Propulsion

Propulsion involves an action which causes any object to drive or move in

the forward direction. The object is driven through propellant (fuel + air)
and a propelling device (e.g. nozzle).

The study of propulsion is concerned with vehicles such as automobiles,

trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft.

Methods devised to produce a thrust force for propulsion of a vehicle in

flight are based on the principle of jet propulsion (the momentum change
of a fluid by the propulsion system).

The fluid for propulsion may be

(i) the gas used by the engine itself (e.g., turbojet),

(ii) a fluid available in the surrounding environment (e.g. air used by a

propeller), or

(iii) a fluid stored in the vehicle and carried by it during the flight (e.g.,
rocket)

Jet propulsion systems can be subdivided into two broad categories:

air-breathing and non-air-breathing.

Air-breathing propulsion systems include the reciprocating, turbojet,

turbofan, ramjet, turboprop, and turboshaft engines.

Non-air-breathing engines include rocket motors, nuclear propulsion

systems, and electric propulsion systems.

Air-breathing systems utilize gas turbine for creating the propulsion effect.

Components of Gas Turbine

Among the various means of producing mechanical power, gas turbine is
often satisfactory and is commonly used for power generation and jet
propulsion.

The powerplant using this type of turbine are compact since hot gases
themselves (in open type cycle) are used to drive the turbine.

When the working fluid in a gas turbine is air, a very suitable means for
producing power is combustion of fuel in the air which has been
compressed.

Expansion of gases results in significant amount of power from turbine. In

addition to driving the compressor, it produces useful output.

Combustion is continuous which results in smooth power output running

of the system. No valves are required to isolate combustion chamber from
turbine or compressor.

Gas turbine can be considered as internal combustion turbine in which

there are three main components: compressor, combustion chamber and
turbine connected together.

However, the processes of compression, combustion and expansion do

not take place in a single component, as they do in a reciprocating
engine.

These components are separate in the sense that they are designed and
tested individually.

These are linked together in to form a gas turbine unit. The possible
number of components is not only three.

Other compressor, turbine and combustion chambers, intercooler, heat

exchanger can be connected to increase power output or efficiency.

Open and Closed Turbine Cycles

In open cycle gas turbine unit, fresh air is continuously drawn into the
circuit and energy is added by combustion of fuel. The gases after
expansion in turbine are exhausted to atmosphere.

In closed cycle, the fuel is not burned into the working fluid. Fuel is burnt
in separate air stream. Closed cycle is similar to steam power plant since
combustion gases do not pass through turbine.

In closed cycle gas turbine the condenser (used in steam power plant)
takes the form of a pre-cooler for cooling the gas before entering the
turbine.

The advantages of closed cycle are:

(i) The pressure at the inlet to the compressor can be kept well above the
atmospheric and maintained around the whole cycle.

This increases density (or decreases specific volume to reduce

compression work).

(ii) There is no corrosion and accumulation of deposits of carbon on the

blade and nozzles of the turbine. Hence no internal cleaning required.

(iii) Any fuel of high calorific value may be used, as the products of
combustion do not mix with the working fluid.

(iv) By using an inert gas like helium as the working medium, special
alloys like (e.g. molybdenum alloys) can be utilized for turbine design.

This has high-stress properties at an elevated temperature above 1000

°C. By such means, the efficiency at over 50% can be achieved.

(v) The waste heat of the combustion gases can be used for heating
applications.

Factors affecting Turbine Performance and Configurations

The factors affecting the performance of turbine or components

efficiencies are pressure ratio and turbine working temperature.

If turbine is required to operate at fixed speed and fixed load condition

(such as base load power generation) single shaft single shaft
arrangement is most suitable.

In single shaft arrangement, the operation is not flexible i.e. machine

cannot accommodate itself to changes in load.

To increase efficiency a heat exchanger can be used but it results in

frictional loss in heat exchanger as shown below.

Sometimes the constituents of combustion can be such that it corrodes/

erodes the turbine blades e.g. when dirty fuel like pulverized dirty fuel is
used.

In such case, heating of compressed air is carried out in a heat

exchanger. The fuel is burnt after the air leaves the turbine.

This arrangement is only used when supply of dirty fuel is available at low
cost. The reason is that heat exchanger transfers part of energy instead
of whole.

When flexibility of operation is required i.e. when driving a variable load

such as pipeline compressor, marine propeller, or any other vehicle, the
use of mechanically independent free power turbine is desirable.

In this twin shaft arrangement, the high pressure turbine operates the
compressor and the combination acts as a generator for the low power
turbine.

Twin shaft arrangement is utilized for electricity generating units and

power turbine is designed to run at alternator.

The starter unit is required to start the gas generator only. The starter
may be electric, hydraulic motor or an expansion turbine.

Variation of power for any arrangement is controlled by reducing fuel flow

supplied in combustion chamber. The cycle pressure ratio and maximum
temperature decreases and efficiency also decreases at part load.

