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    Airplane Propeller Principles wn e we er by WILBUR ©. NELSON Professor ane! Head, Department of Aeronautical Kngincering Jowa State College New York JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC, CHAPMAN & HALL, LTD. Loxpow MINISTERIO DA AERONAUTICA, CENTicO TECNICO DE AERONAUTICA BIBLIOTECA CENTRAL NOACKA ne Vola msm ANTE ACCORDANCE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WAR PRODUCTION BOARD IN THE, INTEREST OF THE CONSERVATION OF PAPER AND OTHER IMPORTANT WAN MATERIALS. Comraicier, 1964 Wiuron C, Nexson AU Rights Resereed on any part theres meat not te reproduced i any frm that the writen porminson ofthe publisher. PREFACE A mnajor contribution to the creation of high performance aireraft uring the last decade hats been the rapid advance in airplane propeller design. Propeller design is rather eomplex both because of the acrody- namie, mechanical, ud structural considerations involved and beeause of the elose relationship of the propeller Wo the performance of the engine and the complete siepkine. It is therefore the purpose of this book to present an elementary treatment of these principles. Sinee 1936 the author lus been engaged in some phase of pro ‘work, and during the summer of 1941 it was his privilege to eonduct an extensive series of lectures for a group of graduate engineers of the Acroproduets Division of the General Motors Corporation, orienting them in the ficld of airplane propeller design. ‘This material was subse quontly used in mimeographed form for the course in airplane propellers at Towa State College, and itis the basis of this publication, Emphasis has been phwed thronghout upon the basie principles under lying the design and operation of the modem airplane propeller, rather than upon specie dexizn data. ‘The ncrodynamie and structural analy- ses are developed sufficiently to prepare the eapable student for addi- tional specialization should the need arise. A liberal use of references should point the way to further exploration of the subject. An adequate background in elementary sorodynamies and structural analysis on the part of the reader is assumed, although the use of higher mathematics is limited to the graphical integration of eortain integral relationships. Grateful neknowledgment is made to the airplane propeller manufae- turers, the Army Air Foreo, and the National Advisory Committec for Acronauties for the release of illustrations and various technical data ‘The author's colleagues both at Lowa State College and in the propeller Industry have given generously of their time in checking portions of the manuscript. Particular thanks are due to Professor Milton J. ‘Thompson of the University of Texas for reviowing the entire manuseript, to Mr Oliver P. Harwood for completing the original dravings, and to Mrs Myra Thompson for typing the manuseript Wnunwr ©, Nersox. Ames, Lona November, 19)3 CONTENTS 1. PROPELLER BLADE ACTION THEORY 1 2 AERODYNAMIC PROPELLER TESTS. 8 8. BLADE I PSIGN AND § RESS ANALYSIS 3 4. HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS : a 5. EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON AIRPLANE PERFORM- ANCE 7 APPEN 128 INDEX, 1 CHAPTER 1 PROPELLER BLADE ACTION THEORY Definition and Terminology An airplane propeller may he defined as a-deviee for producing thrust at ull normal forward velocities of the airplane. ‘This definition empha sizes the prime output whieh is thrust. ‘The propeller designer must create a safe mechanism whieh will produce s anaximum of thrust under all conditions. ‘The combination of airplane, engine, and propeller is interrelated so that the thrust must be evaluated with different combi- nations of engine rpm, cngine torque, and airplane velocity, In con ventional airplanes the propeller nay be rightly termed an air serew sineo it rotates and advances through the atmosphere in much the same ‘manner as a screw advancing in x solid medium. ‘This type of propeller, it will be seen later, hess definite limitations; a suitable propeller for the higher velocities and altitudes of the futuxe might well be a jet-reaction device, In this text wo shall concern ourselves primarily with the air serew type on conventional aireratt Tt is nevessary first to consider 4 system of elassifieation and term inology. Airplane propellers may be divided into three major classi- fieations ‘a. Kized pitch. ‘Those in which the construction is essentially one piece and in which the piteh (or blade angle) cannot be changed after the propeller is built 1b. Adjustable piteh. "Those in which the blades may be loosened in. the hub and adjusted to the desired pitch on the ground, after which the blades are again clamped securely to the hub, fe. Controllable pitch, ‘Those in which the blade pitch is controlled ‘manually or automatically during flight. ‘A typical adjustable-pitch propeller is shown in Pig. 1-1 with the various portions titled, Tn a fixed-piteh wood propeller the central portion is termed the hub boss and has a stecl hub bolted to it, A con trollable-piteh design would allow the blades to rotate in the hub sockets through some mechanical control [By normal velocities is meant the range from zoro to maximum velocity in evel flight. 