INTRODUCTION TO AIRCRAFT

AERO2465

DISCUSS: Two different propulsion systems

The Turboprop and The Turbofan
_How was each discovered and developed
- System manufacturers and design concepts
- Aircraft that use each of the propulsion systems
- Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each
propulsion system.

SUBMITTED: Karambir Singh

Student name: DUONG HOANG TRONG

Student ID: s3872865
Student email: s3872865@student.rmit.edu.au
Table of Contents

I.Introduction

1.The propulsion system…………………………………………………………………3

2.Turboprop and turbofan engine………………………………………………………3

II.Main body

1.Turboprop engine

1.1 The beginning and development of turboprop.…………………………………….4

1.2 The design of turboprop……………………………………………………………..4

1.3 System manufacturers……………………………………………………………………..5

1.4 The design concepts of turboprop…………………………………………………..6

1.5 The turboprop-powered aircraft…………………………………………………....6

2.Turbofan engine

2.1 The beginning and development of turbofan………………………………………8

2.2 The design of turbofan………………………………………………………………8

2.3 System manufacturers……………………………………………………………….9

2.4 The design concepts of turbofan……………………………………………………10

2.5 The turbofan-powered aircraft……………………………………………………..12

III.Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………13

IV.Reference……………………………………………………………………………..13

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 I. INTRODUCTION

1. The propulsion system

The propulsion system can be considered as a machine that produces forces pushing or

pulling an object forward. In short, the propulsion system is the engine although on an

airplane the engine provides many functions its primary task is still to generate thrust. There

is a variety of ways to do so however they all base on one principle- the Newton’ third law.

The third law states: To every action, there is always opposed an equal reaction, that means to

move forward something must be thrown backward and in aviation, that thing is the air. The

gas in the air is a working fluid that is accelerated by the engine and the reaction of this

acceleration produces thrust on the engine. This thrust must exceed the drag of the airplane to

accelerate it and when the airplane is on cruising condition it must balance the drag. (NASA

2015)

2. Turboprop and turbofan engine

The world of aircraft engines is large and diversified,

however, this essay only discusses turboprop and

turbofan engines which are mainly used in airlines,

they all are turbine engines but have different

characteristics and applications.

Figure 1. The turbojet engine
Since both turboprop and turbofan are jet engines, (Emoscopes 2015)

they all have the basic components of a gas turbine that are: An upstream rotating gas

compressor, a combustion chamber or combustor and a downstream turbine on the same shaft

as the compressor. However, the propulsor or the means of converting the power from the

turbine engine to propulsive force are different. The turboprop engine uses the propeller

while the turbofan engine uses both the fan and the turbojet engine itself (Kay 2007)

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 II. MAIN BODY

1. Turboprop engine

1.1. The beginning and development of turboprop

Although the world’s first successful turbojet-powered aircraft was in 1939- the Heinkel He

178 (Curley 2012), the ideal of turboprop engine was published sooner in 1928 by György

Jendrassik- a Hungarian engineer and the year after he patented his invention. However, the

aviation world only became interested in using turboprop engines to power aircraft after

WWII. In 1945, a modified British Gloster Meteor fighter was equipped with two Rolls-

Royce RB.50 “Trent” turboprop engines. This test airplane became the first turboprop-

powered aircraft to fly, though it never entered production.

Rolls-Royce continued to develop two additional turboprop engines, the Clyde and the Dart.

After many effort, the Vickers Viscount was introduced as the first commercial airliner to use

turboprop power in 1948. The plane was equipped with four Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop

engines, a pressurized cabin and was capable of carrying 40 to 65 passengers (Hartzellprop

2018)

Because of the advances that the Vickers performed, as a result, the turboprop airliner soon

became highly regarded for its comfortable, luxury flying experience.

