2015 5th Nirma University International Conference on Engineering (NUiCONE)

SIMULATION OF TYPICAL CIVIL AIRCRAFT

FUEL TRANSFER PROCESS
Jaidev Vyas J, Balamurugan G Rakesh M
Structural Technologies Division Department of Mechanical Engineering
CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories M S Ramaiah Institute Of Technology
Bangalore, India Bangalore, India
e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract— While aircraft fuel systems are not regarded as one of for specified flight duration and the output from the model is
the complex features of an aircraft, they are essential systems of verified with the engine requirements.
all aircraft. Their role and functional characteristics play a
critical aspect in the design, certification, operation of both
military and commercial planes. Engine fuel consumption varies
according to the aircraft mission.
In this paper, a typical aircraft fuel system configuration is
discussed and fuel transfer analysis i.e. simulation of aircraft fuel
system performed on MSC EASY5 platform is presented. The
results are verified by comparing with the engine requirements
Keywords— aircraft fuel system, fuel transfer, simulation,
Easy5.

I. INTRODUCTION
Fuel System is an essential element in the aircraft design
required to ensure a safe flight. Functional characteristics play
a critical role in the design, certification and operational
aspects of a commercial aircraft. In a typical commercial/civil
aircraft, large quantities of fuel are stored onboard in order to
meet its operating range requirements. With increased demand Fig-1: Typical civil aircraft fuel tank configuration
in air travel, especially for Regional Transport Aircraft, the
turnaround time is a critical operational factor. B. Significance of Fuel transfer Process Simulation
A. Fuel system in civil aircraft Aircraft fuel system preliminary design process includes
A Typical aircraft fuel system as shown in Fig. 1 architecture evaluation and sizing of the individual
comprises left and right wing tanks and a center tank. components [1]. System components like pumps, valves,
However, it is also possible for aircraft to have an aft or trim piping layouts etc. need to be sized appropriately to match the
tank. The major system functions areǣ engine transient mass flow and pressure requirements. Since
this is an iterative process, the same can be accomplished
through a system simulation model.
• ‰‹‡ƒ†ˆ‡‡†
C.G (Center of Gravity) shift plays a vital role in aircraft’s
• —‡Ž–”ƒ•ˆ‡”
stability [2]. Almost 60% of aircraft’s take-off weight is
• ‡ˆ—‡ŽȀ†‡ˆ—‡Ž constituted by fuel onboard. Hence, C.G varies when fuel is
• —‡ŽŒ‡––‹•‘ consumed. The amount of variation can be predicted by the
 outcome of fuel transfer analysis, as it shows the mass flow
The fuel system architecture varies according to the flight rate of fuel consumed.
time and mission length. Hence, fuel transfer analysis plays a Apart from C.G variation study, aircraft fuel is used as a
vital role in aircraft fuel system design. Preparation of a heat sink to absorb the heat rejected by hydraulic actuation
generic simulation model of fuel system can help in the fuel system. The fuel quantity at any given point plays a major role
transfer analysis of various aircrafts. in thermal design and performance of hydraulic actuation
In this analysis, the fuel system components have been system [3].
modeled in MSC-Easy5 software. Each component is fed with According to FAA’s (Federal Aviation Administration)
required inputs for transient mission analysis. Fuel sequencing computer model-FTFAM (Fuel Tank Flammability
is also considered i.e. emptying center tank prior to wing tanks Assessment Method), determination of mass flow rate of fuel
for stability and safety purposes. The simulation model is run is one of the factors to know the flammability exposure of the

978-1-4799-9991-0/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE

aircraft [5]. Based on the flammability exposure, inerting • Refuel/defuel system
system is designed for the aircraft. Hence, it is possible to size The purpose of this system is to provide a safe and quick
a compatible inerting system from the output of the fuel aircraft turn–around time. Refueling is to supply fuel to fuel
transfer analysis. tank, defueling is to remove fuel from aircraft for safety
reasons or for the maintenance purpose.
II. FUEL SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Fig-3: Simple three tank vent system schematic [1]

• Fuel transfer system

Fig-2: Fuel system components Two AC powered fuel pumps known as boost/feed pumps are
Legends:
ST : Surge Tank installed in each fuel tank. When the center tank and wing
STCV : Surge Tank Check Valve tank pumps are operating, the center tank pumps override the
BCV : Baffle Check Valve left and right wing tank pumps and ensure emptying of center
SP : Scavenge Pump tank fuel before wing tank fuel starts transferring fuel to the
ACP : AC Pump
DCP : DC Pump engine. Center tank fuel pumps shutoff automatically once the
SSV : Scavenge Shut-Off Valve fuel level reaches the pre-set value.
BPV : By Pass Valve
FDV : Fuel Drain Valve
SOV : Shut-Off Valve
CFV : Cross Feed Valve
EICAS: Engine- Indicating and Crew- Alerting System

The main components of aircraft fuel system are:-

• Storage system
• Vent system
• Refuel/defuel
• Engine and APU Feed
• Fuel transfer system