The performance of gas turbine can be improved by reducing work of

compression or increasing turbine work.

This can be achieved by reducing inlet temperature or by increasing

turbine inlet temperature.
For reducing compressor inlet temperature the compression can be
carried out in stages with intercooling.

In the similar manner, the turbine inlet temperature can be increased by

carrying out expansion in stages with reheating between them. However
this increases complexity and decreases compactness of the gas turbine
system.

To obtain high thermal efficiency without heat exchanger a high pressure

ratio is required.

Twin-spool Engine

Because of high mass flow rates involved, non-positive displacement

compressors are commonly used (such as axial flow compressor).

However this type is more prone to instability when it is not operated

under design conditions. When axial compressor operates at rotational
speeds well below specified range, the density in last stages reduce
which increase velocity and the blades stall.

The stall problems become severe when high pressure ratios (>10) are
used (in a single compressor).

The problem is solved by driving the compressor into two sections.

Section means mechanical separation so that each unit operates at
different operational speeds (unlike the intercooling unit).

Low pressure compressor is driven by low pressure turbine and high

pressure turbine through high pressure turbine. Power is taken from low
pressure turbine or additional ‘free’ power turbine is used.

The configuration is called twin-spool engine. The two spools are

mechanically independent. Twin spool engines are suitable for high
pressure ratios typically 35:1.

Gas Turbine for Propulsion Applications

Gas turbine replaced reciprocating engine due to high power to weight

ratio for jet engines.

A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that

generates thrust by jet propulsion. This broad definition includes air-
breathing jet engines (turbojets, turbofans, ramjets).

A reaction engine is an engine or motor that produces thrust by

expelling reaction mass, in accordance with Newton's third law of motion.
It includes jet engines as well as rocket engines.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Jet Engine

The advantages of jet engines when compared to reciprocating ones are

 (i) Very high power-to-weight ratio.

(ii) Fewer moving parts than reciprocating engines.

(iii) High operation speeds.

(iv) Low lubricating oil consumption.

The demerits are:

(i) Cost

(ii) Longer startup than reciprocating engines

(During startup, the gas turbine undergoes a sequence of increasing

compressor spin to reach firing speed, ignition, turbine acceleration to
self-sustaining speed, synchronization, and loading).

Three things make a jet engine more powerful than a car's piston engine:

1. A jet engine can be operated with wide range of air fuel ratio (up to
50 parts air to one part fuel). It can make more power because it can
burn more fuel.
2. Because intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust all happen
simultaneously, a jet engine produces almost constant power all the
time (unlike a single cylinder in a piston engine).
3. Unlike a piston engine (which uses a single stroke of the piston to
extract energy), a typical jet engine passes its exhaust through
multiple turbine "stages" to extract as much energy as possible. That
makes it much more efficient.

In turbojet engine, the turbine produces shaft power only sufficient to

operate the compressor. The exhaust gas is then expanded to
atmospheric pressure in a propelling nozzle.
Air intake (tube-shaped, cylindrical or conical inlet, like one seen on an
airliner) aims at bringing large amounts of surrounding air into the engine.

The various processes can be listed as:

1. Inlet section sucks cold air and reduces its speed.

 2. Compressor squeezes the air (increases its pressure) by about eight
times, and this increases its temperature.
3. Kerosene (liquid fuel) is sprayed into the engine from a fuel tank in
the plane's wing.
4. In the combustion chamber, just behind the compressor, the
kerosene mixes with the compressed air and burns, giving off hot
exhaust gases and producing a huge increase in temperature about
(900°C).
5. The exhaust gases flow past a set of turbine blades and spin them.
Since the turbine gains energy, the gases must lose the same
amount of energy, and they do so by cooling down and losing
pressure.
6. The turbine blades are connected to a long axle. The compressor
and the fan are also connected to this axle. So, as the turbine blades
spin, they also turn the compressor and the fan.
7. The hot exhaust gases exit the engine through a tapering exhaust
nozzle. The tapering design of the exhaust nozzle helps to
accelerate the gases to a speed of over 2100 km/h.

The hot air leaving the engine at the back is traveling over twice the
speed of the cold air entering it at the front. This propels the airplane.

Compressors used in turbojet engines are mainly classified as:

Axial Flow Compressors & Centrifugal Compressors

Axial compressors are rotating, airfoil-type blades based compressors in

which the working fluid principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation.
Axial compressors consist of a shaft that drives a central drum which has
a number of blades attached in rows.

The compressor also includes a set of stationary blades. A pair of rotating

and stationary blades is called a stage.

The cross-sectional area between rotor drum and casing is reduced in the
flow direction to maintain axial velocity as the fluid is compressed.

Centrifugal compressors are one in which the working fluid principally

flows perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

Centrifugal compressors consist of a shaft that drives an impeller which

has a number of curved blades.

