Propeller E ciency

Rule of T humb

David F. Rogers, PhD, ATP

T heoret ically t he most ecient propeller is a large diamet er, slowly t urning single blade
propeller. Here, t hink t he Osprey or helicopt ers. In bot h cases, large diamet er, slowly t urning, compared t o typical xed wing aircraft , propellers are used. Generally, single bladed
propellers are not used because of dynamic imbalance - t hink vibrat ion. As a result , t he
general wisdom is t hat bet t er propeller eciency result s from decreasing RP M. However,
propeller eciency is not only a funct ion of RP M. It is also a funct ion of propeller diamet er and t rue airspeed. Generally t hese paramet ers are combined int o a nondimensional
paramet er called t he advance rat io (J = V/ N D ), where V is t he t rue airspeed in feet per
second, N is t he propeller rot at ional speed in revolut ions per second and D is t he propeller
diamet er in feet .
P ropeller eciency also depends on t he power coecient , which is a funct ion of, again,
N and D and also density as well as t he brake horsepower. Specically, t he power coecient ,
Cp, is anot her nondimensional paramet er dened by
BHP
Cp =
N 3 D5
where BHP is t he brake horsepower and (rho) is t he local air density. From t his, you can
see t hat simply saying lower RP Ms give bet t er propeller eciency is a bit simplist ic.
What is meant by a nondimensional paramet er? Well, it is a paramet er which, upon subst it ut ing t he
dimensions int o t he expression for each of t he physical paramet ers, result s in all t he dimensions cancelling
out , e.g.,
V
1 1
ft 1 1
ft sec 1
ft sec 1
J =
= V
=
=
=
ND
N D
sec rev
ft
sec
rev
ft
sec
ft
sec
Because revolut ions (rev) is not a physical dimension, t he denominat or in t he second t erm is replaced wit h
a blank. F inally, we have
ft
/ sec
/
V
ft sec
J =
=
=
ND
sec ft
sec
/ ft
/
and each of t he physical dimensions cancels out , i.e., J is dimensionless.
Copyright c 2010 David F . R ogers. All right s reserved. P u blish ed by t h e Am er ica n Bon an za Societ y wit h p ermission .

P r op eller E cien cy C r u ise R u le of T hu m b

Furt hermore, as wit h any aircraft , t he designer has a design goal in mind. For t he
Bonanza, t he design goal was high speed cruise coupled wit h all around good handling and
performance. T he design goal inuences propeller design and select ion.

P r op eller s
Typically propellers are divided int o t hree main cat egories: xed pit ch, adjust able (cont rollable) pit ch, bot h ground and in ight adjust able, and const ant speed (RP M). Because of
wart ime experience, Beech originally chose a cont rollable pit ch propeller for t he Bonanza.
Maximum propeller diamet er is principally inuenced by ground clearance and t ip speed
(Mach number). Bonanza propellers st art ed at 88 inches in diamet er and, except for t akeo, a maximum RP M of 2050. As maximum engine RP M increased, diamet er decreased,
because of t ip Mach number, t o 80 inches at 2700 RP M for a const ant speed propeller.
T he basic design philosophy for a const ant speed propeller is, for any select ed engine
power, or t orque, t o change t he pit ch (angle) of t he propeller blades t o absorb t he select ed
engine power, provided t here is enough t orque t o t urn t he propeller at t he select ed RP M.
Increasing t he blade pit ch increases t he blade drag, while decreasing t he blade pit ch decreases t he blade drag. Hence, a larger (coarser) blade angle, for a given RP M, will absorb
more power and require more t orque t o t urn it at t he request ed RP M. Similarly a smaller
(ner) blade angle, for a given RP M, will absorb less power and require less t orque t o t urn
it at t he request ed RP M.
P ropeller blades are twist ed from root t o t ip. T he amount by which t he blades are
twist ed, along wit h t he variat ion in chord, airfoil sect ion and sweepback of t he blade leading
edge, are design decisions. T hose design decisions are signicant ly inuenced by t he design
goal. Even wit h a cont rollable pit ch or const ant speed propeller, opt imum design t hroughout
t he ight regime is not achievable. T he design goal for t he Bonanza is high speed cruise.
Hence, propeller design and select ion is opt imum or near opt imum for high speed ight .
T hus, performance for t akeo and climb is subopt imal.

