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 per in) |b) |b persa in) 1084 27 ocoo250 | 1307 o-oo | i292 | 15,915 o-oo | i106 | 8,640 o-oo | ss | 2552 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER: PRINCIPLES Bending Stress Bending stresses are more complex and require reference to acr0~ dynamic data in order to obtain the distribution of thrust along the blade. NACA Tech, Rept. 421 presents suficient data to determine the thrust distribution for a variety of blades and blade angles. "The di ferences in distribution shown affect but slightly the resultant bending stresses 40 that one reps {thrust distribution for the most conservative condition may be used. Distribution of the blade ons, ona] oo} + AL. oO 02 OF 04 05 08 07 OB 09 10 a. 3-13, ‘Thrust Joa! distvibution torque load may be handled in « similar fashion, but torque calculations are ordinavily neglected because the effect on blade stresses is negligible Figure 3-13 is a plot from NACA Tech, Rept. 421 of thrust loading dCp/de versus per cent radius at a low V/nD ratio for a typical metal propeller blade and may be used to calculate the actual thrust distribu- tion once the total thrust is determined, ‘The area under this curve represents the total thrust per blade and may therefore be converted into a plot of thrust loading in pounds per inch versus radius in inches. ‘When the thrust distribution has been determined, the curve of thrust distribution may be graphieally integrated from the tip inward to deter= ‘mine the shear at any point on the blade, A second integration. will vield the uncorrected bending moment curve. Figure 3-14 contains a plot of these calculations with the thrust loading curve adjusted to give 2 total thrust of 425 Ib. The thrust bending moment eauses the blade to deflect forward out of the plane of rotation, and centrifugal force sets BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 58 up a restoring moment until equilibrium is obtained. In order to deter- mine the final moment acting ib is necesary to estimate a reduced bending moment curve and to calculate the blade deflection under this assumed condition. ‘The centrifugal restoring moment: may then be calculated and subtracted from the uncorrected moment to obtain a 414,000 L\ | 12000 200] s00 too se Ke | IN| lao sono # o Nee NENA” | ® rag) —| 200 con F : 3 3 Estimated Bol ick NS E I aol oe ea civ im Inchos iG. 8-14, ‘Thrust loading and bending moments net moment. If the net moment is reasonably close to the estimated ‘moment the calculations are complete. If not, anew estimated moment rust be taken and the calculations repeated until agreement is reached. ‘The estimated moment curve of Fig. 8-14 represents an arbitrary redue- tion from the uncorrected moment eurve. ‘The net moment curve shown will be derived in the next several pages. A tabulation of the uncorrected and estimated moment calculations follows. ‘The factor Cis @ corree- tion factor which, when multiplied by the uncorrected moment, will give the estimated moment value. For blades of this general type it will serve as a first approximation,5 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES Bermaren Mosexr Caucutamions Uncorrected Estimated Station (in.) | Shear Qh) | Moment ‘Moment (nth) n-th) w 420 sto 0.535, 4370 18 sm ens 0485, 2710 a 38 5800 onan 1530 30 20 2000 068 nT 36 19 70 0.350) 263 2 Bi 130) 0-400 5 Inasmuch as the propeller blade is essentially » cantilever beam of varying cross section, the deffection under the estimated moment may. be obtained by a double graphical integration of the M/EI curve ™ where M = estimated bending moment in inch-pounds. E = modulus of elasticity in pounds per square inch (approximately 10,000,000 for aluminum alloys). = minimum moment, of inertia for blade section in in Buapk: Durtycnion Catentarions Station |b A Slope | Deflection in) | ny | ing) radian) | Gn) x2 | 5.48 | 1.0601 | 1.902 | 0.00228 | o.on108 | 0.0006 asf 688 | rast | oss | o-oo | o-oo | ocorr2 a | 729 | 0.80 | 0.249 | o-coo6is | 0.00722 | 0.0196 30 | 7.05 | 0.727 | o.1282 | 0.000559 | 0.01085 | 0.1038 36 | 8.35 | 0-577 | o-osr7 | o.onotss | o-oig95 | 0.1788 42 | 5.08 | 0-439 | o-oo | 0.000287 | o-oisin | 0.2096 as |. o.o16ss | 0.3006 ‘The above calculations are graphed in Fig. 3-16, With the forward deflection of all blade sections determined, the restoring moment due to centrifugal force may be ealeulated by a sum 1 Conjugate Beum Method for Beam Deflection. Tt should be noted that both integrations must he made from the blade root outward. Niles and Newell, Air- plane Structures,” Vol. I, John Wiley anc Sons (1943), p. 80, egy ~ Racine ger in BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS oon cea cows} || LL fe cots con JA ai cot} | ocos an 0 ot a) Ye. 8-15. Mh deletion en ht oa os oat | i 2 OOF Sod — i + cr r a AB(iny ty ACF al { Ae es worl 4 |_+—} | iy 0 a pw ae ve ia, 3-16, Centrifugal foree restoring action56 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES: ‘mation of the increments 4 C.P. X Ad from each reference station to the tip. CLP. is the centrifugal force of some station outboard of the reference station r and Aé is the blade deflection between the two sta- tions as shown in Fig. 3-16. Figure 8-17 shows the graphical integration necessary to obtain the centrifugal restoring moment Mer. curve. °A separate set of computae 6000, 240 BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS a7 calculations. The centrifugal restoring moment, calculations follow. In the right-hand column the estimated moment is tabulated for com- parison with the net moment. cTRIFVGAY, Ressronne Moses CaLcoLaTtons | vosumetat | seb [timate “ss AG aa) Me Moment | Moment! Moment i tion] Gin.) | dyin) | Gn-aivinsy | Gneth) | 13) | cl | ney wo fae | 9 fast | so | ase |r 5000) 200, 18 | 0.0136 | 127 16.9) 21 | cos as - | 3 | 0.1090 102 2 3 | Otte tas.0 5 4000 Wee's 42 | 0.2600 208.1 i WH or | ame | m0 | 2 24) dome] isi | ar i 2000 fis 0% an|ocsot | tam | arr : t as |octe | tos | tise i Lf Woe | wef oce | a | tare B seco A Jo ajo [ame] oo | osm | amo | as | tao E / Wg an | oo} tame | aon i 3 aa) om | i103 | 127 ‘ Ti/ 5 #2 |oa0| "ts | 20 j 2 000 ao 4 WN ‘ alo fm | oo | ais | amo | om fae 36 e072 | i105 | seo 7 i 42} 0.1600 | 783 | 19.8. o ° IS a a sojo | oo | 0 | se | a | ons | os Radius in nhas 2] 0.08 | “ise | aa Fie. 8:17, Centrifugal restoring, moment due to blade defleetion, tions for each station inboard of the tip yields the A C.F, X Aa eurves. ‘The area under these curves is the total centrifugal restoring moment for tho referenee station, and this value becomes the ordinate of the Mc.». curve at that point. ‘The not bending moment is now the uncorrected moment of Fig. 3-14 minus the centrifugal restoring moment of Fig. 3-17. If this net moment does not closely approximate the estimated moment, it will be necessary to make another assumption and repeat. It is usually possible to obtain good agreement between estimated and net moments with two esti- mations. In tho present instance it would not be necessary to repeat the In calculating the thrust bending stresses the formula fy used where My/l ix AM = the net bending moment in inch-pounds y = the distance from the neutral axis to the outermost fiber in whes. T= the minimum moment of inertia (in. Jy = bending stress in pounds per square inch, - ‘The thrust force is assumed perpendicular to the chord of the blade section, and the neutral axis parallel to the chord through the section38 