1.2. The design of turboprop

The turbo-propeller (turboprop) engine is a combination of a gas turbine engine, reduction

gear box and a propeller. The turbojet operate in the same manner as any other gas engine

however, the difference is that the turbine in the turboprop engine extract the energy to drive

the propeller The engine’s exhaust gases 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

propelling nozzle provides a relatively small proportion of the thrust generated by a

turboprop (Rathore 2010)

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Two basic types of turboprop engine are in use: fixed turbine and free turbine. The fixed

turbine has a mechanical connection from the turbojet to the reduction gear box and the

Figure 2. Fixed shaft turboprop engine Figure 3. Free turbine engine

(Nefertari with Isis n.d.) (Nefertari with Isis n.d.)

propeller.

The free turbine has only an air link from gas generator to the power turbines. There is no

mechanical link from the propeller to the gas turbine. There are advantages and disadvantages

of each system, with the airframe generally dictating

1.3. System manufacturers

Because of the widely application in aviation there are many turboprop engine manufacturers

around the world. Some prominent manufacturers that should be mentioned are:

 Pratt & Whitney

A widely known turboprop from Pratt & Whitney Canada is the PT6A series engines.

It is a multi fuel, reverse flow, free turbine and has proven to be a very reliable engine

used on Cessna Caravan, Quest Kodiak and Pacific Aerospace 750 XL (Experimental

Aircraft Info n.d)

 Rolls Royce RR500

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 Mooney Aircraft is also bringing out a new model aircraft with a turbine engine, the

new Rolls Royce RR-500. This engine could also be used by experimental aircraft

builders in their design. (Experimental Aircraft Info n.d)

 Walter M601

This commonly know turboprop (from the Czech Republic) is used in numerous

aircraft commercial and experimental.

1.4. The design concepts of turboprop

In world war II and after that, the piston engine reached its limit in power and performance.

It’s power peak at over 4000 bhp for large multi-row radial engines. So airplanes need a new

type of engine and that is the turbine engine or simply turbojet. It allows planes to fly faster

and higher, however, in commercial aviation, the turbojet is so unnecessary powerful and

consumes more fuel. There was a need for a new engine that is more efficient than the piston

engine but also has power like a jet engine and that is the beginning concept of a turboprop.

With the combination of the turbine engine and the propeller, a turboprop aircraft gives better

capabilities in reliability, efficiency and versatility when compared with a reciprocating

engine. And because of inheriting advantages of the aerodynamic propulsion created by the

propeller, the turboprop can beat the turbojet in the aspect of efficiency at speeds slower than

400 knots. Although turbojets basically have higher service ceilings, up to FL40 opposed to

the turboprop cap of around FL30, the turboprops burn less fuel per passenger for the same

amount of flying time, giving them a more cost-effective solution for short flights. Today, the

turboprop is used for a wide range of duty from charter flights, airline transport, to even in

the military where they are modified to counter submarine (Green & Swanborough 1971).

1.5. The turboprop-powered aircraft

 The ATR 72

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 Produced in France by ATR, the plane uses two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100

turboprop engines. The ATR 72 is capable of transport from 72 up to 90 passengers

and extremely efficient when operating in short flight

Figure 4. The ATR 72 (Nefertari with Isis n.d.)

 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules

The C-130 Hercules can be considered as the most iconic military planes. Equipped with

four Allison T56 turboprop engines, the American plane continue to serve some 60 nations in

a variety of roles

Figure 5. The C-130 Hercules (Nefertari with Isis n.d.)

 2. Turbofan engine

2.1. The beginning and development of turbofan

The idea of the turbofan engine came out at the same time as the world’s first successful

turbojet-powered aircraft. Between 1939 and 1941, Arkhip Lyulka- a Soviet scientist

designed the world’s first turbofan engine, however, this project was not completed as Arkhip

Lyulka was forced to abandon due to WWII.

Until 1943, the German Daimler-Benz DB607 became the first running turbofan engine on

the test bed. Following quickly in late 1943, the British Metrovick F3 turbofan was created

which used the Metrovick F2 turbojet as the gas generator.

In 1950, Rolls-Royce produced their first turbofan that is the Rolls-Royce Conway which is

also the world’s first production turbofan

In 1964, the GE TF39 was introduced as the world’s first high-bypass turbofan. This design

is

so successful that it was still in use until late 2017 powering the United States Are Force

Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.

Jumping forward to 1974, CFM International introduced their CFM56- the most common

turbofan engine in the world, at any moment, more than 2400 CFM56- powered jet aircraft

are in the air.

