Preliminary Study of the Fuel Saving Potential of Regenerative Turbofans for Commercial Subsonic Transports

The fuel savings potential of regenerative turbofans was calculated and compared with that of a reference turbofan. At the design altitude of 10.67 km and Mach 0.80, the turbine-inlet-temperature of the regenerative turbofan was fixed at 1700 K while the overall pressure ratio was varied from 10 to 20. The fan pressure ratio was fixed at 1.6 and the bypass ratio varied from 8 to 10. The heat exchanger design parameters such as pressure drop and effectiveness varied from 4 to 8 percent and from 0.80 to 0.90, respectively. Results indicate a fuel savings due to regeneration of 4.1 percent and no change in takeoff gross weight.