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES ‘outer of gravity, ‘The blade chord is also assumed to Tie in the plane of rotation at all stations. These assumptions result in comparatively small errors and greatly simplify the procedure, ‘They are normally absorbed in the stress analysis by generous margins of safety, as dis- cussed later, Figure 3-18 shows the various relationships. sued Rezutant ssa Roce aoe ‘Chord Parallel to Pane of Rotation Fao. 318, Blade bending stro assumptions "Phe blade torque force may be analyzed in the same fashion as thrust bonding and added to the preceding results, Owing to the greatly in- ‘creased blade stiffness about the major axis, itis not necessary to correct for centrifugal restoring moment, ‘The blade torque effect is, however, ° 8 i 26 3 wa Radius in Inches. Fic. 3-19, Combined stresces on blade thrust face negligible exeopt for the extreme shank portion of the blade and is neg lected in this analysis ‘Bending stresses caused by the forward thrust loading are compression (on the back or camber side of the blade section and tension on the thrust, face. When the centrifugal tension load is added to the bending load BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 30 ‘the critical tension stress occurs on the thrust face. Figure 3-19 gives a curve of combined stresses on the thrust face. A summary of the cal- culations follows. ‘Toran Stiapy Senuss Caxcrarions Station | Taye ® Mow | fe | fom | Seat Guy | Gn} | Gin | Gin) | ofan in) | b/s in) | a /s in.) wz | 192 | o.sas | aso] 1g00 | ass | 6828, 1s | 1539 | ons | 2ri5 | 2510 | 5250 | 7760 om 0.249 | 0.378 vas5 | 2255 495 | 7190 go | ors | ogy | om | tis | gen | osis 36 | 0.058 | 0.243 | 208 | te | sm | 4076 42 | 0mm | 0.185 40 | 366 | ma | 2135 Blade Tilt ‘The effect of blade tilt would be included in the preceding calculations of net bending moment by modifying the offsets for the centrifugal restoring moment calculations. A small amount of tilt serves to relieve the bending stresses under normal fight conditions, aud it-has been the practice to use approximately 34° forward tilt with steel and aluminum alloy blades in conventional designs. ‘The amount of tilt is essentially ‘a compromise, as it would vary for different light conditions as the ratio between rpm and thrust varied Usually the center of gravity of all blade seetions lies on a straight line known as the blade axis, which alo coincides with the center of blade rotation in the hub for controllable-pitch propellers. If there is any offset of the center of gravity present, the centrifugal restoring moment must: also include this effect. ‘Torsional Deflections It is to be expected that some torsional deflection, in addition to the bending deflection, would exist for a propeller blade under the operating loads. ‘This deflection would change the blade angle at each station and ‘therefore affect the calculated performance and stress analysis somewhat, ‘Test data have shown this effect to he negligible for conventional aluminum-alloy blades, and it is therefore probable that: no appreciable error is introduced by neglecting it.!* . “Hartman and Biermann, ‘Torsional and Bending Detlction of Full-Scale Aluminum Alloy Propeller Biados Under Normal Operating Conditions,” NACA Tech, Reps. 644 (1938)60 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES: Aerodynamic Blade Torque As previously stated, blade torque forces have a negligible effect on Dude stress, but they are the predominant forces acting upon the pitch aging mechanism. Aerodynamic blude torque is normally very small compared with eentrifugal blade torque and is usually disrogarded as torque force, As the aerodynamic center of pressure is ordinarily ahead. of the center of rotation (center of gravity) of the blade seetion, the rust effect is Lo increase the blade angle. However, with the advent of exceptionally widle blades for high disk loadings, the nerodynamie torque ineceases mpidly. It may be evaluated by graphically integrating the aerodynamic moment at each section and adding to the result the moment duc to the thrust foree offset from the center of blade rotation, Acrodynamie blade torque is neglected in the present example. Centrifugal Blade Torque Contrifugal bhude torque is an appreciable ay and may be visualized best by considering the blade element as two concentrated masses at the Ieading and trailing edges. Phe effect of centrifugal force will be to erate both a force perpendicular to the plane and a force in the pline of the blade element. ‘The former eauses direct mn, wherens the Intter combination tends to reduce the blade angle. ‘This 8-20. Centrifugal blade torque may be evaluated ye expression. Cras = Juin) sin B 608 Bl > de Pi ody density of blade material in pounds per eubie ineh, = angular velocity in rudians por second, g = aceeleration due to gravity in inches per second per second, B = blade angle in degrees. Qy = centritugal twisting moment per blade in ineh-pounds. ‘The quantity within the integral sign varies for each blade seetion and ust therefore be plotted versus andius and graphically integrated. ‘The total torque per blade will then be the integral multiplied by the constant. This may he repeated for several different blade angles to determine the maximum valuo of the blade torque, Figure 3-21 gives tho results of ealeulations made for the blade of Fig. 1-10. Tt will be noted that: the expression for Qy is a maximum for any sec tion at a blade angle of 45°, decreasing to zero at:0° and 90°. For con- where "Younger and Woods, “Dynamics of Aigplanes,” John Wiley and Sons (1981), pp. 240-282. BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 61 ventional propeller blades the maximum twisting moment usually oectns near a blade angle of 35° at the three-quarter radius, For a 12-f¢ diam ter, aluminum-alloy propeller this quantity approximates 10,000 in-lb per blade. Once the maximum value is determined or any two widely separated values are obtained, a complete curve of torque versus blade angle may be completed, using the sin @ eos 8 relationship as shown in Fig. 3-22, A curve of this type is important in determining peak louds for the pitel-changing mechanism, Puc. 3-20. Centrifugal blade torque Fores Blade Counterweight Action In order to reduce the centrifugal blade torque effet on the piteh- changing mechanism, the blades aro often eounterweighted. In the Hamilton Siandard constant-speed propeller, the eounterweights were i whereas in early idly to the blade ‘Curtiss designs the counterweights were attached shank, ‘Considering the counterweight as concentrated mass fastened to the blade shank radially outward a distance r and at the length B from the lade axis of rotation as in Fig, 3-23, the following relationships are obtained. © z e VEE Beasts Fea (CK aye teoz AIRPLANE PROPELLER. PRINCIPLES BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 63 2400 1 2000) 7 } 1600] || — 1200} — = _ ial Blade Torque, Qy ~ in=Ib per Blade o 1s 30 35 oo 75 % ‘Blade Angle at 0.75 Rin Degreas Bia. 8-22. Contrifugal blade torque vers blade angle a 2000 rpm (propeller Fg. 1-10), Dis of Retation Beas Pah Geno \ AX fe L \ ° 16 2 3 7 ss}! eno ais in ncns ‘an Vic. 8-21, Centrifugal blade torque ealeulations (propeller of Fig. 1-10). Fic, 3-23, Blade eountermeight action.64 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES Boos 8 [3] where 1 = weight of counterweight in pounds. 4 = acceleration of gravity in inches per second per soeond, «© = angular velocity of rotation in radians per second. B= counterweight: arm length in inches. 