Chapter 4 Engine Characteristics Prof. E.G.

Tulapurkara

4.1. Introduction To evaluate the performance of an airplane we need to know the atmospheric characteristics, the drag polar and the engine characteristics like variations of thrust (or power ) output and specific fuel consumption with flight speed and altitude. In this chapter we briefly review the engine characteristics.

The power plants considered for aircraft applications are: Piston engine propeller combination. Gas turbine engines Turbo-prop Turbo-fan Turbo-jet Ramjets Rockets Combination power plants like ram-rocket and turboramjet
3

Presently piston engine-propeller combination and gas turbine engines are the power plants used on airplanes. Ramjets offer simplicity of construction and have been proposed for hypersonic airplanes. However a ramjet cannot produce any thrust when flight speed is zero. Hence it is proposed to use a rocket or turbojet engine to bring it (ramjet) to the speed corresponding to M = 2 or 3 and then the ramjet engine would take over. Consequently we would have the combination power plants viz. ramrocket or turboramjet. Rockets are some times used on airplanes as boosters to increase the thrust for a short duration 4 e.g. during take-off, transonic acceleration etc.

4.2 Piston Engine Propeller Combination In this case the output of the engine viz. brake horse power (BHP), is available at the engine shaft and is converted into thrust by the propeller. Let us recapitulate a few facts about the operation of this engine. In a piston engine a certain amount for fuel-air mixture is taken in, it is compressed then ignition takes place which is followed by the power stroke and the exhaust stroke (See Fig. 4.1).

Fig. 4.1 Four stroke cycle (Adapted from Ref.4.1,chapter 10)

The volume of the air-fuel mixture taken in, is almost equal to the swept volume i.e., product of the area of cross-section of the engine cylinder and the length of the piston stroke. The mass of fuel taken in per power stroke is thus equal to ( swept volume) X (density of air) /(air-fuel ratio). 4.2.1 Effect of flight speed on output of piston engine For a given altitude and r.p.m. (N) the power output changes only slightly with flight speed. This is because the piston engines are generally used at low speeds (M<0.3) and at these low Mach umbers, the increase in manifold pressure due to the declaration 7

of air in engine manifold is negligible . Hence power output increases only slightly with flight speed. This increase is generally ignored. 4.2.2 Effect of altitude on output of piston engine For complete combustion of fuel, the air-fuel ratio has a definite value (around 15, the stoichometric ratio) . Actual air-fuel ratio is around this value. As the flight altitude increases the density of air decreases. Hence for a given r.p.m. and air-fuel ratio, the mass of air and hence of the fuel taken in decreases with altitude. Consequently the power output decreases with altitude. The change in power 8 output (P) with altitude is roughly given as :

(P/P0)=1.13 0.13

(4.1)

where P0 is the power output at sea level under ISA conditions and is the density ratio. See Fig. 4.2 for typical engine performance. 4.2.3 Propeller The output of the engine is converted into thrust by the propeller. A typical engine-propeller combination is shown in Fig. 4.3. For engines with larger power output, three or four bladed propellers may be used. For details of the geometry of propeller etc., see Ref.1.7 and 3.4.

Fig 4.2 Typical piston engine performance (Adapted from Ref.1.7, chapter 6)

10

Fig 4.3 Typical engine-propeller combination (source: www.google.com)

11

The variation of specific fuel consumption (SFC) depends on r.p.m. and the output power. But the power output depends on r.p.m and manifold pressure. Hence SFC or specific fuel consumption is plotted as function of (i) r.p.m. and B.H.P or (ii) r.p.m. and manifold air pressure (M.A.P.). Typical variations of fuel flow rate are shown in the left hand side of Fig. 4.2. From fuel flow rate the SFC is obtained from the following equation. SFC = fuel flow rate in Newton's per hour BHP in kW Remarks: i) In Fig. 4.2 the fuel flow rate is in US gallons per 12 hour & the power output is in horse power. It may

be noted that one us gallon equals 3.78 liters. According to Ref.3.7,chapter 10, the density of aviation gasoline is 0.72 and that of aviation kerosene is around 0.8 (ii) SFC in metric units is also expressed as mg/W-s. 4.2.4 Propeller efficiency If the propeller produces a thrust T when the airplane moves with a speed V then the power output, called thrust horse power and denoted by THP, is (TV / 1000) in kW. The efficiency of the propeller is: = THP / BHP =TV /(1000xBHP) ( 4.2 ) Note: T is in Newton, V is in m/s and THP and BHP 13 are measured in kW. The units used in Fig. 4.2,

