UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING

Aerospace Engineering
PROGRAM CODE: AS – 201
Subject Name : AERO THERMODYNAMICS Subject Code : AST-218

UNIT - 3
BASICS OF PROPULSION AND HEAT TRANSFER
Classification of jet engines - basic jet propulsion arrangement – Engine station number, thrust equation –
Specific thrust, SFC, TSFC, specific impulse, actual cycles, isentropic efficiencies of jet engine components,
polytropic efficiency, conduction in parallel, radial and composite wall, basics of convective and radiation
heat transfer. (15 hours)

(Use of steam tables and Mollier charts are permitted)

UNIT - 3
BASICS OF PROPULSION AND HEAT TRANSFER
5.4 PULSE JET ENGINE

Main Components of Pulse Jet Engine

(1) Inlet
(2) Combustion Chamber
(3) Nozzle
(4) Valve Grid
(5) Spark Plug

Compressed air is allowed to enter inlet. High pressure air

flow pushes and opens spring type valve grids. Air flow with

high pressure enters combustion chamber. Fuel is injected and burnt with incoming air flow at
constant volume. In this process built up in pressure closes the grid valves. Once air fuel mixture
is completely burnt, pressure level decreases. This set up pressure difference ahead and behind
 UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
Aerospace Engineering
PROGRAM CODE: AS – 201
Subject Name : AERO THERMODYNAMICS Subject Code : AST-218

grid valves, which forces grids to open again. A fresh air again enters into the combustion
chamber. Process of opening and closing grid valves takes place in a fraction of seconds. It is the
reason the engine is referred as pulse jet engine. Combusted products are expanded in the nozzle.
The gases with high velocity run offto the atmosphere. Momentum of working fluid is
responsible for high trust development because jet velocity is always higher than inlet velocity of
air.

Qualities

(i) Relatively cheap.

(ii) Needs occasional and small maintenance.
(iii) Very simple and light weight engine next to ramjet engine.
(iv) For initial start device is not required.
(v) Performance of engine is not influenced by quality of fuel.

Drawbacks

(i) More fuel consumption and limitation due to short life grid valves.
(ii) Narrow range of speeds about 600 – 850 km/h.
(iii) More noise due to fluctuation of grid valves.
(iv) Useful for pilotless aircrafts.
(v) Low propulsive efficiency than turbojet engine.
(vi) Limitation of altitude.