The impeller rotates in a casing which is designed to convert the kinetic

energy of the fluid into pressure energy before leaving the compressor.

The combustion chamber is usually in the form of cans, which comprise

the fuel injector and flame holder.

Hot gases leaving the combustor are allowed to expand through the
turbine. Turbines are usually made up of high temperature metals such as
Inconel.
In turbojet almost two-thirds of all the power generated by burning fuel is
used by the compressor to compress the air for the engine.

An afterburner is a device added to the rear of the jet engine.

It provides a means of spraying fuel directly into the hot exhaust, where it
ignites and boosts the available thrust significantly; a drawback is its very
high fuel consumption rate.

The thrust reverser is to change direction of exit gases which helps in

slowing an aircraft upon landing. They are often used in conjunction with
spoilers.

For low speed aircraft, a combination of propeller and exhaust jet results
in best propulsive efficiency. This type is termed as turboprop engine.

Turboprops are most efficient at flight speeds below 725 km/h because
the jet velocity of the propeller (and exhaust) is relatively low. These
engines are often used for local / domestic flights.

Similar to turbojet, some of the power generated by the turbine is used to

drive the compressor. However, the remaining power is transmitted
through the reduction gearing to the propeller.
The reduction gear converts the high rpm - low torque of the main shaft to
low rpm - high torque to drive the accessories and the propeller.

Reduction gearing is necessary in turboprop engines because optimum

propeller performance is achieved at much slower speeds than the
engine’s operating rpm.

In contrast to a turbojet, the engine's exhaust gases in turboprop do not

generally contain enough energy to create significant thrust, since almost
all of the engine's power is used to drive the propeller.

The exhaust jet typically produces around 10% of the total thrust.

Unlike the small diameter fans used in turbofan jet engines, the propeller
has a large diameter that lets it accelerate a large volume of air. This
permits a lower airstream velocity for a given amount of thrust.

Propellers lose efficiency as aircraft speed increases, so turboprops are

normally not used on high-speed aircraft above Mach 0.6 - 0.7.
While the power turbine may be integral with the gas generator section,
many turboprops today feature a free power turbine on a separate coaxial
shaft.

This enables the propeller to rotate freely, independent of compressor

speed.

Up to approximately 20 % of the compressed air may be bled off for the

purpose of heating, cooling, cabin pressurization, and pneumatic
systems.
Power changes are made by increasing fuel flow and propeller blade
angle rather than engine speed.

Due to the high price of turboprop engines, they are mostly used where
high-performance short-takeoff and landing (STOL) capability and
efficiency at modest flight speeds are required.

The gas turbine can be the same for turboshaft and turboprop engines,
but will be fitted with appropriate elements:

 The rotational speed of the shaft is adjusted to accommodate the rotor

or the propeller. A helicopter rotor turns slower than an airplane
propeller.
 Instead of powering a propeller mounted on the front that pushes the
plane forward, turbine powers an overhead rotor.
 The power output shaft is usually used to bear the propeller tension
caused by the lift, while on a helicopter; the rotor tension is borne by
the frame.
 A turboshaft does not include bleed air extraction for cabin
pressurization.
 In turboshaft thrust does not produce from exhaust gases.
A turboshaft is thus very different from a turbojet, because the exhaust
gas produces negligible thrust.

The turbine in a turboshaft captures most of the power. The driveshaft

running through it turns a transmission and one or more gearboxes that
spin the rotors.

The helicopter is designed to operate for substantial periods of time

hovering at zero flight speed. Even in forward flight, helicopters rarely
exceed 240 km/hr or a Mach number of 0.22.

Apart from helicopters, turboshaft engines can be found in trains, tanks,

and boats. Gas turbine engines mounted in things like power plants are
also turboshafts.

At high subsonic speeds a propulsive jet of relatively smaller mass flow

but high velocity is required.

In turbofan engine, part of the air delivered by fan or low pressure

compressor by passes the core of the engine (high pressure compressor
and turbine and combustion chamber).

Turbofan is a modified form of turbojet engine.

In turbojet all of the air passes through the turbine and is to be burnt by
fuel. This means it is inefficient, and the solution is the turbofan.

In turbofan, there are usually at least two separate shafts to allow the fan
to spin slower than the inner core of the engine. Part of the air enters the
turbine section of the engine, and the rest is bypassed around the engine.

In high-bypass engines, most of the air only goes through the fan and
bypasses the rest of the engine and contributes in production of thrust.
The efficiency of the engine mainly depends on the engine bypass ratio.

For high supersonic or hypersonic flight, the ideal propulsion system is

a ramjet.
A ramjet uses the forward speed of the aircraft to compress the incoming
air and, therefore, has fewer moving parts than a turbine engine.

