Cavitation Prediction
GT-SUITE automatically detects and models cavitation when local pressure drops below the fluid vapor pressure, giving engineers accurate predictions of pump and valve performance under demanding operating conditions.
Solutions
Aircraft Fuel Systems
Simulate complete aircraft fuel systems, from 3D CAD to full mission analysis, with accurate predictions of fuel transport, pressurization, venting, and wave dynamics.
Solution Overview
Comprehensive Aircraft Fuel System Simulation
Aircraft fuel systems demand rigorous simulation across a wide range of operating conditions, from ground fueling operations to high-altitude transient maneuvers with six degrees of freedom. GT-SUITE provides a complete 1D simulation environment purpose-built to address this complexity. Engineers use the software to model transient fuel transport, pressurization, distribution, inerting, and heat transfer across the full system, including tanks, pumps, ejectors, valves, and heat exchangers. Models can be built directly from 3D CAD geometry, reducing setup time and improving geometric accuracy. Ambient conditions follow the International Standard Atmosphere model, and aircraft attitude and acceleration inputs allow realistic mission-level analysis.
The platform also supports OBIGGS design through a built-in 3D CFD solver that tracks gas species distribution within fuel tanks, helping engineers verify safe inerting performance before hardware is built. From early concept through detailed design, GT-SUITE gives fuel systems engineers the fidelity and flexibility needed to reduce physical testing, catch design issues earlier, and deliver certified, reliable systems.
Simulate and Model Any Aircraft Fuel System
GT-SUITE supplies a comprehensive set of component libraries which simulate the physics of fluid flow, thermal, mechanical, electrical, magnetic, chemistry, and controls. From those libraries, one can build fast and accurate models of any type of aircraft fuel system.
What makes GT-SUITE especially powerful is that high-fidelity 3D component models are seamlessly integrated into 1D/0D system-level models, which supply them with accurate transient multi-physics boundary conditions and assure two-way interactions between all of the sub-systems.
Application Highlights
Aircraft Fuel System Applications
- Automatically create 1D flow system model from 3D CAD for the system, tank, reservoir, pumps, etc.
- Transient fuel transport, pressurization, distribution, inerting, heat transfer, fuel surface tracking, and more
- Define aircraft mission and environment conditions, including altitude, attitude, and 3D accelerations with six degrees of freedom
- Fueling, refueling, defueling, and venting of complete systems with unique geometry
- On-board inert gas generation system (OBIGGS) modeling, including built-in 3D CFD solution to track gas species distribution in a tank to ensure safe inerting system design
- Pumps, ejector pumps, and valves available in simple or detailed model fidelity
- Fuel heaters and heat exchangers available in simple or complex model fidelity
- Accurate wave dynamics to predict pressure pulsation/water hammer with Navier-Stokes solution
Advanced Simulation Capabilities
Analyze fuel transport, thermal management, inerting, and system dynamics under realistic operating conditions.
Transient Aeration Modeling
The solver tracks free and dissolved gas separately throughout the fuel system, capturing how dissolved air releases as free gas under low-pressure conditions and its effect on fluid properties and wave dynamics.
Vapor and Gas Transport
Vapor and gas species are tracked and transported through the entire system model, ensuring accurate predictions of two-phase flow behavior across all operating conditions.
OBIGGS Simulation with Built-in 3D CFD
GT-SUITE models on-board inert gas generation systems and uses a built-in 3D CFD solver to track gas species distribution inside fuel tanks, verifying safe inerting performance before hardware is committed.
Fuel Tank Slosh and Free Surface Tracking
The solver captures fuel free surface behavior in 3D, enabling accurate predictions of fuel delivery, weight distribution, and center of gravity shifts during dynamic flight maneuvers.
Wave Dynamics and Water Hammer Prediction
GT-SUITE applies a full Navier-Stokes solution to predict pressure pulsations and water hammer events, supporting robust system design for fueling, defueling, and transient flow conditions.
Aircraft Fuel Systems FAQs
Discover how GT-SUITE supports the development and validation of advanced aircraft fuel systems.
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Can GT-SUITE model a complete aircraft fuel system, including fueling, refueling, and venting operations?
Yes — full-system simulation covers fueling, refueling, defueling, and venting, even for systems with unique or complex geometries. Models can be built directly from existing CAD data or constructed from scratch, giving engineering teams flexibility regardless of where they are in the design cycle. Transient fuel transport, pressurization, and distribution are all captured within a single integrated environment.
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How does GT-SUITE handle aircraft attitude and changing flight conditions during fuel system simulation?
Engineers can define complete aircraft mission profiles, including altitude, attitude, and 3D accelerations with six degrees of freedom. Ambient conditions follow the International Standard Atmosphere model, so pressure and temperature variations across the flight envelope are accurately reflected. Fuel tank gauges and attitude corrections are also built in to support realistic mission analysis.
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Can GT-SUITE predict pressure pulsations and water hammer events in aircraft fuel lines?
It can — a compressible Navier-Stokes solution accurately captures wave dynamics, enabling prediction of pressure pulsations and water hammer throughout the fuel system. This level of fidelity is critical for catching potential structural and operational risks early, before hardware is committed to production.
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Does GT-SUITE support inerting system design, including on-board inert gas generation?
Dedicated modeling capability exists for on-board inert gas generation systems (OBIGGS), including a built-in 3D CFD solution that tracks gas species distribution within the fuel tank. This lets engineers verify that inerting designs meet safety requirements under transient operating conditions, with inerting behavior evaluated in the context of the full 1D system model rather than in isolation.
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