Nowadays, for Boeing 777X series, General Electric has introduced the GE9X which is the

world’s most powerful commercial jet engine

Turbofan has come a long way since their invention almost 80 years ago. Today, by the

application of the most modern technologies, the turbofan engines are more sophisticated

giving the advances in not only power but also fuel efficiency.

2.2. The design of turbofan

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A turbofan engine is the combination of a gas turbine engine and a duct fan (some may have

additional reduction gearbox). Similarly to the turboprop engine, the core of the turbofan is

the turbojet, however, there is a fan in the front and an additional turbine at the rear placed

around it. The fan and the fan turbine are connected to an additional shaft beside the shaft of

the turbojet turned the compressor and the turbine right after the combustion chamber. This

type of configuration is called a two spools engine, some engines even have additional spools

for better efficiency.

The incoming air goes to the engine inlet and is separated into two streams. One stream

passes through the engine core, creates thrust just like a normal turbojet, however some

energy from the core turn the fan turbine which in turn the duct fan at the front. The other

streams flow through the duct fan and bypass or go around the core. Because the bypass air is

also accelerated by the fan, it produces additional thrust (NASA 2015). We can basically

divide the turbofan into two categories based on the bypass ratio that are: high-bypass and

low-bypass.

Simply, if the thrust produced by the fan is greater than jet thrust that is the high-bypass

turbofan and vice versa. Both types have their own pros and cons, and are used in different

missions. High-bypass type belongs to commercial aviation world (Michael et al. 2015) while

most modern military fighter engines are low-bypass (Bharat 2008). In addition, afterburner

or reheat is a second combustion chamber in turbojet and low-bypass turbofan but is not

equipped in high-bypass turbofan (Klees 1984).

2.3. System manufacturers

Generally speaking, turbofan engine brings a tremendous profits for the manufacturers

because it is mainly used in commercial aviation. As a result, a lot of company is producing

this type of engine.

 General Electric

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 The American company currently has the largest share of the turbofan engine market.

Their engine models are GE90 and GE9X ( powering B777 and B777X), GEnx

(powering B747-8, B787 dreamliner). They also power many military aircraft

including F110, F-16 Fighting Falcons

 Rolls-Royce

This British manufacturer is right behind the GE in the market share. They are famous

for their BR211, Trent series and their joint venture engines for the A320, B717, MD

90 families.

 Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney is after GE and Rolls-Royce, their JT9D was chosen to power the

original “Jumbo jet”. The successor of the JT9D is the PW400 series equipped on the

A310, A300, A747. The powerful fighter jet like F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lighting II are

also equipped the engine created by this manufacturer.

Many joint ventures also have prominent successes like the CFM International, Engine

Alliance,…

2.4. The design concept of turbofan

Since people discovered the jet engine, they also found down that this type of engine is not

efficient although it is so powerful. Just like the turboprop, utilizing the power of the turbojet

engine however, the turboprop-powered aircraft can only operate on the short flight since

they are limited on flying speed and ceiling. When it goes to long haul flight or a transatlantic

flight, the airline absolutely needs the turbofan. Divided into high-bypass and low-bypass,

turbofan engines are capable to complete all kinds of requirements. The airlines want more

thrust but also consume less fuel while the military operators thirst for powerful fighter jets,

the turbofan engines please them all

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Equipped with turbofan engines, aircraft can fly at subsonic speed and even faster, soaring to

the higher altitude, but still being fuel efficiency, these are the things that turboprop-powered

aircraft can not reach. Speaking of military aspect, nowadays, low-bypass turbofan with

afterburner engine is existent on all kind of modern fighter jet (Coplin 1989)

2.5. The turbofan-powered aircraft

 The Airbus A320 family

Using two CFM56 turbofan engines, the Airbus A320 is now operating very efficiently

by the airlines around the world. Also this is the greatest rival of the Boeing 737

Figure 6. The Airbus A320-214 (Konstantin 2017)

 T

he F22- Raptor

The powerful jet fighter that only use by the US army, the F22- Raptor uses the Pratt &

Whitney F119- PW5000 after-burning turbofan engine

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 Figure 7. The F-22A Raptor (Nefertari with Isis n.d.)