A Sim p lied R u le of T hu m b
From t he propeller maps for bot h t he common two and t hree blade McCauley propellers
t t ed t o t he lat er Bonanzas, a generic propeller eciency curve, , (et a) as a funct ion of
t he advance rat io, J , can be est imat ed as shown in F igure 1. For full power and 2700 RP M
at sea level and for 65% power at 6000 ft at 2300 RP M, t he maximum propeller eciency
occurs for between J = 0.95 and J = 1.05 as shown by t he gray band in F igure 1.

Propeller efficiency,

0.90
0.85
0.80
0.75
0.70
0.65
0.60
0.6

0.7

F i gur e 1.

0.8

0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2

Advance Ratio, J

1.3

1.4

Generic propeller eciency vs advance rat io.

Copyright c 2010 David F . R ogers. All r ight s reser ved . P ub lished by t he America n Bon a nza Societ y wit h p ermission .

P r op eller E cien cy C r u ise R u le of T hu m b

Out side of t hese values t he propeller eciency decreases. From t his, we can see t hat , for a
xed diamet er propeller, it is t he rat io of t he t rue airspeed t o t he propeller RP M t hat is
import ant in achieving maximum eciency.
For t his generic propeller eciency curve t he rat io of RP M/ TAS should be maint ained
at approximat ely 15 t o give an advance rat io of J = 1.0 , i.e.,
J =

V
1.69 KTAS
(60) (1.69) (12) KTAS
=
=
= 1.0
ND
(RP M/ 60)(D/ 12)
(RP M) (D)

where t he 1.69 convert s KTAS (knot s t rue airspeed) t o ft / sec TAS, t he 60 convert s RP M t o
RP S (revolut ions per second) and t he 12 convert s inches t o feet . For a propeller diamet er
of 80 inches, aft er rearranging and invert ing t his equat ion, we have
RP M
= 15.2
K T AS
as a rule of t humb t o maint ain maximum propeller eciency. However, t his is a rule of
t humb so let s use 15.0 for A Simplied Rule Of T humb (ASROT ). It is easier t o remember
and close enough.

F in e Tu n in g t h e R u le of T hu m b
T he propeller eciency curve shown in F igure 1 is a composit e of bot h t he typical Bonanza
two and t hree blade propellers at two dierent condit ions. Is t here a way t o ne t une t he
rule of t humb for a specic aircraft and propeller? Because t he Bonanza design goal was
high speed cruise, it is reasonable t o assume t hat t he fact ory propeller is opt imized for
t hat condit ion.
As a pract ical mat t er, for a normally aspirat ed engine t he cruise t rue airspeed increases
wit h alt it ude unt il t he crit ical alt it ude for a given power set t ing is reached. Let s call t he
crit ical alt it ude t he knee in t he curve. Above t he knee t he engine can no longer produce
t he request ed percent age of power. High speed cruise condit ions for various alt it udes and
power set t ings are represent ed by t he alt it ude vs cruise airspeed graph (see F igure 2) in
t he performance sect ion of t he P ilot Operat ing Handbook (P OH). As examples t o t est t he
ASROT let s use t he knee in t he alt it ude vs cruise t rue airspeed graph from t he P OH.