Inlet section is a rapidly tapering nozzle which compresses the incoming

outside air (with supersonic speed) without either a compressor or a
turbine to power it. This is termed as ram compression.

Fuel is injected and mixed for combustion just downstream of the inlet.

The resulting flame is stabilized in the engine by the red flame holder ring.
The hot exhaust then passes through the nozzle, which is shaped to
accelerate the flow and produce thrust.
Ramjet engines are suitable only for supersonic and hypersonic
applications. Ramjets tend to be used on rocket and missile engines but
since they need air, they cannot be used in space.

A ramjet contains no (major) moving parts, and hence is more lightweight

than a turbojet and is particularly useful in applications requiring a small
and simple engine for high speed use.

Ramjets generally give little or no thrust below about half the speed of
sound, and they are inefficient

Because ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed, they cannot

move an aircraft from a standstill. They are boosted to operating speeds
by a rocket engine, or by being attached to another aircraft.

Scramjets are similar, except that the supersonic air does not slow down
to subsonic speed.

By remaining supersonic, the air exits at much higher speed, allowing the
plane to go considerably faster than one powered by a ramjet.
Ideal Shaft Power Cycles

The analysis of ideal gas turbine cycle provides upper limit of

performance which can be expected for real cycles. The assumptions for
ideal conditions are following:

(i) Compression and expansion processes are adiabatic and

reversible.
(ii) The pressure losses in different components and duct / pipes are
ignored.
(iii) The working fluid has same composition throughout the cycle and
is perfect gas with constant specific heats.
(iv) The change in kinetic energy (KE) of working fluid between inlet
and outlet of any component is negligible
(v) Steady flow (mass flow rate is constant)

Conditions (iii) and (v) mean that the combustion chamber in which fuel is
burnt is considered to be a heat exchanger (without any heat losses).

The ideal cycle is Joule or Brayton cycle. The steady flow energy
equation is:
Applying this equation to every component (after neglecting KE) we get

The efficiency is:

Using isentropic relation:

Where r is pressure ratio and is defined as:

r = p2 / p1 = p3 / p 4

The cycle efficiency becomes

The efficiency thus depends on pressure ratio and nature of gas.

The figure shows the effect of r and type of gas (γ = 1.4 for air and 1.66
for monoatomic gas e.g. argon)
The specific work not only depends on r but also on maximum cycle
temperature T3.

(A)

Where t = T3/T1

T1 is normally atmospheric temperature and not an important variable. It

is therefore convenient to plot specific work (W/cpT1) as a function of r
and t.

The value of T3 or t depends on the maximum temperature which the

highly stressed parts of turbine can stand for the required working life. A
typical value for t is about 5-6.
Equation (A) shows that work is zero if pressure ratio r = 1 (means no
pressure rise) and also when

This means T2 = T3 (means compression and expansion processes

coincide or no combustion / heat exchange process).

For any given temperature ratio t the optimum pressure ratio for
maximum work can be obtained by differentiating equation (A) with
respect to r(γ-1)/γ and equating to zero.

According to isentropic relations for processes 1-2 and 3-4

By combining previous two equations we can write

Since t = T3/T1 this results in T2 = T4.

This means that work will be maximum when pressure ratio is such that
compressor and turbine outlet temperatures are equal.

For all values of r between 1 and tγ/2(γ-1), T4 will be greater than T2 and a
heat exchanger can be used to reduce heat supplied and improve
efficiency.

Heat-exchange Cycle

The efficiency of gas turbine cycle with heat exchanger is calculated as:

For ideal heat exchange T4 = T5 and the efficiency can be shown as:
Thus efficiency of this cycle is not independent of maximum temperature
or t, and it increases with an increase in temperature ratio.

The continuous lines of constant ‘t’ (temperature ratio) begin from r = 1

In comparison to standard / simple cycle the efficiency reduces due to

increase in pressure ratio (at a fixed value of t).

The constant t curves fall until a value r2(γ-1)/γ = t is reached.

This is the value of pressure for which specific work was found maximum
and T4=T2 in standard cycle.

For further higher values, the heat exchanger would cool the air leaving
the compressor instead to heating.

Therefore the constant t lines are not extended beyond the point where
they meet the efficiency curve of standard cycle.
The specific work output remains unchanged if heat exchanger is used.

Reheat cycle

A significant increase in specific work output can be obtained by splitting

the expansion process in two (or more) portions and reheating the gas
between high and low pressure turbines.

The split is needed due to limits related to turbine material. Reheating

reduces maximum temperature of the cycle.

The increase in turbine work is due to the fact that vertical distance
between constant pressure lines increases as entropy increases i.e.

Assuming that gas is reheated to same temperature T3, it can be shown

that optimum point in expansion to start reheat is when pressure ratio for
both turbines is same.

This implies that temperature drop and work output for both turbines are
equal. With these conditions the work and efficiency relations are:

Reheating increases specific work output but at the expense of efficiency

since temperature range or heat addition is increased (44’56 region is
relatively inefficient portion of the cycle).