1 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES fd ott and Nat 1 rads nk enn Cigmeter leis Pia Adjustable-pitch propeller, Fie. 1, PROPELLER: BLADE ACTION THEORY 3 Geometric pitch is the advance per revolution of a propeller blade clement moving along a helix whose angle equalk the propeller blade angle. iifeetive pitch is the distance the airplane advances along. its flight path for one revolution of the propeller p= witang i where p= the geometric piteh in foot d= the diameter in fect at the reference element (usually three ‘quarter radius). = the blude angle a the reference element, Tt will also be seen from Wig. 1-2 that pe = xd tang where p, = the effvetive pitel in feet tan @ = advance per revolution divided by xd. ‘The differenee between geometric and effective piteh is termed slip and will, of couse, vary with the forward velocity of the airplane c. 1-2 Gromotrie piteh and effective piteh esationships Propeller blade settings are usually designated in the United States by giving the blade angle at the three-quarter radius, instead of caleu- lating the geometric pitch, Tho torm inerease pitch or deercase piteh is commonly used, however, instead of increase or decrease blade angle. A completo collection of propeller terminology is included in the Appendix. Momentum ‘Theory Many theories of propeller blade action have been advanced and dof which one of the simplest in its concepts and most useful 4 AIRPLANE PROPELLER. PRINCIPLES qualitatively is the momentum theory. Ih this theory the propeller is treated as a disk producing a uniformly distributed thrust ereated by a pressure differential between the front and back of the disk. A stream tube encloses the affected streamlines which are considered continuoss through the disk. Air is assumed a perfect fluid with no viscosity or compressibility effects, Slipstream Boundary 4 — Fic. 1-3, Momentum theory relationships, ‘The general relationships * are presented in Fig. 1-3. The unaffected has the velocity Vg and pressure po. The velocit: reases to Va at the disk and reaches a final value of Vin the slipstream. ‘The pres: sure drops to 7 in front of the disk, receives an inerement Ap at tho disk, and finally returns to its original value po in the slipstream. +W. J. M. Rankine, “On tho Mechanical Principles of the Astion of Propellers; Trans. Inet, Naval Arehitets (4865), p. 1. RE. Froude, “On the Part Played in Propulsion by Differs of Bhuid Pres sure,” Trans. Inst. Naval Architect (1880), p. 30. The propeller disk is considered etationsry ina moving body of air. “This is the ‘opposite of actual conditions, but for analytical purposes the relative motion is the PROPELLER BLADE ACTION THEORY 5 The thrust 7 may be evaluated by equating it to the inereased axial ‘momentum per unit time. T = mass por unit time through the disk X velocity inerease 1 = ApVa(V, — Vo) Bl where A is the disk area and equals *D*/4, pis the mass density of air, ‘The thrust: may in total pressure h of the disk." ‘Ap = final prossure head — initial pressure head Ap = [po + beVi] — Leo + 30Vil ap = bo(V? ~ V8) a also be expressed as AAp where Ap is the difference ad along the stream tube between the back and front then Ap r 2 (Wi — Va) 6) A comparison of equations 3 and 5 for thrust will show that and therefore half of the final slipstream velocity inerement is imparted before the propeller di ‘An evaluation of the ideal efficiency 9 is also interesting. Output _ ‘Thrust % Velocity Input ~ Total work done ‘The total work done by the propeller equals the kinctie energy increase in the flow. KB. inerease = (ApV4)(V — V8) ‘Then tAe(Vs + VoVs ~ Va) Ap(Vi — Vi) = 2Vo "WoW. + Po? — V8) Vy THM ‘By Bernoulli's theorem the total enengy 7» + (9V8/2) is @ constant along fiven stream line. Thi equation cannot br applied eras the disk, however, Deeause energy is added nt that poi. 6 AIRPLANE PROPELLER: PRINCIPLES or finally. [6] S1Eh ‘The