4 = counterwcight angular position in degrees from plane of rotation. Lt will be noted that the counterweight effect is independent of r, and therefore the counterweights may be attached at any radial point along the blade without affecting their action. Owing to vibration they are usually attached as close to the center of rotation as possible, Note also. that the counterweight torque is a maximum when tho angle 8 is 45° Hence, to obtain the most benefit. the counterweight is set so that 6 is 45° when the blade is at the angle of maximum eenteifugal blade torque. TE the counterweight torque equals the centrifugal blade torque at this position they will then be equal ab all rpm and blade angles, since both ‘quantities vary as the square of the rpm and as sin 3 cos 6. ‘Variation of Blade Stress with RPM At any given V/nD and blade angle the thrust coefficient Gr is cone stant. Sinee T= Cypn®Dt the thrust bending moment Mr ~D®. Also OF. (en)? Sf Avrdr~ Dt and the centrifugal restoring moment Mey. -~n®D®. ‘Therefore the net bending moment Myoy = My — Moy, ~ n°D* BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 65 It may therefore be said that for any given V/nD with geometrically similar propellers of the sane material, the steady stress is proportional to the square of the tip spocd. Allowable Steady Stresses ‘The relationship bebween steady stress and vibratory stress will be discussed later. Stead ins of safety are usually computed oon the basis of the fatigue strength of the material because of their close relationship in propeller work, Reference may be made to the mater ‘at the beginning of this chapter for the fatigue strength of common blade materials. igure 3-19 gives 14.000 7500 sign would then be: 2000V 1.795, “Margin of safety ~1= 19.5% ‘The maximum allowable rpm for t or 2680 under the design conditions. Gyroscopic Loads yroscopi¢ loads arc imposed on the propeller when the airplane fs in wear flight. The propeller disk tends to resist rotation of the ait Nein ot Gyroscope Moment Movement of Airplane Nose Fic. 3:24, Gyroseopie action. plane, and thereby it imposes a bending moment on both the blade shank and the propeller shaft, ‘The action of the propeller is to attempt to align its plane of rotation with that of the airplane. ‘Thus, for a right- hand propeller one may obtain a diagram of forces acting as in Vig. 3-24, which shows the tendeney of the gyroscopic moment to swing the "5 Rotating clockwise when viewed from the cockpit.66. AIRPLANE PROPELLER: PRINCIPLES, nose of the airplane when the nose is moved in suny one of the four directions indicated. This diagram refers to motion as viewed from the airplane cockpit. For the blade shank the gyroscopic bending moment follows a sinus soidal variation, making complete eycle oneo each revolution. For the propeller shaft, the nature of the gyroscopic moment depends upon ‘the type of propeller: for a two-bladed propeller, the moment. varies from zero to a maximum twiew each rovolution whereas for three-bladed ‘and four-bladed propellers the moment is constant. ‘The masimum shaft ending moment is the same for both two- and four-bladed propellers. The maxi pent at the bude shank may be formulated as follows." M = 2105 i] where Mf = gyraseopie moment in foot-pounds: T= propeller blade mas; moment of inertia about the center of rotation in dug, angular velocity of propeller about its shaft in radians per second, ty of airplane in yaw or pitch in radians per For a conventional solid sluminum-alloy propeller blade, the radius of gyration is approximately 55 per cent of the radius. Hence, for a 12-4 diameter propeller having a blade weighing 60 Ib and rotating at 1440 rpm, the blade root: bending moment may he cateulated directly for a given airplane rate of rotation, Radius of gyration = 0.55 X 6 = 3.30 ft = 208 ugh? M440 x2" oy = Ul rad see Assume @ = 1 rad/sce yawing velocity in a flat spin, then M= 2X23 XWLXL 130 ft-lb oF 73,600 inh blade root bending moment with a frequency of 1440 eyeles per min, Development of this formula: may be fo ‘Younger and Woods, “Dynamies of Airplanes; 11 in most books on dynamies. Soe "Joh Wiley and Sons (1931), p. 82. BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 67 Té will be seen from the preceding example that the gyroscopic bending moment can berome appreciable on both the blade shank and propeller shaft. during stich maneuvers as power-on spinning, quiek-turns, push- overs, ete, Fortunately the load is of short. duration and occurs when the steady stresses are ordinarily not at their peak so that a propeller blade designed to withstand the maximum normal steady loads is usally satisfactory under the momentary «yroscopie loads, although certain flight, maneuvers may be prohibited by this loading condition. Vibratory Stresses ‘Torque impulses from the engine, motion of the engine on its elastic ‘mounts, aerodynamic excitation from the blades passing near the fuselage ‘or wing—all these and many more disturbances set up vibration in the propeller blade, Whenever the frequeney of the foreing funetion coin cides with one of the natural frequencies of the blade Uere is the possi= bility of a dangerous resonance condition arising which may result im a blade failure from fatigue duc to excessive vibratory stresses, even though the steady stresses may be very low. "The many variables existing in both the disturbing forces and in the blade design make it exceedingly difficult to attempt rigorous mathe ‘matical analysis of the vibration problem although some work has been done along this line.* “The natural frequencies may ho readily determined experimentally by suspending the propeller horizontally on a shock cord or similar low- froqueney support and mounting a, variable speed vibrator on the hub. If sawdust or a like material is sprinkled over the blade it will collect at, the nodal points when the vibrator runs at a resonant frequeney. Tec trie contacts may be used at the blade tips to determine whether they aro in phase.!* Observations arv mado over a range of blade angles. ‘Phere are a great many natural frequencics of a propeller, and they ‘may be divided into three classes shown in the accompanying table, Ten 0 Tuane Monon Snaox Syimmtvia ee Ungmmetial Out of phe XK AN 2a ‘Torsional nan’ “Ramberg, Bellif, and West, “A Method For Determining Stresses in a None Rotating Propeller Blade Vibrating with a Natural Fnajueney,” Joural of Research of the National Bureau of Stendarda, Vol. 14 (1935), 196. "TLL Couch, "Propeller-Crankshaft Vibration Problems,” Air Corpe Information Cirewlar 705 (1988).68 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES In the symmetrical type of vibration all blades are vibrating in phase, the hub being an anti-node or loop. In the unsymmetrieal type the blades are out of phase, and the hub is a nodal point, ‘the symmetrical and unsymmetrical vibration frequencies usually group in pairs and are referred to as IL, IN, 21, 2N, cte., where the number represents the harmonie and N signifies a node and Ts loop at the hub. The nat freque ral in torsion leaves a sawdust pattern approximating a straight Fi. 3-25, ‘Three-node-pee-blado vibration pattern i static resonance, (Oficial Photograph, U-S. Army Air Fore.) line parallel to the blade axis, and it usually occurs near the fourth har monic. A pattem of the three-node-per-bladle type ix shown in Fig. 3-25. ‘The natural frequeney of the propeller at rest will inerease in opera tion because of the stiffening effect of centrifugal force on the rotating blade, and this effect may be evaluated by use of the following formula.” Se = Vis eX (5) where fi = frequency under rotation in cycles per minute, fo = frequency at rest in eycles per minute AV = rate of rotation in revolutions per minute. ¢ = coefficient depending on the mode of vibration and the blade shape. "'Theodorsen, “Propeller Tech. Note 516 (1835) ibrations and the Biect of Cental Force,” NACA BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 69 ‘The values of ¢ given below are recommended for conventional metal blade designs. ‘Tyne ov Vonmariox AL and IN 72.0 2A and 0-62 sland SN wo With the proceding corrections, the natural frequencies for a. given blade angle may be plotted versus engine rpm and the known forcing, funetions superimposed, as in Fig. 3-26, ‘The engine forcing functions are for a nine cyelinder, single-row, ditvet-drive radial engine.!