The efficiency reduced due to reheating can be increased by adding a

heat exchanger.

Some improvement in specific work and decrease in efficiency is also

found when intercooling is done between compressors.

However the change in work and efficiency is not considerable.

Intercooling is not commonly used in gas turbines since they are bulky
and require large amounts of cooling water due to which the overall size
of plant is increased.

Component losses

Various types of losses in gas turbine plant are:

(i) fluid friction which results in pressure drop in combustion chamber,

heat exchanger, inlet and outlet ducts.

(ii) compression and expansion is not reversible and adiabatic.

(iii) when using heat exchanger, the compressed air is not heated to
turbine outlet temperature

(iv) some turbine work is used to overcome friction during transmission

between compressor / turbine and ancillary components like fuel and oil
pumps.

In addition, specific heats change due to temperature and chemical

composition.

Mass flow rate is also increased due to addition of fuel. Sometimes air
from compressor is bled to cool the turbine blades.
The definition of efficiency becomes unclear for open cycle since process
4-1 is absent.

A more suitable performance parameter for actual cycle is specific fuel

consumption that is calculated from fuel air ratio and combustion
efficiency.

Compressor and Turbine Efficiency

Ideally the processes are isentropic. The performance of compressor and

turbine is determined in terms of isentropic efficiency.

The compressor (isentropic) efficiency is written in terms of stagnation

enthalpy since velocity can also change

For perfect gas Δh0 = cpΔT0:

The equations in terms of temperature and pressure are

When compressor is part of stationary gas turbine with short intake then
p01 = pa and T01 = Ta in above equation as the velocity of ambient is zero.

In case of long intake pressure loss should be accounted for determining

p01 i.e. p01 = pa - Δp.

In aircraft propulsion p01 ≠ pa even if pressure losses are ignored due to

variation of pressure in inlet section of aircraft. For turbine

Ideally it is supposed that kinetic energy of fluid in turbine exhaust is

utilized in subsequent nozzle or in propelling nozzle. In case of stationary
gas turbines this kinetic energy is wasted.

Therefore for accurate calculation of turbine efficiency p04 is replaced with

static pressure p4 where p4 = pa

Polytropic efficiency

Previously overall efficiencies of turbine and compressor were discussed.

The efficiency, however, depends on pressure ratio. Consider an axial

flow compressor with similar stages and same efficiencies.

The isentropic stage efficiency can be written (in terms of stagnation

temperature) as
ηs is stage efficiency and is constant. But using definition of ηc, we get

From Figure it is clear that

The difference increases with the increase in number of stages.

The increase in temperature / work input is due to heating effect in one

stage which results in more compressor work in next stage.

In case of turbine ηt > ηs

For small changes in temperature, a term ‘small-stage efficiency η∞c’ is

used.
 (1)

Considering the isentropic relation and differentiating we get

(2)

Solving (1) and (2) and then integrating

The relation between ηc and η∞c are now determined as:

we can write in terms of n to get a familiar relation of polytropic process.

Similar relations for turbine are

For a polytropic process efficiency of 85%, isentropic efficiency variation

with pressure ratio is given below:

The specific heat cp increases and γ decreases with the increase in

temperature or increase in fuel-air ratio.
Gas turbine cycles for propulsion

Aircraft gas turbine cycles differ from shaft power cycles in that the useful
power output is in the form of thrust:

(i) the whole of the thrust of the turbojet and turbofan is generated in
propelling nozzles,

(ii) with the turboprop most is produced by a propeller with only a small
contribution from the exhaust nozzle.

A second distinguishing feature is the need to consider the effect of

forward speed and altitude on the performance.

The differing requirements for take-off, climb, cruise and manoeuvring are
also recognized.

Consider the schematic diagram of a propulsive duct shown in Figure.

Relative to the engine, the air enters the intake with a velocity Ca equal
and opposite to the forward speed of the aircraft.

The power unit accelerates the air so that it leaves with the jet velocity Cj.

For simplicity the mass flow m is assumed constant (i.e. the fuel flow is
negligible), and thus the net thrust F due to the rate of change of
momentum is
 (1)

When the exhaust gases are not expanded completely to pa in the

propulsive duct, the pressure pj in the plane of the exit will be greater than
pa

In this case there will be an additional pressure thrust exerted over the jet
exit area and will be added with the momentum thrust i.e.

(2)

When the aircraft is flying at a uniform speed Ca in level flight, the thrust
is equal and opposite to the drag of the aircraft at that speed.

If complete expansion to pa is assumed in the propelling nozzle and then

equation (1) will be applicable.

From the equation it is clear that the required thrust can be obtained by
designing the engine to produce either a high-velocity jet of small mass
flow or a low-velocity jet of high mass flow.

