Performance of Turbofan Engine Nacelle Design for Boeing 777X Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/jaspe.10944.2025Keywords:
Engine Nacelle Design, Boeing 777X, Nacelle Shape, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Chevron, Optimization.Abstract
The efficient design of turbofan engine nacelles is critical for enhancing aircraft performance and supporting sustainable aviation goals. This study investigates the aerodynamic and thermal performance of various nacelle configurations for the Boeing 777X GE9x engine, focusing on innovative cooling strategies and drag reduction. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations, nacelle shapes of varying lengths (10 m and 5.5 m), including long and short nacelles with and without chevrons, as well as an optimized ultra-short nacelle, were analyzed under cruise conditions. Models were developed using MATLAB and SolidWorks, and simulations were performed in ANSYS Fluent. Results indicate that the long nacelle with chevrons provided the best overall thermal and aerodynamic performance among the conventional designs, reducing drag and block fuel consumption by 10.13%. However, the optimized ultra-short nacelle, developed using a hybrid NSGA-Non Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II and fmincon- Find Minimum of Constrained optimization approach using MATLAB, achieved a significantly lower drag coefficient and reduced block fuel consumption by 80.13%. These findings demonstrate the potential of advanced nacelle designs to improve heat dissipation, reduce aerodynamic drag, and lower emissions, aligning with stringent EASA standards and contributing to sustainable aviation advancements.
References
Nikolaidis, G., Kyprianidis, A. R. & Singh, A. (2020). Impact of bypass duct pressure loss on engine performance, Journal of Aerospace Engineering, 34(2), 235–244.
Prosser, I., Sheridan, P., & Williams, J. (2023). Trends in clear-air turbulence related to climate variability. Atmospheric Science Letters, 24(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL103814
Foudad, A., Khalil, A. & T. Bouziani, T. (2024).Clear-air turbulence: New patterns and implications for aviation, Journal of Aviation and Climate Dynamics,12(3), 87–94.
Bridges, J. & Brown, C. (2004). Effect of chevron nozzles on jet noise, NASA TM-2004-213107.
Cican, G., Deaconu, M., & Crunteanu, D.-E. (2021). Impact of using chevrons nozzle on the acoustics and performances of a micro turbojet engine. Applied Sciences, 11(11), 5158. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115158
Tejero, F., Robinson, M., MacManus, D. G., & Sheaf, C. (2019). Multi-objective optimisation of short nacelles for high bypass ratio engines. Aerospace Science and Technology, 91(1), 410–421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2019.02.014
General Electric, "GE9X: World's largest and most efficient jet engine," Tech. Doc., 2023.
Tomita, J. T., Bringhenti, C., Pozzani, D., Barbosa, J. R., de Jesus, A. B., de Almeida, O., & Oliveira, G. L. (2005). Overview on nacelle design. Proceedings of COBEM 2005: 18th International Congress of Mechanical Engineering, Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil, November 6–11, 2005. ABCM. https://doi.org/10.1115/GT2006-91212
Bridges, J. &Envia, E. (2006). Noise measurements of chevron nozzles on a high bypass ratio turbofan engine,” AIAA Journal, 44(12), 2879–2888.
Tam, C. K. W. & Parrish, S. A. (2008). Noise control by chevrons on jet engines, AIAA Journal, 46(10), 2500–2510..
Daggett, D. L., Kawai, R., & Friedman, D. (2003). Blended wing body systems studies: Boundary layer ingestion inlets with active flow control (NASA/CR-2003-212670). National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20030067749.pdf
Silva, V. T. (2020). Aerodynamic design and experimental investigation of short nacelles for future turbofan engines [Licentiate thesis, Chalmers University of Technology]. Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology. https://research.chalmers.se/publication/520370
EASA. (2023, January 30). Easy Access Rules for Large Aeroplanes (CS-25) – Revision from January 2023. https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/easy-access-rules/online-publications/easy-access-rules-large-aeroplanes-cs-25?page=40
Millot, G., Scholz, O., Ouhamou, S., Becquet, M., & Magnabal, S. (2018, March). Development of a 3D CFD aerodynamic optimization tool and application to engine air intake design. In Proceedings of the 53rd 3AF International Conference on Applied Aerodynamics (AERO2018) (FP25-AERO2018). Salon de Provence, France. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346970547
Frede, K. C. & Takahashi, T. T. (2020), Computational methods for the preliminary design of engine-nacelle placement on transonic aircraft, AIAA Scitech 2020 Forum, Orlando, FL. doi: 10.2514/6.2020-1956.
Kulfan, B. M. (2007). A universal parametric geometry representation method—‘CST’, 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV, USA, Jan. 8–11, 2007. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. doi: 10.2514/6.2007-62
Robinson, M., MacManus, D. G., Christie, R., Sheaf, C., & Grech, N. (2020). Nacelle design for ultra-high bypass ratio engines with CFD-based optimisation. Aerospace Science and Technology, 113, 106191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2020.106191
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 UNIMAS Publisher
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
To download Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal, click here