Table 1 Cruise Airspeed Eciencies

Alt it ude %BHP
6000 ft
75
7500 ft
65
8700 ft
55
14000 ft
45
11000 ft
45

BHP RP M
213.8 2500
185.3 2300
156.8 2100
128.3 2100
128.3 2100

KTAS
173
164
152
141
140

J
1.059
1.085
1.101
1.021
1.010

Cp
0.0621
0.0724
0.0722
0.0807
0.0722

0.902
0.905
0.905
0.896
0.900

Symbol
Red dot
Blue dot
Green dot
Black dot
Red circle

ASROT
14.5
14.0
13.8
14.9
15.0

Weight = 3100 lbs, st andard day

Table 1 illust rat es t he result s for t he power set t ings, alt it udes and airspeeds corresponding t o t he knee in t he cruise t rue airspeeds vs alt it ude curves represent ed by t he dashed line
in F igure 2 obt ained using t he bare propeller eciency map for t he C76 McCauley 3-blade
80 inch propeller, as shown in F igure 3. Table 1 shows t hat t he advance rat io, J , lies on
t he plus side of t he 0.95 t o 1.05 maximum eciency curve at t he higher t rue airspeeds and
P ronounced AS ROT
Bare propeller eciencies do not consider blockage eect s of t he nose or nacelles. For a properly designed
propeller blockage eect s can decrease propeller eciencies by 1-3%.
Copyright c 2010 David F . R ogers. All r ight s reser ved . P ub lished by t he America n Bon a nza Societ y wit h p ermission .

P r op eller E cien cy C r u ise R u le of T hu m b

156 B
H

185
.3 B
HP
- 23
(65%
00 R
PM
MC
P)
213
.8 B
HP
(75
% M 2500 R
PM
CP
)

P- 2
100 R
( 55%
PM
M CP
)

(45%
M CP)
P - 21
00 RP
M

128.3
BH

Pressure Altitude (1000 ft)

PM

00 R
- 25

PM

PM

00 R
- 23

R
00
21

10

t le

tle

e-

12

t
hr o

r ot
Th

ttl
ro
Th

14

ll T
Fu

ll

ll
Fu

Fu

16

E33A
Weight 3100 lbs
I SA Standar d

0
120

140

130

150

160

170

180

Tr ue Air speed (knots)

F i gur e 2.

Cruise airspeeds.

RP Ms. T his implies t hat an ASROT fact or of 15 over-est imat es t he required RP M. T he

last column in Table 1 shows t he ASROT fact or required t o obt ain t he st at ed RP M at t he
st at ed KTAS, i.e., t he RP M in column 4 divided by t he KTAS in column 5. T he result
shows t hat t he ASROT fact or for t his propeller should be adjust ed downward. A reasonable
adjust ed ASROT fact or of 14.5 is suggest ed.

Blade
angle

0.08

0.
9
0.
91

15.2o

0.8
5

. ..
.

20.2o

0.04

0.7

0.6

0.5

25.2o

K nee cr uise value

Alt (ft) RPM BHP %
6000 2500 75
7500 2300 65
8700 2100 55
14000 2100 45
11000 2100 45

0.8
75

0.12

0.8

29.2o

...
.

Propeller efficiency,
0.3
0.4

Power coefficient, Cp

0.16

10.2o

0.5
1.0
Advance r atio, J = V/ND

1.5

F igure 3. McCauley C76 propeller map.

Copyright c 2010 David F . R ogers. All r ight s reser ved . P ub lished by t he America n Bon a nza Societ y wit h p ermission .

P r op eller E cien cy C r u ise R u le of T hu m b

Table 1 also shows t hat typically for higher KTAS higher RP M is required t o maint ain
maximum propeller eciency, while for lower KTAS lower RP M is required t o maint ain
maximum propeller eciency. T his result conrms t he current wisdom t hat lower RP M for
lower t rue airspeeds increases propeller eciency.
Turning now t o t he C76 propeller map shown in F igure 3, not ice t he clust ering of all of
t he high speed cruise dat a from 6000 t o 14,000 ft . In fact , F igure 3 and Table 1 illust rat e
t hat t he dierence in propeller eciency is at most a lit t le over 1/ 2%. T his suggest s t hat
using t he knee values from F igure 2 is a reasonable way t o ne t une t he ASROT value
for a part icular propeller. It also indicat es t hat being a lit t le o in eit her RP M or J is
not serious.
F inally, be aware t hat det ermining t he specic RP M and manifold pressure t hat will
give near opt imal propeller eciency for any given ight condit ion is an it erat ive process.
Hang on t o F igure 3, well be coming back t o it when we look at t ake-o, climb and
t urbonormalized operat ions.

Copyright c 2010 David F . R ogers. All r ight s reser ved . P ub lished by t he America n Bon a nza Societ y wit h p ermission .