The propulsion efficiency ηp can be defined as the ratio of the useful

propulsive energy or thrust power (FCa) to the available kinetic energy.

The available kinetic energy is sum of thrust energy and unused kinetic
energy of the jet.

( ) ( )
⁄ ( ) [ ( ) ( ) ⁄ ] ( ⁄ )

is not an overall power plant efficiency, because the unused enthalpy

in the jet is ignored. The equation shows that
(a) F is a maximum when Ca = 0, i.e. under static conditions, but is
then zero;
(b) is a maximum when Cj/Ca = 1 but then the thrust is zero.

We may conclude that although Cj is greater than Ca the

difference is not too great.

Various propulsion units in the order of decreasing mass flow and

increasing jet velocity are shown.

The thrust and fuel consumption of a jet propulsion unit vary with both
cruise speed and altitude. The flight regimes found to be suitable for the
various types of gas turbine engine are shown in figure.

The propulsion efficiency is a measure of the effectiveness with which

the propulsive duct is being used for propelling the aircraft.

The efficiency of energy conversion within the powerplant itself is

symbolize by .

The rate of energy supplied by the fuel is mfQnet where mf is the fuel mass
flow. This is converted into potentially useful kinetic energy for propulsion
( )⁄ together with unusable enthalpy in the jet i.e. ( ).

( )⁄

The overall efficiency is the ratio of the useful work done in overcoming
drag to the energy in the fuel supplied

( )

The efficiency of an aircraft powerplant is linked to the aircraft speed

A crude comparison of different engines can be made if the engine

performance is quoted at two operating conditions:
(i) the sea-level static performance at maximum power that must meet
the· aircraft take-off requirements and

(ii) the cruise performance at the optimum cruise speed and altitude of the
aircraft for which it is intended. However more useful parameter is specific
fuel consumption (SFC) which, for aircraft engines, is defined as the fuel
consumption per unit thrust. and SFC are related as:

With a given fuel, the value of Qnet will be constant and it can be seen
that the overall efficiency is proportional to ⁄

Another important performance parameter is the specific thrust Fs,

namely the thrust per unit mass flow of air (e.g.Ns/kg).

This provides an indication of the relative size of engines producing the

same thrust because the dimensions of the engine are primarily
determined by the airflow.

Size is important because of its association not only with weight but also
with frontal area and the consequent drag. SFC and specific thrust are
related by

When estimating the cycle performance at altitude we shall need to

know the way in which ambient pressure and temperature vary with
height above sea level.

The variation depends to some extent upon the season and latitude, but it
is usual to work with an average or 'standard' atmosphere.

For a given speed in m/s the Mach number rises with altitude up to 11000
m because the temperature is falling.
Intake and propelling nozzle efficiencies

Because of the significant effect of forward speed, the intake must be

considered as a separate component:

The intake is a critical part of an aircraft engine installation, having a

significant effect on both engine efficiency and aircraft safety.

The prime requirement is to minimize the pressure loss up to the

compressor face while ensuring that the flow enters the compressor with
a uniform pressure and velocity, at all flight conditions.

Non-uniform, or distorted, flow may cause compressor surge which can

result in either engine flame-out or severe mechanical damage due to
blade vibration induced by unsteady aerodynamic effects.

Even with a well-designed intake, it is difficult to avoid some flow

distortion during rapid manoeuvring.

Current designs of compressor require the flow to enter the first stage at
an axial Mach number in the region of 0.4 – 0.5.

Since there is no heat or work transfer, the stagnation temperature is

constant although there is a loss of stagnation pressure due to friction
and due to shock waves at supersonic flight speeds.

Figure (a) shows acceleration of the fluid external to the inlet which
occurs when the inlet operates at a velocity lower than the design value.

Figure (c) shows deceleration of the fluid external to the inlet which
occurs at a velocity higher than design.

Under static conditions or at very low forward speeds the intake acts as a
nozzle in which the air accelerates from zero velocity or low Ca to C1 at
the compressor inlet.

At normal forward speeds, however, the intake performs as a diffuser with

the air decelerating from Ca to C1 and the static pressure rising from pa to
p1 .

The total pressure at compressor inlet can be calculated from total

temperature relation given by T01 = Ta + Ca2/2cp (since T0 does not
change in inlet)

The pressure rise in inlet (p01 - pa) is referred to as the ram pressure.

At supersonic speeds, the pressure rise is due to shock at inlet followed

by that due to subsonic diffusion in the remainder of the duct. ·

The intake efficiency can be expressed in a variety of ways, but the two
most commonly used are

(i) the isentropic efficiency ηi (defined in terms of temperature rise) and

(ii) the ram efficiency ηr (defined in terms of pressure rise).

The total properties and isentropic relations for inlet (case ‘c’) are given
below. For inlet and exit static properties are used in relations.
ηi can be regarded as the fraction of the inlet dynamic temperature
which is made available for isentropic compression in the intake.