Fig.4.4 Typical chart for three blade propeller (Adapted from Ref.1.7,chapter 6)

14

reproduced from manufacturers charts, are in FPS system. The propeller efficiency depends on the pitch of the propeller () and the advance ratio ( J=V/nd); Where V is flight speed, n is revolutions per second (rps) and d is the diameter of propeller. Figure 4.4.shows typical variation of . The efficiency ( )is zero when V is zero (Eq.4.2). It increases with V, reaches a maximum and then decreases. For a single pitch or fixed pitch propeller, the efficiency is high (80 to 85%) only over a narrow range of flight speeds ( Fig. 4.4 ).

15

For commercial airplanes the variable pitch propellers are used which given high efficiency over a wide range of speeds. In this case the pitch of the propeller can be changed in flight. Propellers with variable pitch are expensive and heavy. Hence personal airplanes, where cost of the airplane is an important consideration, have fixed pitch propellers. Variation of THP with velocity THP equals x BHP. Thus variation of THP with V depends on the variations, with velocity, of and BHP. Note further that BHP depends on r.p.m and altitude. Typical variations of THP, for a chosen 16 engine r.p.m., are shown in Fig.4.5.

Fig. 4.5 Variations of THP with flight speed

17

4.2.5 Selection of propeller and its performance: The description in this section is based on Ref.3.4. FPS units are used in that text. The propeller performance is expressed in terms of the following coefficients: Advance ratio J=V/nd Power coefficient: Cp=P/n3d5 = 550BHP/ n3d5 Thrust coefficient: CT = T/n3d4 Speed power coefficient : Cs = V (/Pn2)1/5 Propeller efficiency : =TV/P = TV/(550XBHP) = J (CT/Cp)
18

Thrust = T= (550BHP/V), =CT/Cp (550BHP/nd) T=Thrust (lbs); P=power (ft lbs/s)=550 BHP V=velocity (ft/s), BHP=break horse power n=Rotational speed (rev/s), d=Diameter of propeller Typical vs Cs and J vs Cs with as parameter are shown in Fig.4.4.for a three blade propeller. This type of plot is also referred to as design chart for propeller.

19

4.2.6 Selection of propeller diameter: The steps are as follows (a) Choose a level flight conditions say hcr and Vcr . (b) Obtain lift coefficient (CL) in this flight from: CL= W/(0.5V2crS). Obtain corresponding CD from drag polar of the airplane. (c )Obtain THP required during the flight from: THP=0.5V3crSCD. (d) Assume =0.8 (e) Obtain BHP =THP/0.8. Then RPM (N) which will give this power output at chosen hcr is known from the engine curves ( Fig.4.2). Calculate 20 n=N/60.

(f) Calculate Cs = V (/Pn2)1/5 (g) From propeller chart like Fig. 4.4, obtain which gives maximum p, for the value of Cs in step (f). For these values of & Cs obtain J, which lies on dotted curve corresponding to pmax. Note the max value. (h) Then obtain propeller diameter (d) from : d= V/n J (i) If max obtained in step (g) is significantly different from p of 0.8 assumed in step (d), then iterate by using new p value. Finally round off the propeller diameter to nearby standard value.

21

4.2.7 Obtaining p for choosen h,V,N & P: A propeller absorbs power (BHP) developed by the engine and delivers THP. The efficiency of the propeller (THP/BHP) depends on BHP,V,N and . It may be noted that for calculation of airplane performance, we need to know THP at different engine rpms at different flight speeds and altitudes. The steps to obtain for chosen h, BHP, N and V are as follows: (a) Obtain atmospheric density () at chosen altitude (h) (b) Obtain Cp from Cp =P/3d5 (c )Calculate J=V/nd
22