The functionality of every component shown in Fig. 2 is

discussed below.
Fig-4: Working of Scavenge/Ejector pump
• Storage system
As briefed earlier, fuel is carried in three tanks, one in each Fig. 4 shows the working of Scavenge/Ejector pump. Ejectors
wing (wing tank) and a center tank formed as an integral part are used to scavenge the fuel from corners of the tank and
of the fuselage structure. Fuel storage should meet the aircraft supply to boost pumps. The motive flow for ejectors is derived
mission requirements like range, speed and payload targets. from boost pump output.
Total fuel capacity: 3284 +1932 + 3284 = 8500 kg
• Engine and APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) Feed
• Vent system Fuel system ensures the supply of clean fuel to the engines and
Vent system connects the ullage above the fuel in each tank to APU from fuel tanks at a specified flow and pressure
the outside air. A typical aircraft vent system is shown in Fig. condition required for proper function of engine/s throughout
3. Vent system allows the tanks to ‘Breathe’ as the aircraft the operational envelope of the aircraft. The feed system
climbs and descends. Without this provision, large pressure ensures fuel supply to the APU through a DC motor driven
differences would develop between the ullage and outside air fuel pump when APU is started using battery power. The
resulting in very large forces on the tank structure primary function of APU is to provide electrical power to the
aircraft when the aircraft is on the ground. APU is also a
source of compressed air used for cabinn air-conditioning
during ground.
III. FUEL TRANSFER ANALYSIIS
Fuel transfer analysis deals with simulattion of fuel supply
from fuel tank till aircraft engine to check whhether the selected
fuel tank components satisfy the engine requuirements. Engine
requirements change for every different mission
m profile and
hence a generic fuel system simulation moddel can be helpful
in the analysis. The Fuel system is modeleed on MSC-Easy5
software platform and model predictions are verified.

EASY5 is an engineering software program m used to model, Fig-6: Altitude (ft)/ fuell required (kg/s) vs. time (sec)
design, and simulate dynamic systems characterized by
differential, differential algebraic and alggebraic equations. B. Fuel sequencing
These types of systems cover a broad range of engineering Fuel sequencing is requirred as the center tank fuel is
systems including mechanical, electrrical, hydraulic, emptied first, till the volume reeaches 10% of its initial volume.
pneumatic, thermal, gas dynamics, pow wer-train, vehicle Then the fuel from both the t wing tanks is consumed
dynamics, digital/analog control systems andd much more. simultaneously. This function makes sure that the wing tank
pumps are not supplying fuell when center tank pumps are
Models are assembled from simple modeling blocks, such running.
as summers, dividers, lead-lag filters, integrators, and C. Easy5 model
advanced application-specific components such as valves,
actuators, fuel cells, gears, and more,, provided from
specialized libraries. These libraries include thermal hydraulic,
power-train, gas dynamic, aerospace, multiphasem fluid,
pneumatic, electric systems, engine, fuel cellls and others.

Fig-7: Easy5 siimulation model

The conceptual model of the fuel system is modeled in

Fig-5: Easy5 process overview [4] Easy5 software by using hyddraulic library components as
A top-level view of the EASY5 six-step prrocess is shown in shown in Fig. 7. The model connsists of;-
Figure-5.
i. one center and two wiing tanks
A. Engine requirements ii. Six Pumps, two in eacch tank
iii. Six check valves
The aircraft engine consumes the differeent amount of fuel iv. Pipes connecting all coomponents
at different phases of its mission. Fig. 6 shhows fuel required v. Two sink element reprresenting engines
for each engine at different ratings in kgg/sec. At take-off,
0.647 kg/sec fuel is consumed which comes down to 0.252
Three reservoirs represent twoo wing tanks and a center tank.
kg/sec at cruise level. Finally, fuel supply iss slowly cut down
Both the wing tank capacitiess are same and the center tank
during the landing of the aircraft. capacity is lesser than wing taanks. Since the tanks are vented
to atmosphere, tank pressure varies
v with the aircraft altitude.
In the simulation model, the pressure Vs time data table is
keyed to each reservoir and datta is shown in Table-1.
 
Table -1: Input to reservoirs- pressure (bar) vs. time (sec)
Pump sub-model calculates the output mass flow rate from the
specified pump characteristic curve based on the pressure
Time (sec) Ptank (bar)
difference across the pump and shaft speed.
0 1.1
D. Model simulation
264.6 0.9854 The simulation is run for 10000 seconds with 200 seconds as
time increment, taking model convergence into account. The
501.9 0.5048 software shows model results after 10000 seconds and also the
simulation can be monitored before the completion of full-
992.7 0.2305 time to check the status of all the components.
E. Model outputs
4800 0.2207
• Shaft speed(rpm) vs. time(sec)
9738.06 0.8512 Fig. 8 shows shaft speed of left tank pump1, center tank pump1
and right tank pump1 with respect to time. The center tank
 pumps are running at 8000 rpm till its fuel volume reaches
Pipes are used to connect all components, pressure loss 10% of initial volume i.e. till 2800 sec. After this, the center
occurring due to pipe friction is accounted. The check valves tank pumps are seized and the wing tanks are initiated
connected to pumps assist in avoiding the reverse flow of fuel automatically, following the fuel sequencing logic incorporated
to the tanks. As mentioned, each tank is equipped with two in the model.
boost pumps to supply fuel to the engine. Center tank pump

shaft_sp_LTpump1
characteristic data is given in Table 2. Each Wing tank pump 8000
6000
is exactly half the capacity of center tank pump. 4000
2000 Left tank pump 1 speed
Table -2: Pump characteristic data 0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
 TIME
shaft_sp_CTpump1

