Long gone are the days when the turbofan nacelle was a relatively simple airframer-provided aerodynamic enclosure for the engine and structural support for the bypass duct, accessories and thrust reverser. Now, as designers delve ever deeper to wring out weight, noise, maintenance-cost and fuel-burn reductions, the focus is increasingly on integrated propulsion systems that will provide benefits greater than the sum of their parts. Designs such as the integrated propulsion system (IPS) half-model displayed by Nexcelle at the Paris air show (see photo) reveal the sort of concepts that will come into service with the next generation of airliners. The IPS also provides a glimpse of the first steps toward the even more integrated systems that may one day power open rotor and electrically driven aircraft.
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