(d) If Cp vs. J curves are available for different values of ,then read value of from this curve. For these values of and J obtain p. Alternatively obtain Cs which can also be expressed as J/(Cp)0.5. For a fixed pitch propeller (i.e. is constant) the propeller chart like Fig.4.6 gives p for known values of Cs and . For a variable pitch propeller the value of which will give maximum efficiency for a known value of Cs can be obtained from propeller chart like Fig.4.4. The corresponding value of p is also known. It is interesting to note from Fig.4.4 that for a three bladed propeller a maximum efficiency of above 85% can be obtained over a wide range of Cs by using a variable pitch propeller. 23

(e) Calculate THP= BHP and T=(THP x 1000)/V when THP is in kW. (f) Calculate p for various velocities at the chosen altitude. (g) Vary the altitude and get THP vrs V at different heights. Typical curves are shown in Fig.4.5. Remarks: 1) Reference 3.4 gives characteristics for two and three blade propellers. 2) Loss of propeller efficiency at high speeds A propeller blade is like a rotating wing with forward motion. The resultant velocity at the propeller tip (VRtip) would be highest and equal to:

24

VRtip= {V2 + (2 n R)2}1/2, where R is the radius of propeller. When the Mach number corresponding to VRtip exceeds the critical Mach number for the airfoil used on the propeller, the drag coefficient of the airfoil would increase and the lift coefficient decreases (see section 3.3). Consequently the efficiency of the propeller decreases. This loss of efficiency can be delayed to higher flight Mach numbers by use of advanced propellers (Fig.4.6). These propellers have swept blades and can be used on turboprop airplanes up to flight Mach number of 0.7.
25

Fig 4.6 Advanced propeller design. (Adapted from Ref.1.7, chapter 6)

26

4.3 Gas Turbine Engines A gas turbine engine consists of a diffuser to decelerate the air-stream entering the engine, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a turbine, a jet pipe and a nozzle (Fig. 4.7). The hot gases leaving the combustion chamber, expand partly in the turbine and partly in the nozzle. The need for three variants of gas turbine engines viz. turbodrop, turbofan & turboprop can be explained by considering their propulsive efficiencies.
27

Fig 4.7 Turbojet engine (Source : http://www.aerospaceweb.org)

28

4.3.1 Propulsive efficiency Propulsive efficiency is the ratio of useful work done by the airstream and the energy supplied to it. In a gas turbine engine, the velocity of the air stream (V) is augmented to Vj , the velocity of the jet stream, thereby imparting kinetic energy at the rate of : . (m/2)[Vj2 - V2] . Where m is the mass flow rate. The engine develops a thrust T and hence results in a useful work of TV . Noting that: . 29 T=m (Vj - V), (4.3a)

the propulsive efficiency (propulsive) is: propulsive =

m (V j V ) (V ) 2 = m V j 2 2 (V j V ) 1 + 2 V

(4.3)

4.3.2 Why turboprop, turbofan and turbojet engines? The overall efficiency of a gas turbine engine is the product of items like cycle efficiency, combustion efficiency, mechanical efficiency and propulsive efficiency. The cycle efficiency depends on the engine cycle and in turn on the maximum 30 temperature / pressure in the engine. The

combustion efficiency and mechanical efficiency are generally of the order of 95%. Thus propulsive efficiency finally decides the overall efficiency of a gas turbine engine as a propulsive system. Remark: The action of a propeller is also similar to that of a jet engine i.e. it also enhances velocity of the free stream from V to Vj where, in this case, Vj is the velocity of the stream far behind the propeller. Hence the propulsive efficiency of a propeller is also given by eq. (4.3). To appreciate the use of turboprop, turbofan and turbojet in various speed ranges, let us consider the variation of propulsive efficiency with flight speed. 31

Consider a subsonic jet engine with convergent nozzle. The Mach number at the exit, in this case, would be unity and the temperature of the exhaust gases would be around 600 K. Under these conditions, Vj, the velocity of jet exhaust would be around 500 m/s. Now let us apply Eq.(4.3) and obtain propulsive efficiency at different flight speeds (V). The results are given in the Table 4.1. V (m/s) Vj / V % 100 5 125 4 166.7 250 3 50.0 2 66.7 333.3 400 1.5 80.0 1.25 88.9
32