* The varions intersection points are all possible danger points and should be carefully investigated. The eritical conditions may be definitely checked by means of blado vibration stress pickups. Vibration Stress-Measuring Equipment ‘Since 1933 experiments have been carried out on various forms of vie bration indicators for determining the frequency, amplitude, and types of vibration occurring in the propeller in actual operation on the engine. ‘The difficulty has been to obtain a light-weight pickup that could be mounted on the propeller blade and give accurate readings of the pre~ ceding quantities, Barly types ineluded Rochelle salts erystals fastened to the blade so that bending of the blade under vibration varied the pressure on the erystal. ‘The resulting electrical output from the was then earried through fine wires in to a slip ring on the propelle and out to a stationary amplifier and oscillograph where a record was obtained, A magnetic-type pickup was also used in which the gap between a permanent magnet. and a sct of pickup eoils with a soft-iron core varied under blade bending and generated a current in the coils. Both of these carly types were relatively complicated and subject to various sources of error. A modified earbon pile pickup has been de- veloped in recent years'in which an insulated flat earbon strip is cemented to the blade surface and the change in resistance, due to a change in pressure caused by blad bending, is measured on an electric eireuit. ‘The circuit ¢ nitially of a battery, the pickup and a matching resistance, an amplificr, and recording oscillograph.!* Fine wires soldered, to the ends of the pickup run along the blade to the hub where they con- nect to slip rings and out to the stationary recording equipment. The sists es BF, W. Caldwell, “Vibration Problem in Aireraft Propeller Designing,” SAB Journal (August, 1987), pp. 372-880. WF. W. Caldwell, “Vibration Problem in Aireraft Propeller Designs,” SA Journal (Sugust, 1987), pp. 372-390, Also “Propyllers for Aireraft Engines of High Power,” Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 2 (December, 1987), p. 37.70 i é : cs 18000) 14000 12,000 10000 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES & K 200 2000 "600 000 THOS Ta 2200 00 Engine rn Fic, 8:26, Predicted resonance speeds far engine-propeler combination BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 7 pickups must be mounted with their axes parallel to the direction of the stress to be measured. An oscillograph record might approximate the trace shown in Pig. 3-27. ‘The pickup, amplificr, and oscillograph combination may be cali- brated by mounting the pickup on a cantilever beam of the blade material and vibrating it with a known frequeney and amplitude. The amplitude of the oscillograph record may then be converted to pounds per square inch of stress, and the distanee betwven critical peaks on the record establishes the frequei In any vibration analysis several pickups are mounted on each blade— both near the tip and around the shank—as these points ate critical ‘The entire range of engine specds is usually checked at 50-tpm intervals at constant-manifold pressure, ‘The individual records are then ana- lyzed for eritieal stresses and frequencies, and a composite picture is obtained, such as given by Ig. 2-282 Definite peaks in this eur indicate resonant condition Resonant: conditions, if they are of dangerous proportions, must cither be eliminated or avoided. Dynamic dampers on the engine crankshaft tuned to the proper frequeney have helped to climinate some very bad conditions in recent designs, Sometimes a change in blade diameter, if permissible, will help. A change in the clastic engine mount system may de helpful. If the condition cannot be eliminated it must then be avoided. It has sometimes been necessary to issue operating limitations on engine cruising rpm with a specific blade design. In addition to Diade vibration stress measurements, records are also taken of engine motion along its three axes and of engine crankshaft torsional vibration because of the interrelationship of these three items. Further isolation of the propeller from engine vibrations by means of an extension shaft or an elastic driving system may make possible an appreciable weight reduction beemuse the most eritieal stresses are vibration stresses. Aluminumealloy blades in particular are compara- tively casy to nick in service, and this may result in a lowering of the fatigue strength to one-half of its original value. ‘The nick acts as & stress concentration point, and photographs of failed blades show eon- stantly widening cirelos of material failure centered around the nick as shown in item 7 of Fig. 3-29. ‘The loss of an appreciable portion of the blade in flight may eause an unbalance sufficient to pull the engine from its mount with serious consequences. =F, W, Caldwell, “Propellers For Airoraft Engines of High Power,” Journal of ‘the Aeronautienl Seienea, Vol. 5, No. 2 (November, 1957), p. 5.72 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES —| Lion q 3-27, Oseillograph record, 19,00 2000] | 1 | 00 7205 1609 2000 200 00 Engine som Fra, 3-28, Composite vibration stress euave for blade tip. BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 3 I, , Ypieal propeller vibration blade failures, (Offeial photoqraph, Us Army Air Pore.) Relation between Steady Stress and Vibration Stress Extensive fatigue tests have indicated 1 general relationship between steady and vibration stresses which may be expressed in the form of a Goodman diagram, Such a diagram is drawn up for aluminum alloy LIST in Fig, 8-302 The linear relationship between maximum alter~ nating stress sind tensile strength is an approximation to the available text data, Locate the point of steady stress along the steady and read vertically the maximum and minimum fatigue limits ‘On the basis of this type of diagram it would seem that fairly exact margins of safety could be computed from the steady stress analysis and, vibration stress measurements. Actually, service conditions distort this picture somewhat. Vibration stresses must not become excessive owing to the adverse effect of seratches and nicks which may oceut operation, ‘The various blade manufacturing processes may lower the fatigue strength appreciably below that of the virgin metal. ‘The fatigue © Battelle Memorial Institute, “Prevention of Fatigue of Metals,” John Wiley and Sons (1941), pp. 180-185, Fig. 113.7m AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES strength of a welded steel! blade joint, for example, may be one-half that of the virgin metal Aluminum-alloy blade tip vibratory stresses of 4 6,000 Ib per sq. in. and stoel blade tip strosses are held have been considered satisfactory eo cl | 50.000 40,000 ens svess, ps i 'ST aluminum allay fr ditoot tension 2 compressive 40000 Fi, 3-30, Mui Goodman diagram for compresion x in, Shank stresses are kept to ready stresses for stool blades oy blades to a maximum of £12,000 Ih per upproximately one-half this amount are usually below 25,000 Ib per sq in, and for aluminum below 14,000 Ib per sq in, One may visualize the steady stress analysis, as a method of proportioning the blade material while vibration stress measurements serve to define danger points in operation. Propeller Strength Tests Fixod-pitch wood propellers ate used chiefly on small airplanes under private ownership and as such are licensed by the Civil Aeronautics BLADE DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 6 Administration. ‘This agency requires completion of a ten-hour endur- ance block test: run at the desired rpm on an internal-combustion engine Fic, 8-31, Enginespropeler test stand, (Courtesy Curtiss Propeller Division, Courtice Wright Corp.) with the propeller at maximum piteh® Such test subjects the pro- peller to the maximum centrifugal and thrust loading, in addition to heavy vibratory loads due to engine torque impulses. Any signs of * Fifty-hour flight test may be substituted.76 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES cracks, loose tipping, elongated hub bolt holes, ete., are eauses for rejection, ‘Metal propellers are approved by both the Civil Acronauties Admin istration and the military services. At the presont time this type of propeller is subjected to tests of the following nature: ‘a, 50-400 hour endurance test on the propeller engine power and rpm. b, Short-time enduranec test on engine at takeoff en "pm. ¢. Flectrie whirl rig tost. at 200 por cont takeoff engine power. 4d, Blectric whirl vig test at. 140 por cont rated engine rpm, ¢. Additional engine and propeller testing, if necessary, ab points shown to be critieal by vibration stress measurements. Although propellers are not approved on the basis of a steady stress analysis, such an analysis ix essential to the designer, Owing to the critical nature of the vibratory loads and also in order to determine the soundness of the propeller constriction, it is necessary to obtain suffi ial test data for final approval. Tests of the propeller «tnd engine combination are run in xpecial test eels equipped to reduce the noise of testing and to make accurate measurements of engine power and rpm. Note the vibration stress pickups mounted on each blade in Fig. 8-31, id engine at rated power and PROBLEMS 1, Based upon « unifonn piteh distribution, ealeulate the blade angle at 124in, intervals on a 104 diameter propeller for 120 mph and an engine rp of 3000 (geared 16 : 11). 2 Calculate and plot n p/D curve for the propeller of Fig. 1-10, set at x blade angle of 85° at 0.75 radius. 3. Analyze the aluminum-alloy propeller blade of Fig. 1-10 2s a eontrollable- piteh design, and determine the margin of safety, with a statie thrust of $10 Ib per blade and 2200 engine rpm (direct drive). 4 Design a pair of counterweights to eoanterbalaneo the centrifugal blade torque of the propeller of problom 3 ab all blue angles, keeping the eounter- ‘weight arm length at 5 in, Give weight and index angle of 180° — 8. Caleulate the blade rot hending,mnomont for the propeller of F rotating at 2000 rpra ina loop a a nate of 2 rad/ser 6. Using the Goodman diagram of Vig. 3-30, determine the allowable vibrat- ing stress for the face of the propeller of Fig. 1-10 under the eritieal steady stress of Fig. 3-19. 7. The Lasoombe airplane uses a fixed-pitch wood propeller of 45-in. pitch (ossed on 0.75 radius) and 70-in, diameter. With 2150 engine rpm at a cruising. velocity of 90 mph calculate the angle of attack at 0.75 radius and check soe if it falls within the maximum L/D rango of Fig. 1-5. 1-10, CHAPTER 4 HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS Propeller hub design has become inereasingly complex on modern, high-performance aireraft. ‘To the primary hub function of blade re= tention has been added the necessity for blade rotation during. flight. addition, some suitable means of governing the engine-propeller com bination saust be provided. A discussion of the various designs grouped under the three main propeller classifications follows. itch Propellers Vixed:-pitch propellers made of wood have # steel hub which is bolted to the propeller boss and splined (or tapered and keyed) to the engine crankshaft, The design shown in Vig. 4-1 i typieal. it employs. front Tope Ses 0 Key Bie Bose ‘Salinas Connection Fao. 4-1, Liberty hub for fixed-piteh wood propeller Front Caller collar which is splined to the hub, ‘The rear flange is forged integral with the shank, and a cirele of bolts connect the front collar and rear flange. Curtiss-Reed one-piece forged aluminum-alloy propellers have a steel insert at the boss which is splined into the aluminum and internally tapered or splined to mate with the engine crankshaft. 7”78 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES Adjustable-Pitch Propellers Adjustable with un external chumping ring for ound the blade: shank (refi itch propellers have a split hub, machined in two halves mping, the hub shoulder seeurely 1-1), ‘The aluminum-alloy, stecl, 1d imprognated-wood blades we a stee! forging for the hub whereas the lighter wood blades use an aluminumallay forging. A typieal hub for use with aluminunralloy blades is shown in Big. 4-2, ‘This hub is splined to the engine erankshaft, and therefore it requires a front and ‘cone for positiv nagon thy erankshalt, ‘The front cone Rear Cone Hub | soliton. 4 Nut Retaining Smop ina Front Cane Spt) Retaining Nut Pie, 4-2, Adjustable pitel propeller hub assembly. split so that the hub mut rotates within it, After the hub mut is tightened a snap ring is inserted. This arrangement to pull the front conc lirst when it is loosened. Ut then beans against the snap ting and finally pulls the hub from the rear cone. The dimensions for this type of hub and the mating blade shank dimensions have been fairly well standardized and may be found in the SAE Handbook. Controllable-Pitch Propellers Controllable-piteh propellens have a variety of hub designs, dependent. primarily upon the type of pitch control used. Hydraulic, electric, and ‘mechanical motivation are all possibilities and have been developed. “This type of hub is best diseased according to the manufacturer. ‘The Acroproduets Division of the General Motors Corporation, Curtiss Propeller Division of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, and Hamilton Standard Division of the United Aircraft Corporation are all producers ‘of controllable-pitch hubs in this country Aeroproducts Division ‘The Acroproduets propeller is in military service alone at the present time and may therefore be discwsed only in general terms. The center HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 0 of rotation is clear to allow the installation of cannon firing through, the propeller shaft. The hollow steel blades (refer to Fig. 8-6) are retained in the hub by a stack of angular contact ball bearings. The hub is a one-piece steel forging. ‘The piteh-change mechanism is located within cach hollow blade shunk and consists of a