Thermal risk prediction methodology for conceptual design of aircraft equipment bays

Early thermal analysis is becoming increasingly important, in particular for more electric, hybrid electric or all electric aircraft in combination with novel vehicle concepts. Traditionally, aircraft thermal analyses are performed later in the design process, when the aircraft system architecture is already defined, which can lead to costly modifications and delays late in the design process. Thus, assessing thermal risk during the conceptual design phase represents a way to anticipate changes in the design process. This research paper presents an innovative approach using dimensionless numbers to predict system thermal risk for the conceptual design of aircraft equipment bays. The article presents two realistic case studies, a business jet aft equipment bay and a rotorcraft nose equipment bay. The validation with computational fluid dynamic simulations demonstrates novel the capabilities of this thermal risk assessment. In summary, the proposed approach will improve the definition of thermal requirements during the aircraft conceptual design phase and will reduce the risk of potential thermal issues later in the design process. (C) 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.