33.3 40.0

Table 4.1 Variation of propulsive efficiency with flight speed

Remarks: i) Turboprop engine It is seen from the Table 4.1 that p will be low if a pure-jet engine is used at low speeds. An analysis of Eqs. (4.3 and 4.3a) points out that for having adequate thrust and high propulsive efficiency at low flight speeds, a small increment in velocity should be given to a large mass of air. This is effectively done by a propeller. Thus for airplane with flight Mach number less than about 0.5, a turbo-prop engine is used (Fig.4.8). In this case the turbine drives the
33

Fig. 4.8 Turboprop engine

34

compressor and also the propeller through a gearbox (Fig 4.8). The gear box is needed because the turbine r.p.m. would be around 15000-20000 where as the propeller rotates at about 3000 r.p.m. For practical reasons the expansion of the gases coming out of the combustion chamber is not allowed to take place completely in the turbine and a part of the expansion is carried out in the nozzle. About 80 to 90% of the total output is produced through the propeller and the rest 20 to 10% as output from the jet coming out of the nozzle. ii) Turbofan engine As the flight Mach number increases beyond about 0.7, the propeller efficiency decreases rapidly due to 35 formation of shock waves at the tip of the propeller

blade. Hence for airplanes flying near Mach number of unity, a turbo-fan engine is used (Fig.4.9).In this engine a major portion of the power output (about 60%) is obtained as jet thrust and the rest as thrust from a fan. A fan has a smaller diameter as compared to the propeller and it is generally placed inside a duct. A ducted fan has a higher propulsive efficiency than a propeller. It is seen (Fig. 4.9) that all the air taken in by the fan does not go through the turbine. Incidentally the part of the engine consisting of the compressor, combustion chamber, turbine and nozzle is called gas generator. The ratio of the mass of the air that passes through the fan to the mass of air that passes through the gas 36 generator is called the bypass ratio.

Fig 4.9 Turbo fan engine Source : http://www.aerospaceweb.org

37

Early turbofan engines had bypass ratio of 1:1. Currently it is around 6.5:1 and is likely to increase in the future. iii) At supersonic Mach numbers, up to three, a turbo-jet engine is used. In this engine entire power output is through the jet thrust.

38

4.3.3 Characteristics of gas turbine engines Turboprop engine: As noted earlier, in this engine, a major portion of the output is available at the propeller shaft (SHP) and a small fraction through the jet thrust (Tj). Hence the output is represented as: THP = p SHP + (TjV/1000) (4.4)

Where SHP=shaft horse power available at propeller shaft in kW. p = propeller efficiency Tj = Jet thrust
39

The total output of a turbo-prop engine, also called equivalent shaft horse power (ESHP), can be defined as : ESHP = SHP +(TjV /0.8x1000) (4.5) Note: For the sake of defining ESHP, the value of is taken as 0.8 in Eq.(4.5) and ESHP and SHP are in kW. Characteristics of a typical turbo-prop engine are shown in Fig. 4.10. In a gas turbine engine the mass flow rate through the engine and pressure rise due to the deceleration of air in the diffuser, increase with increase of Mach number. Hence power out put shows some increase with flight Mach number.

40

Fig 4.10 PT6A-25 Turboprop engine characteristics 41

Figure 4.10 also shows the influence of ambient temperature on power output. It is seen that there is a significant fall in ESHP as the ambient temperature rises. Remark: i) From the curves regarding fuel flow rate in Fig.4.10, we can obtain BSFC at various speeds and altitudes as: BSFC = (Fuel flow/hr)/ESHP)

ii) Reference 3.7 gives curves for a large turbo-prop engine viz. 6500 sea level static power. The sea level static power is the engine output at sea level at zero velocity. iii) Reference 1.7 gives characteristics of an engine of 42 around 1700 hp.

Turbofan engine: In the older type of turbo-fan engines the thrust output used to remain fairly constant with flight speed. In modern turbofan engines the performance at low speeds and low altitudes (up to about 5 km) has been improved so that the ratio of the sea level static thrust and that (thrust) in high speed high altitude flight, is much higher (see Fig.4.11). The sea level static thrust is the engine output at M=0 at sea level. Higher sea level static thrust helps in reducing the distance required for take43 off.