eylinder which is dowelled to the blade and a piston which moves radially within the ler Wo members are splined together, and the internal spline of the piston mates with a fixed spli is dowellod to the hub. ‘The helical spline serangement is such that an outward movement of the pision causes an inervase in blade angle. Bevel gears ch blade shank mesh with w master bevel your so that all blades kept ab the sume angle. Higgh-presstiny ol Fores the piston in thy ide cylinder in or out as necessiry to change blade angle, therehy ng 8 constant engine rpm. ‘A cast-aluminum housing is mounted on the wear of the hub and forms an oil reservoir in which a gear pump and constant-speed governor ‘Tho gear pump revolves with the casting and rotates with its ear drive meshed with a stationary’ ring gear positioned on the engine nose, ‘The pump furnishes a sourve of high-pressure oil whieh passes through a pressure relief valve fo a centrifugal governor which then meters or dyains the oi as needed fo the piston in each blade shank, ‘This type of hub requires no modification of the airplane engine. ‘The only connection to the evekpit is a eable control which adjusts the gov- emor to maintain the desired engine rpm. A diagrammatic sectional view of the assembly is given in Fig. 4-3, showing the governor in a, dcerease-piteh position, corresponding to an underspeed condition, ‘momber w Curtiss Propeller Division The Curtins piteb reversible cloetrie motor wing mechanism consists essentially of a smal mounted ahead of the hub and operating through a tavo-staue, planetary spoed reducer (approsimately 15,000 = 1) to rotate a master bevel gear which meshes with the blade bevel geans 1 inerease or decrease the blade angle ns needed. Four slip rings at the rear of the hub transfer eleetaie current from the airplane powor supply to the hub motor. ‘The motor is equipped with a solenoid brake to pre- vent slipping under vibration. ‘The blades are retained in the hub barrel by a set of angular-contact ball bearings held in by a retaining nut. ‘The hub is a one-pieve steel forging. Hub and blade assembly are Iubrieated through Alemite fittings mounted on the speed reducer hous ing. ‘The eomplote propeller assembly is shown in Fig. 4-4 Constant-speed control is accomplished by a fly-ball type of governor mounted on the engine nove. A diagrammatic sketch of this unit is80 AIRPLANE PROPBLUBR. PRINCIPLES: HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 81 a ee sven in Fig. 4-5, ‘Th ly weights ae driven dry bythe engine ad oF x con sty waviaten in engine spm changes ther peton thereby eta gt i hydraulic valve which controls the position of the center contact of the Goubiethvo svitch. ‘he outer to eostacts of thx swith are i Contant sate of ovation, resulting i proportioning type of pitch contol, Governor spying tenn i controled hy a ele coe | Fie, 4-4, Curtiss propeller assombly. (Courtesy Custias Propeller Division, | ‘Curtisa-Wright Corp.) cs neetion to the eoekpit which operates through a rack and pinion gear on the governor. With this control the pilot selects the desired engine rpm, | and the governor automatically maintains it “ean eywe ‘This type of hub will permit a blade angle range from a feathered we position of approximately 90° blade angle down to negative piteh. The latter condition is ordinarily used for the maneuvering of lange multicengine flying boats on the water. A voltage booster is provided — which will allow quick feathering in 10 to 12 sec from low piteh. ‘The pilot may also disconnect the governor and increase or decrease pitch ‘manually, using the propeller as a fixed-pitch unit at any setting desired. has some advantage in that the tachometer will then reflect any Joss in engine power when the fuel mixture control is being adjusted or the magnetoes checked. Puree t eset 1 | Fic. 4-3, Acroproduets schematic assembly drawing. (Courtesy Acroproducts Division, General Motors Corp.)| 82 AIRPLANE: PROPELLER PRENCIPIES Feathering a propeller consists in taming the blade chord approxi- mately parallel to the line of flight, whieh stops the rotation of the engine and reduecs the drag considerably. ‘This results in greatly improved. airplane performance in the event of a single engine failure at: takeof and at cruising altitudes. Disintegration of the engine under the wind- F | ences Fie, 4:6, Curtiss governor sehematis raving, (Corton Cartan Propeller Division, Corti Wright Corp) rmilling action of the propeller is als avoided in the event of an engine structural failure, The complete propeller must be Daluneed to close limits prior to ine his operation in the Curtiss: plant is shown in Fig, 4-6, stallation. Hamilton Standard Division ‘The Hamilton Standard constan-speed bub is one of two different, controllable-pitch designs in operation. ‘The other is termed the Hydro- matic design, ‘The Hamilton Standard eonstant-speed propeller assembly is shown in Fig. 4-7. A fiy-ball governor driven by the engine and mounted on HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 3 the engine nose meters oil from a booster pump at 180 psi through a transfer gland to the engine erankshaft and then out to a hydraulic eylinder mounted ahead of the hub, ‘The eylinder has a beating shaft extending mdinlly ontward to a counterweight cam assembly attached Fie, 46, Balancing, complete propeller assembly, (Courtesy Curtis Propelter Division, Curtia-Wright Corp) to cach blade shank, ‘The blades are over-countorweighted so their normal tendency is to fly into high pitch, corresponding to the extreme aft position of theeylinder. When a lower piteh is needed, oil is admitted to the cylinder and forees it forward. The governor action is dine grammed in Vig, 4-8. This type of propeller is also in sorvico as a controllable-piteh design in which the governor is replaced by a three-way control valve and only. the two positions of high piteh and low piteh are possible. Engine oilst AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES pressure is used to force the eylinder forward for low piteh. ‘The three way valve drains this oil back into the crankease for high-piteh operation. Fia. 4-7, Tamilton Standard constant-speod propeller assembly, (Conntony Hamitton Standard Division, United Aircraft Corp.) ‘The hub construction is well brought out in Fig. 4-9, An internal forged steel momber, called the spider, is splined to the engine crank- shaft and has fingers projecting outward into each blade shank. ‘The spider therefore transmits the engine torque loads and the propeller HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 85 thrust and torque loads. ‘The hub spider and blade assembly is enclosed with a two-piece forged steel shell, termed the barrel, whieh is bolted (anderspeed) (overspeed) Gon speed) Fie, 4-8, Hamilton Standant constants ‘Standard Division, Un wel povernor action, (Courtany Hamilton Asrernft Corp.) together between the blade shanks. ‘This barrel carries the radial cen- trifugal tension loads from each blade, A race of roller bearings acts between the hub shell and the upset blue shank to permit rotation of the blade. ‘The bub is lubvieatod Unrough Alemite fittings, oO re, lt Fig. 4-0, Hamilton Standard hub eonstruetion, (Courlory Hamilton Standard Division, United Aircraft Corp.) ‘The Hamilton Standard Hydromatic hub employs the same basie hub, construction and governor as the older coustant-speed design hub but replaces the blade counterweight and eam assembly with a different unit,86 