final value for efficieney given hy equation 6 ms ined with the preceding expression 5 ing relationship when V, is eliminated, v then be com= for thrust, resulting in the follow- 2VaA Figure 1-4 is.a plot of the ideal and actual efficiency versus the dimer sionless ratio of T/(MoVpA). In a qualitative sense the ideal efficiency curve tolls us that we may expect: @. A drop in effiioney with an inerease in thrust b. A drop in efficiency with a decrease in forward velovity, 6. A drop in eficieney with a decrease in. propeller disk area. —_ ‘deat foot ae 02 (Ret ACA T R237) ¥, 1-4. Actual and ideal effieney variation From a design viewpoint the efficiency loses of the last item which would be found in a small-diameter, high slipstrvam-velocity propeller are to bo avoided whenever possible, Test data as given by the actual efficiency curve bear out the trends indicated up to the velocity for maxi- mum efficiency. However, the momentum theory negleets several im- portant items that limit its application: aerodynamic drag of the blades, energy loss in the slipstream rotation, compressibility losses, blade inter. Terence, and losses from the periodic thrust variation due to a finite PROPELLER BLADE ACTION THEORY 7 number of blades. ‘These losses mean that power is still required to rotate the propeller even at zero thrust, and hence the actual efficiency curve drops to zero ax the ideal efficiency approaches unity. Tt should also be noted that it is impossible to introduce propeller or engine torque into this analysis Aisfoil Theory and Test Data In order to overcome some of the preceding disadvantages itis neces sary to tum to the blade clement theory, whiel eonsidens the propeller laude as rotating wing and sims up the forees acting upon cach indie vidual blade section to obtain the resultant thrast and torque per blade for a given operating condition. working knowledge of both airfoil theory and test data is essential in onder to apply this analysis. Sever excelent books have been published treating airfoil theory and discussing available test data 0 that no attempt will be made to present more than brief summary of typical test results and the main variables involved. Figure 1-8 gives the results of a Clark-Y airfoil test conducted by the NACA. ‘The absolute system of coefficients is used as defined by the following equations in whieh Z. is the Kit in pounds, D is the drag in pounds, S denotes wing area in square feet, V is the velocity in feet per scoond, p is air density in mass units and equals 0.002378 shigs/ft® at sea level standard conditions, and q = pV*/2 the impaet pressure in pounds per square foot, Os r 1 = = 08g 7 CSV p= PP ons 8) 2 CP. = Center of pressure of resultant foreo on air- foil in per cent chord from the leading edge A complete dimensional analysis” yields the following equation for the dynamic reaction of a viseous and compressible fluid upon a body, resra(™)a()e(S) ! William Froutl, “Tho Hlementary Relation between Piteh, Slip, and Propulsive EMicieney,” Trans, Inst. Naval Architects (1878). Aloo independently developed by ick’ in 1885 and finally summariod as “Théorie Géurae de F'Helice Prope Gauthies-Villam of Paris (1920) “Clark B, Millikan, “Aerodynamics of the Airplane,” John Wiley & Sons (1941). E, P, Warner, “Aisplane Design,” MeGrav-Hill (1986) *Cowley and Levy, “Aeronanties in ‘Theory and Experiment,” Longmans, Green and Co. (1918), Chapter LV. In this expression Lis a representative linear dimension, » is the kine- ‘matic coefficient of viscosity for the fluid, f is the acceleration due to gravity, and e is the velocity of sound or rate of travel of a pressure ‘wave in the fuid. ‘The first factor is the Reynolds number and necessi- T T | : 16 03 EFF ‘A 5 € oft ia 02s 2 bm 2 026 £ 40 20) 020 F 5 Bs : § 0 2 16 016% B38 ona © go 5 a2] Fone e8 Fan 2 oo 2 8 E10 = 8 5 008 é 4 oot 9) ° “4 0 a6 20 Angle of tack, ce ~Degrons. Mia, 1-5, Clak-¥ airfoil test data: aspect ratio 6; Reynolds number 6,000,000, (ACA Tech, Ret. 02) tates corrections which must be applied to model test data to adapt it to actual full-scale conditions. ‘The second factor is Mach's number and represents the compressibility effect created as the flow velocity: approaches the velocity of sound. Both of the above factors are very important for high-velocity airplanes and high propeller tip speeds and they will be discussed under propeller tests, ‘The reciprocal of the third item is commonly known as Froude’s number. It is important chiefly in marine work and ean be considered constant for air, For a specifi test condition it is