Pressure Discharge 8000

7750
7500
Center tank pump 1 speed
difference (bar) (kg/sec) 7250
7000
6750
6500
3 0 0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME
shaft_sp_RTpump1

2.7 0.5 8000

6000

2.4 1 4000
2000 Right tank pump 1 speed
0
2 1.5 0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME

1.6 2
Fig-8: Easy5 output- shaft speed (rpm) vs. time (sec)
Two sink elements representing LH and RH engines are
modeled in the simulation. The pressure input Boundary • Volume Of Reservoirs (Cm3) Vs. Time(Sec)
condition of the engine is shown in Table-3. This tabular data
is keyed to the sink elements. Since the fuel sequencing logic is functional, the fuel is
Table-3: pengine (bar) vs. time (sec) consumed from center tank till 2800 seconds and then the fuel
from wing tank fuel is consumed as shown in Fig. 9. The
‹‡ȋ•‡ Ȍ ‡‰‹‡ȋ„ƒ”Ȍ display also shows CPU time Vs the simulation time.

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 Center_tank_vol
2400000
Fig. 11 shows the comparison between required and predicted
2000000
1600000
mass flow rate.
1200000
800000 Center tank voolume
400000
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME
Right_tank_vol

4200000
3900000
3600000
3300000
3000000
2700000 Right tank volume
2400000
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME

4200000
Left_tank_vol

3900000
3600000
3300000
3000000
2700000 Left tank volume
2400000
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME

600
500
CPUSEC

400
300
200
100
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME

Model: new_1_243, Runid: simulation, Case: 1, Display: 4. 29--AUG-2015, 17:32:1


3
Fig 9: Easy5 output- volume of fuel in reservoirs (cm
m ) vs. time (sec)

• Mass flow (kg/min) vs. Time (seec)

As shown in Fig. 10, the mass flow ofo fuel required by
the engine is satisfied during take-off and
a at cruise. The
fuel from the center tank is consumed durring take-off at the
rate of 38 kg/min (0.63 kg/sec) whicch is reduced to
15kg/min (0.25 kg/sec) at cruise. Duringg the cruise, when
the center tank is emptied, the wing tank pumps
p supply fuel Fig-11: Comparison of missionn requirement with model output
at 7.5kg/min each.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
massflowout_cv3

40
30 The fuel system architecture is studied thoroughly to
20
10
Center tank puump output develop the simulation model for fuel transfer analysis. The
0 model is successfully simulatedd for the complete mission
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME length. Estimation of simulattion time step is the key for
transient mission analysis whiich is 200 seconds in this case.
massflowout_cv5

8
6 The Simulation model is helppful in sizing the feed pumps,
4
Right tank puump output valves etc. based on enginee requirements. The predicted
2
0 transient mass flow rate matchhes with the engine requirement,
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
TIME which is the key element in airccraft C.G travel prediction.
massflowout_cv1

8
6 REFERENCES
4 Left tank pum
mp-1 output [1] Roy Langton, Chuck Clark, Martin Hewitt and Lonnie Richard,
2
0
“Aircraft Fuel Systems” Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshirre, UK, 2009.
TIME [2] FAA, “Aircraft Weight and Balaance Handbook” published by the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Feederal Aviation Administration, Airmen
massflowout_cv2

8
6 Testing Standards Branch, 2007.
4
Left tank pum
mp-2 output [3] Yue Zhang, Guiping Lin, Yi Tu, T and Xiaodong Mao, “Conceptual
2
Design and Dynamic Simulationn of Thermal Management for Fighter
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 Aircraft Fuel System”, AIAA Modeling
M and Simulation Technologies
TIME Conference 2 - 5 August 2010, Toronto, Ontario Canada.
[4] MSC Software “MSC.EASY5 20005r1 Release notes”, 2005.
Model: new_1_243, Runid: simulation, Case: 1, Display: 6. 29-AUG-2015,
2 17:32:11
[5] Steven M Summer, “Fuel tankk flammability assessment method user
Fig-10: Easy5 output- mass flow (kg/min) vs. time (sec) manual”, Air traffic organizationn nextgen & operation planning office of
research and technology developm ment, Washington DC, May 2008.
The simulation results show that the sellected fuel system
component specifications satisfy the engine requirements and
also the successful functionality of fuel tankk sequencing logic.