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES A hydraulic piston is mounted ahead of the bub and operates fore-and-aft direetion (sce Vig. 4-10). ‘The eylinder in this di stationary. ‘The motion of the piston is transformed into rotary motion by means of several eam rollers whieh act on a pair of cousial helical cams of opposite pitch slope. The outer cam is fastened to the hub proper and does not rotate. ‘The inner rotates a master bevel gear whieh meshes with a hevel gear attached to each blue shank, ‘Thus a for ward mov in blade angle and view versst, ‘The following base forees sure acting upon the piteh control mechanism in normal constant-speed operation. a. Centrifugal blade torque tending to reduce the blade angle. b. Blade bearing and cam roller fvietion tending to resist motion in cither direotion, ngine oil under normal engine pressure (60-100 psi), supple- menting the eentrifigil blade torque and always acting on the forward face of the piston to force the blues into low pitel, 4. Bngine oil under boosted presure from the governor (00 psi), acting on the rear face wf the piston to force the blades into high pitch ‘The governor then functions as in the previous design to maint constant: rpm by metering the oil as needed to increase oF decrease pitch. Note that the helical enm in front of the hub has two different slopes. For the normal piteh rango the eam follows a steep helieal angle, and the piston operates with a high mechanical advantage. Vor feathering, operation it ix therefore necessary to employ a greatly inexeased oil pressure (600-800 psi) to overcome the reduced eam slope. ‘This means: that an auxiliary souree of high-pressure oil must be tapped by the pilot. A separate cleetrie pump or a bleed into the airplane hydraulie system is, used for this purpose. The object of changing the cam slope is to provide 18 definite high-pitch limit. for normal operation and to prevent the pro peller from flying into a feathered position becawse of malfunetioning of ‘the mechanism. ‘The lower eam slope for feathering also results in a rapid rotation for quick feathering. The feathering operation is given in the schematic diagram of Pig. 4-11. Unfeathering is aecomplished, using a slightly higher oil pressure which eauses the distributor valve to connect, the high-pressure oil to the forward side of the piston. ‘The hub barrel in this design is held together by four bolts between each blade socket and is sealed completely so that the entire hub and lade bearing assembly is Iubrieated with engine oil under pressure, ment of the piston Mechanical Hub Operation Several ub designs have been developed based upon a pusely mechan= ical operation of the pitch-control mechanism. Of these the Lycoming- HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 87 ulton Standant Hydromatie assembly. (Courtesy Hamilton ‘Standard Division, United Aireraft Corp.)88. tan Speed Santa AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRIN (BE coven Presse SIPLES Aircraft Corp) EncnePresute (Courtexy Hare Homilton Standard Hydrometie feathering operation Fie. 4-11 ) Smith propeller has enjoyed the widest usage. It employs a stationary sleeve mounted on the engine nose which may beshifted fore and aft by a solenoid control, In either extremity a worm thread on the sleeve meshes with a blade stop gear mounted on the hub and rotates the gear left or right. This gear operates a worm gear drive, torminating in a blade gear mounted on the blade shank and eansing the blade to inerease ‘or docrease piteh as needed. The solenoid control is ordinarily attached to the airplane throttle knob so that rotation of the knob causes a piteh change. Fra, 4:12 Everal singloblade propeller. (Courtesy Weatern Flying.) Automatic Pitch Control ‘Various types of automatie pitch control requiring no attention from the pilot have been devised. Several early designs employed «sliding hub moving forward on splines against a spring pressure so that the increased thrust of the blades at low forward velocities pulled the hub forward and rotated the blades to a low-pitch position. ‘This iden was also developed in 1937 on the DiCesare propeller. Several automatic pitch designs for light airplanes have been brought out hy the Everel Propeller Corporation. ‘The single-blade Everel pro- peller consists of one blade mounted on inetined bearings at the hub and fice to rock fore and aft. This blade is statically balanced by a concen- ‘rated mass. An inclined axis of rotation is employed on the hub bear- ings so that rotation of the blade forward under the action of increased thrust at low velocities reduces the blade angle, When correctly designed90 AIRPLANE PROPELLER. PRINCIPLES for a given installation 2 condition approximating eonstant-speed opera tion will result. A later design uses a normal two-bladed assembly with, cach blade mounted on an inclined axis to obtain the same results, Figure 4-12 shows the single-blado design installed on a Cessna airplane, European Types of Controllable-Pitch Hubs Designs comparable to the United States models previously disensed are also being developed in Exrope. In Germany the Argus, Junkers, 1d VDM (Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke) are threo basie types which utilize mechanical, hydraulic tively. "The fon the hub, The British construct the DeHavitind propeller under Hamilton Standard lieense hydeautic propeller known ass the Rotol and electric control energy respeo- French Ration design Ines an elvetsie motor drive mounted tuud also 2 Dual Rotation A. dual-rotalion propeller operating on two concentric engine drive: shafts, with one Ju snd blue wsembly rotating opposite to the other, has been under development for some time hy the Army Air Force ‘The problem of providing a suitable driving mochanian hd to be met hy the engine manufacturer. Suck a propeller with adjustable-piteh Inubs was tested by tue Matériel Division of the Air Corps at Wright Ficld in 1938, Recently Uhe Curtiss, Hamilton Standard, and Aero produets Divisions have annomneed dual-rotation propellers with a con stant-speod contiul. The Curtiss design is shown in Fig, 4-18. Sueh a. design must inelade 2 piteh-ch und rear hubs and allows a dif dependent upon the flight range.! ‘The advantages of nae mechanism which connects front ant rate of pitch change for each hub, ‘dual-rotation propeller lie in: (a) its neutraliz tion of the engine torque reaction on airplanes of the punsuit type with high wing loadings and large engines; (b) inereaved propeller efficiency at speeds in exesss of 350 mph by converting. the rotational energy loss in the slipstream of the forward propeller into useful thrust on the rear propeller; (@) high solidity fuetor for installutiony where the diameter is restricted and the disk loading is high General Design Considerations It is desired at this point to introduce a brief discussion considerations and aims in controllable-piteh hub design Propellers such as the Hamilton Standard and Curtiss, which are in use on multi-engine airplanes, must have a sensitivity of control within 2H. M. McCoy, "Countes Society (June, 1040}, pp, 481-198 fhe basic stating Propelleny” Journal Royal Aeronauiical AND STRE ANALYSIS oO the range of -+2-5 rpm in order to accomplish synchronization of all ‘engines and to prevent the beat which would otherwise occur. Such a noise is very disturbing to the pilot and passengers, 14.4-1% Dualsrotation propeller. (Conrteny Curtiss Propeller Divivion, Curtin Wright Corp.) ‘The pitch-change