therefore possible to express the reaction as a test PROPELLER BLADE ACTION THEORY 9 coefficient multiplied by SoV"/2, of Reynolds umber and Mach’s number Another important variable in airfoil test data is the wing planform. Its affect. may be evaluated by means of the Lanchester-Prandtt wing theory which expresses the induced drag and the related downwash angle in terms of Cz, and the aspect ratio -n* as follows, jing in mind the effe (io) A (in radian measure) (1) ‘Tho aspect ratio then reflects changes in planform, and by means of these formulas airfoil data may bo eorreeted for such ebanges with excellent results.” Variations in thickness or camber of the airfoil require separate tests to isolate their effoct, Figures 1-6 and 1-7 are NACA wind tunnel test, results on a series of RAV-6 airfoils in which the thickness and eamber were varied. ‘The RAF-6 and Clark ¥ are the most commonly used propeller sirfoil sections and will be discussed under blade design, Simple Blade Element Theory In the blade clement theory, the propeller blnde is considered as a rotating airfoil, with each clement following a helical path and reaeting as an ordinary airfoil ection, ‘Tho airflow is treated as two-dimensional with no mutual interaction between blade sections and no radial flow due to slipstream eontraction. Consider an clement dr ax given in Fig. 1-8, This located a distance r from the center of rotation, Its rotational velocity will be 2rnr and ‘when coined with the forward velocity V, the seetion will be operating with a resultant velocity Vie at an angle of attack, a. ‘The lift acting uupon the element may he expre dL = Cy y0Vie © BeVh = bdr Introducing the angle where tan y = D/L, the corresponding resultant force on the airfil section is dL _ $eVe- bdr Cr aR = cosy ©08 “a = spant/wing arco. *L. Prandtl, “Applications of Modern Hydrodynamics to Aeronautics” NACA Teoh, Reps. 116 (1921), EN. Jacobs, “Characteristics of Propeller Sections ‘Tested in the Variable Density Wind Tunnel,” NACA Tech. Rept. 250 (1927). gf oy] og og | og AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES PROPELLER BLADI ACTION THEORY ul o 2 @ 6 8 0 uw i618 20 ‘Angle of tack tn Degrees) Pio, 16, RAF propoller section aerodynamic deta for aspeet ratio 6. &% | | AC 038 on 032 Za | \ 030] 0 | oa —| | 2| o25|— ~ oz. oo = 24 a - loze 22} —} L loze 5 920) % ol 018 Thickness Rate 020. fy ors LL L jos} 18, ) lc] 1s} HL 016, ft Ly Wits yy haa on on, fe 010, a oro] —|\\\ Loos, < 006 ol | tf 08] — 00 cel 005 loo — oa] = | — Lo 02 |. loo a se Ana of tack Gn ogres) Fia, 1-7, RAB propeller section acrodynaric data for aspoct ratio 8, 2 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES ‘The thrust component d7' may be calculated as a component of dit. dle - cos (@ + 9) [= +4 cos 7 bar, 2m so, 1-8 Blade element theory relationships. By substituting Vx = V/sin & aT = 3pV?- bar [eee] 2) sin? $ 08 7 r yer unit ‘The above expression will give the thrust loading im pounds p Jength and may be plotted versus radius and integrated to give the total thrust per blade. Similarly, the torque component is aq dF in (@ + >) U3 cos 7 sin’ ¢. Once the total thrast 7 and total torque @ are determined, the brake horsepower requited to rotate the propeller and the efficieney » under the given design condition may be calculated. Output TY Input ~ 2enQ PROPELLER BLADE ACTION THEORY 1B It is interesting to analyze the efficiency of a specific blade element on the basis of the above theory. If the clement is taken at the three quarter radius, it will be representative of the entire blade action, Power output a?» Power input ~ dQ = 2mm _ Ale cos (6 +9) V © dit sin (6 9) * Bann tang = 4 tan @ +) ws ‘The cficieney of an element is therefore dependent only upon the angles 4 and . If the above expression is differentiated with respect to {6 and equated to zero in onder to find the value of ¢ eoresponding to maximum efficiency, the angle g is found to be 45° — (4/2). The ficiency 9 as determined by equation 14 is plotted versus @ in Fig, 1-9 oa a 06 os | i ‘010200880 © 119233 Gk1 438 S24 mph Fic. 1-9, Simple blade clement effcieney variation, for two extreme values of 7. ‘The angle ¢ is also converted to forward, velocity, assuming a limiting helical tip speed of 1000 fps and basing the efficieney upon the three-quarter radius blade element, ie., tan = ¥/750. ‘The higher effcioney of thin sections with a high L/D as compared with thick sections with a low L/D is evident over the entire range. It will be noted that the low drag sections have a comparatively nreater advantage at the slower