A turbofan engine 200 comprises an engine core having an outer surface 226 positioned radially inwardly of an outer fixed structure (fan nacelle) with respect to the longitudinal axis X of the engine, the aft or downstream end of the outer fixed structure having a downstream terminal plane 223 which is substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the engine. The radius R of the internal surface 220 of the outer fixed structure from the axis X in the terminal plane is a function of azimuthal position such that R defines an elliptical path. The internal surface 220 may have a discontinuity at the top to allow for the insertion of a pylon. The discontinuity may be symmetrical about and aligned with a semi-major axis of the elliptical path. The engine may be a mixed-jets or separate-jets engine. The engine may be mounted closer to the wing of an aircraft than a turbofan engine which is axisymmetric in its downstream terminal plane, thus allowing a larger diameter fan to be employed.
Turbofan engine
2020-01-08
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Turbofan engine and aircraft comprising turbofan engine
Europäisches Patentamt | 2021
|Springer Verlag | 2021
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