Steady-State and Transient Simulation of Turbodrop Engine Using SIMULINK^® Model Available to Purchase

A performance simulation model of the PT6A-62 turboprop engine using the SIMULINK^® was proposed to predict transient and steady state behaviors. This SIMULINK has some advantages such as user-friendly circumstance due to the GUI (Graphic User Interfaces) and ease in modification of the computer program. The SIMULINK model consists of subsystems to represent engine gas path components such as flight initial subsystem, compressor subsystem, burner subsystem, compressor turbine subsystem, power turbine, exhaust nozzle subsystem and integrator subsystem. In addition to these subsystems, there are search subsystems to search an appropriate operating point by scaling from the 2-D components look-up table, error matching subsystem to calculate the gas property precisely. In case of steady state validation, performance parameters analyzed by the proposed SIMULINK model were compared with the analysis results by commercial GASTURB program. In the validation of the transient model, the produced dynamic simulation results were compared with analysis results produced by a well-proved computer program using FORTRAN. In performance analysis of the PT6A-62 turboprop engine by the developed SIMULINK model, the steady state simulation was performed at off design points with altitude variation and part throttle, and the transient simulations with step fuel increases for accelerating the engine were carried out from 64% rpm (idle speed) to 94%rpm. In this investigation, the maximum error in all steady state off-design points in part load cases was within 7.33%. In case of transient analysis with different step fuel increases, the acceleration times using the SIMULINK model were well agreed with experimental values, and also the times calculated by the well proven FORTRAN program.