velocities of climb. ‘The angle 4 is 1 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES approximately equal to for the design condition s0 that the abscissa may also be regarded as the reference blade angle g. NACA tests have shown that the efficieney of a typical propeller blade does approach a maximum near 9 35° blade angle at the three-quarter radius." ‘Acsolution for thrust and torque under a given set of design conditions may be readily accomplished. Figure 1-10 is a typieal adjustable-piteh sluninumealloy blade drawing, Let us take this blade and analyze it for the condition of 100 raph forward velocity and 2000 rpm as a tivo bladed propeller. ‘The following table lists the essential steps for such aleulation, Sno Brak Risanive Analysts ov Provenion Bape oF Fie. 1-10 100 mph Veloeity 2000 rpm Crankshaft Rotation Hl | ] ~ Station, | vin. | 2¢in, | avin. | ain | atin, | nt 1 oR | wo] ons: 6. 2 re 0 30 | 35 ao) wor | 0.598 | 0-520 | 0. 1 io vs | octos | oon | 0, a8 ws? | ona | azi4 |, 8 Berm (fe/see) 3 7 182 T tme= Vien | 0.407) 0.862) 0.281) 0.2 s 25.08" | 19 4 3 9 18.06" | 12.35 9. 0 6.05 | 485! a | 4 u 0.904 | o-9a6 | 0-997 | 0. R 12s | 120 | 105 | 0. 13 0.5 | ols | o.2ta | o. Mog ty sos? | 24.15% | 19.05" | 17 15 cos +9) OST | 0.912 | 0.939 | 0. Waar tt) sy ieee WT sino +) 0.516 | 0.400 { o.s4t | 0. 18 dard @vyry am fa tot 9 Once calculated, the thrust and torque loadings may bo plotted rats radius as in Fig. 1-11 and integrated graphically to give the total thrust and torque on the blade, Tn the present instance this results in a thrust of 1040 Ib and a torque of 918 ft-lb for the complete propeller." oTheodorsen, Stickle, and Brovoort, “Characteristies of Six Propellors Including tie High Speed Range,” NACA Teek. Rept. 604 (087). "s An sltemate method of solution consists of plotting the elementary it and drag, vectors to seule at their respective stations and resolving the thrust and torque com ponents graphically. PROPELLER BLADE AC’ ION THEORY 16 AIRPLANE PROPELLER. PRINCIPLES ‘The hub drag tends to drop the thrust loading curve to slight negative values nt the hub and to maintain the torque loading at small positive values, but the effect is secondary in this type of analysis, Results obtained by this method of calculation must be used with discretion due to the many variables involved.!* Modified empirically by a seasoned designer, tho simple blade clement theory is a decidedly useful tool. Above all, it presents «clear picture of 1 250) 200 mph vel 2000 rom Propallr Blade of i, 1-10 A= 224" 3k 075 Radius ity 7) “Torque Loading (tb/#) ‘hrust Loading 1 2 Radius in Feet Pra. 1-11. This and tongue loading blade action and forms a basis of explanation for most problems in pro- peller performane! ‘Phe inaeeuracies of the ealeulations are closely related to the original assumptions previously stated. When wind tunnel airfoil test data aro used, the effect of blade interforenee, radial inflow at the blade tip, and tip losses are neglected. A closer approximation would be obtained by using airfoil charaeteristies as actually measured on a rotating propeller. Many modifications of the simple blade clement theory have been devised to correct for some of the preceding factors. ‘The combined momentum and blade element theory adds an empirical inerement to the forward velocity at the blade element to aecount for the inerease in velocity in front of the propeller disk discussed under the momentum theory. A multiplane interference correction may be obtained by using ‘wind tunnel test data on a cascade series of airfoils, resulting in a modi- fied lift coefficient and angle of attack. An additional refinement using "WW, F, Durand snd E. P. Lesley, “Comassicon of Modet Propeller Tests with Airfoil Thoory,” NACA Teck, Repl 196 (1024), PROPELLER BLADE ACTION ‘THEORY a the multiplane interference correction applied to airfoil characteristios uleulated from actual propeller tests has been developed by BF. E, Weick. he vortex theory of propeller analysis by H. Glauert applies the prin- viples of airfoil theory to the simple hlade clement analysis, and cor vctions are made to the flow past the blade element for both rotational othods have been extensively de- vid axial interference. All these 1 veloped with varied results." PROBLEMS 1. Irtheblado angle at the three-quarter radius of w12-teiameter propeller ‘45°, what is the sip at 1850 xp snd a forward velocity of 100 mph? 200 mph? 300 mph? (Note: tan = V/2e rw = p,/2zr:) 2 Tho thmst of a propeller 10 ft in diganet

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