Development of new or upgrading of existing airplanes requires many different analyses, e.g., thermal, aerodynamical, structural, and safety. Similar studies were performed during re-design of two small aircrafts, which were equipped with new turboprop engines. In this paper thermo-fluid analyses of interactions of new propulsion systems with selected elements of airplane skin were carried out. Commercial software based numerical models were developed. Analyses of heat and fluid flow in the engine bay and nacelle of a single-engine airplane with a power unit in the front part of the fuselage were performed in the first stage. Subsequently, numerical simulations of thermal interactions between the hot exhaust gases, which leave the exhaust system close to the front landing gear, and the bottom part of the fuselage were investigated. Similar studies were carried out for the twin-engine airplane with power units mounted on the wings. In this case thermal interactions between the hot exhaust gases, which were flowing out below the wings, and the wing covers and flaps were studied. Simulations were carried out for different airplane configurations and operating conditions. The aim of these studies was to check if for the assumed airplane skin materials and the initially proposed airplane geometries, the cover destruction due to high temperature is likely. The results of the simulations were used to recommend some modifications of constructions of the considered airplanes.

Heat flow in heterogeneous media with complex microstructure follows tortuous path and therefore determination of temperature distribution in them is a challenging task. Two-scales, micro-macro model of heat conduction with phase change in such media was considered in the paper. A relation between temperature distribution on the microscopic level, i.e., on the level of details of microstructure, and the temperature distribution on the macroscopic level, i.e., on the level where the properties were homogenized and treated as effective, was derived. The expansion applied to this relation allowed to obtain its more simplified, approximate form corresponding to separation of micro- and macro-scales. Then the validity of this model was checked by performing calculations for 2D microstructure of a composite made of two constituents. The range of application of the proposed micro-macro model was considered in transient states of heat conduction both for the case when the phase change in the material is present and when it is absent. Variation of the effective thermal conductivity with time was considered and a criterion was found for which application of the considered model is justified.