Remark: Chapter 9 of Ref.4.2 gives the performance, in non-dimensional terms, for engines with bypass ratios of 3,6.5,8 and 13. The curves are also presented for take-off rating, climb rating and cruise rating. The take off rating is the engine output which can be availed for about 5 min. The engine can be run at climb rating for about half an hour and at cruise rating for long periods. The values of specific fuel consumption (TSFC) are also marked in Fig.4.11.
44

Fig 4.11 Typical turbo fan engine characteristics (Adapted from Ref.4.2,chapter 6).

45

Turbojet engine: The characteristics of a supersonic turbo-jet engine are shown in Figs.4.12 (a to d). It is seen that at subsonic speeds the thrust is fairly constant, but it increases considerably at supersonic speeds. This rise is due to increased pressure in the intake obtained by deceleration of the supersonic flow. The Mach number at which the peak value of thrust occurs depends on the design of the engine. Remarks: i) In Figs.12(a to d) the speed is in knots. One knot equals 1.852 kmph.
46 ii) Bypass supersonic turbofan engines are also being

considered for supersonic flight. Ref.3.7, gives, in Appendix E, typical curves for an engine with sea level static thrust of 30000 lb (133 kN). Similarly Ref.4.3 chapter 8, also presents curves for an engine with 33000 lb (146.3 kN) sea level static thrust. Figures 4.12 (a to d) also indicate the values of specific fuel consumption (TSFC) and the air flow rate.

47

Fig.4.12 (a) Performance of supersonic turbojet 48 engine at sea level

Fig.4.12 (b) Performance of supersonic turbojet engine at h = 15000 ft

49

Fig.4.12 (c) Performance of supersonic turbojet engine at h = 30000 ft.

50

Fig. 4.12(d) Performance of supersonic turbojet engine at h = 45000 ft (Adapted from Ref.4.2,chapter 6).

51

General Remarks: The detailed information about engine performance (i.e. variations with altitude and flight velocity of the thrust/power and TSFC/BSFC) is generally available only in a limited number of cases. To get the performance characteristics of engine with other ratings, we need to carry out scaling of the available data. For this purpose we multiply the values of thrust/power of the engine, whose characteristics are known, by a suitable factor which will bring the output of the existing engine equal to the output of the desired engine. It is assumed that the SFC values will be the same for the two engines. This kind of scaling is generally applicable for outputs within 52 25% (Ref.4.3, chapter 8).

References: 4.1 Benkert J.W. Introduction to Aviation SciencesPrentice-Hall 1971. 4.2 Jenkinson L.R., Simpkin P. and Rhodes D.Civil Jet Aircraft Design Arnold 1999. 4.3 Jenkinson L.R., Marchman III J.F. Aircraft Design Projects Butterworth-Heinemann 2003.

53

Exercises: 4.1) What are the different types of engines used on airplanes? In which speed/Mach number range are they used? 4.2) Sketch a typical BHP vrs altitude curve for a piston engine. Why does a piston engine rapidly loose power with altitude? Supercharger is needed to delay this loss of power to higher altitudes. Look for information on supercharger from books ( e.g. Ref.1.7) / websites. 4.3) what are the essential differences between turboprop, turbofan and turbojet engines?
54

Derive an expression for propulsive efficiency and justify the range of flight Mach numbers these engines are used. 4.4) A propeller of 2 m diameter is mounted on an airplane flying at a speed of 216 kmph. If the velocity in the propeller slip stream far behind the propeller be 81 m/s, calculate the propulsive efficiency and the thrust developed by the propeller. [Hint. Assume that the simple momentum theory is reasonably accurate for calculation of thrust and propulsive efficiency. Further the mass handled by propeller is roughly equal to AV1, where is the atmospheric density, A is the area of a circle of the diameter equal to the propeller diameter and V1 is the velocity through the disk which 55 is average of the free stream velocity and the velocity

far behind the propeller. [Answer: p= 85.1% , T = 5695 N] 4.5) Neatly sketch the following: (a) variation of propeller efficiency vrs. flight velocity with propeller pitch angle as parameter. (b) Variation of thrust vrs. Mach number with altitude as parameter for a turbofan engine with bypass.

56