Turbofan aero-engine efficiency evaluation: An integrated approach using VSBM two-stage network DEA

•Advanced VRS VSBM two-stage network DEA for efficiency evaluation of turbofan aero-engines.•DEA constructed with respect to functional features of turbofan aero-engines.•DEA-assisted calculation of overall, stage efficiency and frontier projections.•Efficiency evaluation of 34 commercial and 21 military turbofan aero-engines.•Efficiency evaluation results are aligned with the pattern of propulsive efficiency. The application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been wide, especially for the purpose of evaluating efficiency among similar production processes within enterprises belonging to particular industries. Although research pertinent to DEA has primarily focused on efficiency of production systems or corporate entities/organizations (e.g., terminals, hospitals, universities/schools, banks), fairly little attention has been given to efficiency evaluation among engineering systems featuring common configurations (e.g., automobiles, power plants). Furthermore, the limited previous literature involving efficiency evaluation of engineering systems has implemented DEA methodologies with limited discriminative power, i.e. there is a quite increased portion of efficient Decision Making Units (DMUs). In the current paper, a methodological framework deploying Variable intermediate measures Slacks-Based Measure (VSBM) Two-Stage Network DEA is implemented, in order to evaluate the efficiency of turbofan aero-engines, currently utilized by active-duty commercial and military aircraft. Apart from exploring the positive correlation of DEA efficiency with engineering efficiency, we also develop a methodology evaluating the features of near-future turbofan designs in terms of DEA efficiency, thus comprising a potential tool for efficiency assessment of any turbofan aero-engine being in the conceptual or preliminary design stage.