and turbofan for general aviation. The USAF Miniature Munition (MM) Phase III program could utilize up to 12,000 of these powerplants over a period of 9 years.

Keywords:
Turbofan, Cruise-Missile Engine, Turbine , Low Cost, Expendable