2.6. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each propulsion system

The abilities Turboprop engine Turbofan engine

Slower. Most efficient at Higher. Most efficient

Speed
speeds slower than 400 knots at subsonic speeds

Cruising altitude Lower Higher

Shorter
Range Longer

Shorter Longer
Runway length required when

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 take off and landing

The required surface of the

Grass, concrete runway Only concrete runway
runway

The costs of charter, insurance,

Lower Higher
operation and maintenance

III. CONCLUSION

Both turboprop and turbofan have the core engine and that is the turbojet. But because of the

difference between the propeller and the fan, each has its benefits and drawbacks. In general,

the turbofan-powered planes are suitable for long flights, cruising at high speed and high

altitude but they require decent runway as well as the higher operating cost. In contrast, the

turboprop-power planes perfectly fit for short flights, they are also easier to operate since the

cost is lower and they can work well on non-concrete runway giving the wide choice of

destination. The best engine is the one that is properly-suited for the type of flight you are

planning to take.

IV. REFERENCE

 NASA 2015, Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to Propulsion, viewed 10 August

2020, <https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/bgp.html>

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  Emoscopes, 2015, Turbojet operation, photograph, viewed 10 August 2020,

<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Turbojet_operation-
_axial_flow.png>

 Kay, A 2007, 'Turbojet: History and Development 1930-1960 Volume 1 - Great

Britain and Germany', The Crowood Press Ltd. 2007

 Curley, R 2012, The complete history of aviation from ballooning to supersonic

flight. 1st edn, Rosen Educational Services, New York, US.

 Hartzellprop 2018, ‘Aviation History: The World’s First Turboprop’, blog post, 27

September, viewed 10 August 2020, <https://hartzellprop.com/aviation-history-the-

worlds-first-turboprop/>

 Rathore, M 2010, Thermal Engineering, Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

 Nefertari with Isis, n.d. photograph, viewed 10 August 2020,

<http://www.12charlie.com/Chapter_14/Chap14Page005.htm>

 Nefertari with Isis, n.d. photograph, viewed 10 August 2020,

<http://www.12charlie.com/Chapter_14/Chap14Page006.htm>

 Experimental Aircraft Info n.d, Pratt & Whitney PT-6A Technical Information,

viewed 10 August 2020, <

https://www.experimentalaircraft.info/homebuilt-aircraft/aircraft-turbine-engine-

pt6a.php>

 Experimental Aircraft Info n.d, Rolls-Royce RR500 Specifications, viewed 10 August

2020, < https://www.experimentalaircraft.info/homebuilt-aircraft/aircraft-turbine-

engine-rr500.php>

 Green, W. and Swanborough, G. 1971, ‘Plane Facts’, Air Enthusiast, January 1

 Nefertari with Isis, n.d. photograph, viewed 10 August 2020,

<http://yeumaybay.com/2016/12/atr-72-canh-chuon-chuon-tren-duong-bay-ngan/>

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  Nefertari with Isis, n.d. photograph, viewed 10 August 2020, <

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/138133913553878156/>

 NASA 2015, Turbofan Engine, viewed 10 August 2020, <

https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/Animation/turbtyp/etfm.html>

 Michael, H, David, B, Linnea, F, Anthony, G & William, P 2015, Engineering and

Technology, Cangage Learning.

 Bharat, V 2012, ‘Indian Defence Review: July-Sep 2012’, vol. 27

 Klees, GW 1984, ‘Turbine bypass turbofan with mid-turbine reingestion and method

of operating the same’, Google Patents

 Coplin, JF 1989, ‘Turbofan gas turbine engine’, Google Patents

 Konstantin, 2007, Airbus A320-214, photograph, viewed 10 August 2020, <

https://vi.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tập_tin:Airbus_A320-

214,_Vietnam_Airlines_AN1211370.jpg>

 Nefertari with Isis, n.d. photograph, viewed 10 August 2020, <

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lockheed_Martin_F-

22A_Raptor_JSOH.jpg>

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