Hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) can be a possible solution for future sustainable energy-efficient aviation. The current study proposes a MATLAB-based numerical tool for the design of the suction system for an airfoil optimized for a subsonic short-range HLFC application. Considerable energy losses may occur when the air passes through the perforated metallic outer surface and the inner structure of the suction system. A semi-empirical approach is used to design a layout that provides a target suction velocity based on measured pressure losses through porous medium and substructures. Flowbench measurements were performed on 3D-printed internal core test samples to quantify the pressure losses that can be used to create a lower pressure below the porous sheet matching the target suction velocity. The actual suction realized on the airfoil using this substructure concept has a discrete nature that increases with the distance between two adjacent walls. Finally, the suction system’s power requirement is calculated. The power requirement for distributed suction accounts for the pressure loss characteristics of the porous material, the internal core structure, and throttling holes. However, the study does not include the ducting losses from the substructure to the compressor. Approximately 80% of the total suction power is utilized to eject the sucked air back to the freestream conditions for a system with a compressor and propulsive system efficiency equal to one. The study analyses the performance of the designed internal core layout to different flight conditions and addresses the suction power requirement variation with lift coefficient and flight altitude.

The Energy System Transition in Aviation research project of the Aeronautics Research Center Niedersachsen (NFL) searches for potentially game-changing technologies to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation by promoting and enabling new propulsion and drag reduction technologies. The greatest potential for aerodynamic drag reduction is seen in laminar flow control by boundary layer suction. While most of the research so far has been on partial laminarization by application of Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) and Hybrid Laminar Flow Control (HLFC) to wings, complete laminarization of wings, tails and fuselages promises much higher gains. The potential drag reduction and suction requirements, including the necessary compressor power, are calculated on component level using a flow solver with viscid/inviscid coupling and a 3D Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver. The effect on total aircraft drag is estimated for a state-of-the-art mid-range aircraft configuration using preliminary aircraft design methods, showing that total cruise drag can be halved compared to today's turbulent aircraft.