The intake pressure ratio can then be found from

The stagnation temperature can also be expressed in terms of Ma

The ram efficiency ηr is defined by the ratio of the ram pressure rise to the
inlet dynamic head

ηr can be shown to be almost identical in magnitude to ηi and the two

quantities are interchangeable, however ηr is easier to measure
experimentally.

The intake efficiency will depend upon the location of the engine in the
aircraft (in wing, pod or fuselage), a value of 0.93 for ηi can be assumed.

ηi would be less than this for supersonic intakes, the value decreasing
with increase in inlet Mach number.
For supersonic intakes, it is more usual to quote values of stagnation
pressure ratio p01/p0a (due to high velocity) as a function of Mach number.

p01/p0a is called the pressure recovery factor of the intake.

The supersonic inlet is also required to provide the proper quantity and
uniformity of air to the engine over a wider range of flight conditions.

The inlet design for supersonic case is more challenging due to flow
deceleration through shock waves.

The approaching air should be subsonic before entering the compressor.

This is done by CD duct for a supersonic flow.

For the subsonic inlets, near-isentropic internal diffusion can be relatively

easily achieved, and the inlet flow rate adjusts to the demand.

The internal aerodynamic performance of a supersonic inlet is a major

design problem, sometimes it requires variable geometry to minimize inlet
loss and drag and provide stable operation.

An approximate relation for the pressure recovery factor relating to the

shock system itself is

which is valid when 1 <Ma< 5

Propelling nozzles
'Propelling nozzle' refers to the component in which the working fluid is
expanded to give a high-velocity jet.
With a simple jet engine, usually there is a single nozzle downstream of
the turbine.

The turbofan may have two separate nozzles for the hot and cold
streams, or the flows may be allowed to mix and leave from a single
nozzle.

When thrust boosting is required, an afterburner may be incorporated in

the jet pipe.

Between the turbine exit and propelling nozzle there is a jet pipe
of a length determined by the location of the engine in the aircraft.

In the transition from the turbine annulus to circular jet pipe some
increase in area is provided to reduce the velocity, and hence friction
loss, in the jet pipe.
Depending on the location of the engine in the aircraft, and on whether
reheat is to be incorporated for thrust boosting, the 'propelling nozzle'
comprises some or all of the items.

The use of a convergent-divergent nozzle can result in significant

increase in engine weight, length and diameter which would in turn result
in major installation difficulties and a penalty in aircraft weight

At operating pressure ratios less than the design value, a convergent-

divergent nozzle of fixed proportions can be less efficient because of the
loss incurred by the formation of shock wave in the divergent portion.

For these reasons aircraft gas turbines normally employ a convergent

propelling nozzle. A secondary advantage of this type is the relative ease
with which the following desirable features can be incorporated:

(i) Variable area which is often required when an afterburner is

incorporated

(ii) Thrust reverser to reduce the length of runway required for landing,
used almost universally in civil transport aircraft.

(iii) Most of the jet noise is due to mixing of the high-velocity hot stream
with the cold atmosphere, and the intensity decreases as the jet velocity
is reduced.

For this reason the jet noise of the turbofan is less than that of the simple
turbojet.
The-noise level can be reduced by accelerating the mixing process

At high supersonic speed the large ram pressure rise in the intake results
in a very high nozzle pressure ratio.

The value of p04/pa is then many times larger than the critical pressure
ratio and may be as high as 10-20 for flight Mach numbers in the range 2-
3. In that case CD nozzle can be utilized.

Two approaches are commonly used: one via an isentropic efficiency ηj

and the other via a specific thrust coefficient KF.

KF is defined as the ratio of the actual specific gross thrust, namely [mC5
+ A5(p5 – pa)]/m, to that which would have resulted from isentropic flow.

ηj is defined as:

Using the isentropic relation we get

For pressure ratios up to the critical value, p5 will be put equal to pa in

equation and the pressure thrust is zero.
In case critical conditions are achieved at exit then, M5 = 1 we have the
familiar expression
Rocket Propulsion

A rocket is a propulsive device that produces a thrust force F for a vehicle

as a reaction when exhaust mass is ejected with a high velocity.

Rocket is a non-air-breathing engine in which oxidizer as well as fuel is

carried on board.

As these engines are non-air breathing, they can work in the vacuum
space.

Rockets have the following advantages over air-breathing engines:

1. Thrust is independent of speed and altitude.
2. They are capable of generating large accelerations
3. Thrust per frontal area and Thrust per weight is the largest when
compared to other propulsion systems.

Applications

Rockets are commonly used as launch vehicles for satellites and

spaceflight and for military applications.

A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket used to carry payload (such

as satellite) from Earth's surface either to another surface point (sub-
orbital transportation), or into space (Earth orbit or beyond).

The launch vehicle usually lifts off from a launch pad on land.

The launch pad or location can be sea such as from a submarine or

a mobile maritime platform or air.

Many of the launch vehicles are expendable i.e. used only once and
destroyed or abandoned during the flight.
Attempts have been done for reusable launch systems so that part of the
launch vehicle is recovered and reused for another flight.

Expendable launch vehicles usually separate from their payload and

disintegrate during atmospheric reentry.

In contrast, reusable launch vehicles are designed to be recovered and

launched again.

A spacecraft is a vehicle, or machine designed to fly in outer space.

Spacecrafts are used for a variety of purposes, including

communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary
exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo.

Spacecraft often consist of a booster module, an orbiting module and a

re-entry capsule.
The craft's crews sit in the re-entry capsule which is the only part of the
vehicle that returns to Earth.

The orbiting module stays in outer space while the booster module is
abandoned and burns up (in the atmosphere).

Space probe is a robotic spacecraft that leaves Earth orbit and explores
space.

Space shuttles are reusable space transport vehicles. The shuttles are
launched vertically using a rocket engine, orbit like a satellite, and land
just like an airplane.

Each shuttle consists of a reusable orbiter, a large expendable external

fuel tank, and a pair of reusable solid-fuel booster rockets.
Shuttles also have the advantage of being able to carry satellites to space
as well as send up crews to repair them in orbit or return them to the
Earth for refurbishment and re-use.

Artificial satellite is an object that has been intentionally placed into orbit.

Satellites are used to make star maps and maps of planetary surfaces,
and also take pictures of planets they are launched into.

Common types include military and civilian Earth observation

satellites, communications satellites, navigation satellites, weather
satellites, and space telescopes.

Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit can also be termed as

satellites.

A booster rocket is either the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle, or

a parallel rocket to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust.

A sustainer engine is a longer running rocket engine which remains with a

spacecraft during its ascent after booster engines have separated from
the spacecraft.

A retrorocket is a rocket engine providing thrust opposing the motion of a

vehicle, thereby causing it to decelerate. They are used in reusable
launch systems.

A missile is a guided self-propelled flying weapon usually propelled by

a jet engine or rocket engine.

Multistage rockets

Multistage rockets are capable of attaining escape velocity from Earth.

A multistage rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket
stages (each containing own engines and propellant).

In serial staging scheme, the first stage is at the bottom and is usually the
largest, the second stage and subsequent upper stages are above it,
decreasing in size.

In the typical case, the first-stage and booster engines fire to propel the
entire rocket upwards.

When the boosters run out of fuel, they are detached from the rest of the
rocket. The first stage then burns to completion and falls off.

This leaves a smaller rocket, with the second stage on the bottom, which
then fires. This process is repeated until the desired final velocity is
achieved.

Types of Rockets

Rockets can be classified into chemical and nonchemical rockets.

Nonchemical rockets are also classified into several types including

electrical, thermal, solar, and nuclear rockets; some of them have
remained up to testing phase only.

Though chemical rockets are more common due to significant thrust for a
longer duration, electric propulsion has also been used for spacecrafts.

Types of fuel

Chemical rocket propellants are either solid or liquid.

When solid propellants are used, both fuel and oxidizer are contained in
the same casing or combustion chamber.
The propellant charge is in grain form and it contains the chemical
ingredients for complete burning.

Once ignited, it usually burns smoothly at a nearly constant rate on the

exposed surface of the charge.

Because there are no feed systems or valves such as there are in liquid
units, solid-propellant rockets are relatively simple in construction.

The solid-fuel is chemical explosive such as gunpowder; a mixture

of sulfur (S), charcoal (C), and potassium nitrate (KNO3).

The sulfur and charcoal act as fuels while the KNO3 is an oxidizer.

Since solid-fuel rockets can remain in storage for a long time without
much propellant degradation and have reliable performance.

However the solid propellants (as compared to liquids) have lower

performance.

Various sections and processes are explained with the help of a

schematic.
1. A solid fuel-oxidizer mixture (propellant) is stored into the rocket, with a
cylindrical hole in the middle.

2. An igniter combusts the surface of the propellant.

3. The cylindrical hole in the propellant acts as a combustion chamber.
4. The hot gases are choked at the throat.
5. Exhaust exits the rocket.
Liquid fuels are preferred in many of the applications because their
reasonably high density allows the volume of the propellant tanks to be
relatively low.

Liquid rockets fuels include liquid hydrogen or a hydrocarbon (e.g.

methane, kerosene) fuel and a liquid oxidizer, such as liquid oxygen.

In a liquid system, the fuel and oxidizer are separately stored and are
sprayed under high pressure (1900–5500 kPa) into the combustion
chamber.

Burning takes place that produces gases at high temperature (around

4000 K). Products of combustion expand through the nozzle to high
velocities which in turn generates high thrust.