mechanism must have a rate of pitch change ample to respond fo normal airplane mancuvers, turbulent air, ete, This rate must not be excessive, or hunting will accur and the offspeed condition will not die out, Extensive flight tests have shown thet 8° per see is adequate for constant-speed operation. ‘The rate of pitch change for feathering operation should be much faster im order to assume the optimuin position as quickly ax possible, ‘The voltage booster in the92 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES Curtiss desiga and the reduced cam slope with increased hydranli¢ pres- sure in the Hamilton Stundard design secomplish this higher rate of rotation. ‘The blade angle travel in the normal operating range should be ample to cover all fight conditions. With the high velocities and high-altitude ‘operation of cnment designs this may require 2 limiting high-piteh blade angle of approximately 60° at the 0.75 mains. ‘Tho Iu design rust be stich as to provide a flyable propeller in the event of failuie of the mechanism. A failure of the power supply for the Curtiss hub would convert it to a fixed-pitch propeller set at the blade angle at whieh failure oecurred. A failure of the hydrautic system of the Hamilton Standard constant-speed design night allow the blades to fly into the high-piteh position. Positive stops are provided for both the high- and low-pitch positions s0 that « usable blade angle will be maintained. In the Hamilton Standard Hydromatie design a hydraulic failum might allow the blades to rotate to the low-piteh position, and stops are provided for 2 usable blade angle in this condition, The change in cam slope provides a high-piteh limitation, ‘The hub mcchanism must have sufficient power to overcame the mare imum operating loads. ‘The caleukations for a 12-f6 diameter, three= bladed propeller suitable for a 1200p engine with a design rpm of 1560 follow ‘Weight por blade = 60th, Center of gravity of blade = 25.9 i, Contrifugal foree por blue = 105,800 Ib. Blade bearing fiction torque per blade = 105,800 x 0.014 = 1480 intb, Centrifugal blade torque per blade Rate of piteh change = 5° por sve eX §XBX SAB 000 12 Assuming a 50 per cent efficiency for the piteh-changings mechanism, the power requited = 0.672 hp. ‘The difficulty of transmitting this amount. of power from a non- rotating body is obvious. ‘The slip rings of the Curtiss hub and the oil transfer glands of the Hamilton Standard hub are exampies of this power transfer problem, Hub Stress Analysis ‘The main steady loads on the hub structure are the centrifugal radial tension load of the blades combined with the bending moment on each (000 in.-ll) (maximum). Power required! = 0.336 hp. HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 98 blade socket due to the thrust and torque losd of the blades. Centrif- ‘uga blade torque is the eritieal load for the piteb-change mechanism. ‘The stress analysis procedure naturally varies greatly with the type of hub construction. For example, the hub barrel of the Hamilton Standard design absorbs very little blade hending, but it does take alll the centrifugal tension loads whervas the blade sockets in a single-piece hub construction must take a port ending load in adie tion to the ecntrifugal tens 4 ball bearing aurrangernent employed by Curtiss and similar designs, a hoop tension load is also imposed upon the blade sockets which acts at right angles to the centrifugal load. Threaded sections in the blade socket are eritieal in shear created by the radial tension loads, and sufficient thread length must be used to meet the allowable shear stress of the material. Allowable stresses in shear, tension, and bearing for the various materials may be found in ANC-5 “Strength of Airvraft Blements.” ‘The centrifugal blade torque loud is augmented by the bearing frie- tion torque. ‘This may be evaluated for ball bearing installations by the following formula, Q=sRL faa where Q = the bearing friction torque im ineh-pounds, J = the friction coefficient (0.0073 as a first approximation), it = the ball center radius of the bearings in inches. L = the radial load in pounds, ‘The number of bearing races necessary in a hub such as the Curtiss design is found by dividing the total radial load by the rated load per race multiplied by a distribution factor of 1.2. ‘The high precision neces sary in producing a stack of hearings such as these in whieh the load dis- ‘tribution is approximately equal is truly an achievement. The eplined conneetions between the hub and engine crankshaft have been standardized in various sizes and will be found in the S42 Hand- book. Front and rear cone dimensions have also been standardized. ‘The engino sporifiation will give the engine shalt size. Cate must be taken to avoid rapid changes in eross section with a resulting stress concentration, ‘The interior profile of the hub is care- fully chocked to avoid excess weight and a poor stress distribution. A. thread relie! of ample curvature must be provided at such points as the blade nut threads on the blade sockets, Surface finish is critical in such, 8 highly stressed part, and all surfaces must be free from tool marks. ‘Normally the exterior surface is ground and polished to a smooth finish, after which it is eadmium plated.on AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES show signs of Problems of A hub working under severe operating conditions galling on the cone seats, blade bearings, gear teeth, this type must he solved for cach installation. Obviously, if the blades are in a had slato of resonance hecause of disturbances originating in the engine the hub will suffer as the connecting link in the asembly. iu. 4-14, Hamilton Standard Pydromatic do-ioer installation. —(Courtny Hamilton Standard Division, Unsiod Aireraft Corp.) Hub Accessories, Suitable provision must he provided for prohibiting the accumulation of ice on the propeller blades, and this ix accomplished by feeding a mix- ture of 85 per cent alcohol and 15 per eont glycerin to the blade shank: irom a “slinger ring” and tube assembly. ‘The fluid is pumped into the slinger ring from a tank mounted behind the engine. It is then picked up in the ring and flows outward to the blade shank under the action of HUB DESIGN AND STRESS ANALYSIS 95 centrifugal foree. Once on the blade the fluid moves radially outward under action of centrifugal foree and back over the blade hecause of aerodynamic forces. A typical installation on the Hamilton Standard Hydromatic propeller is shown in Vig, 4-14 Pia, 4-15, Rear view of spinner assembly. (Conrtesy Haallon Standard Disivion, United Airerft Corp.) ‘Phe fluid used prohibits jee accumulation and loosens existing ie ors which are then thrown off radially, An application of approxi mately two pints per hour per blade is usually suffivient Another accessory which is mounted on the hub is the spinner. Phe size and sb of the spinner varies aecording to the installation.96 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES are usually spun from aluminum alloy, aecurately balanced, and securely mounted at the back to a bulkhead or bracket support aft of the blades. igure 4-15 is a rear view of a Hamilton Standard spinner asembly for the Lockheed Constellation, The six bolts on the rear bulkhead clamp it, securely to the hub assembly. PROBLEMS 1. Detonnine the power required to operate the propeller blade of Tig. 1-10 ‘asia hwo-blued constant-spoed propeller, using the eritical eondition as 2000 rpnt and a rate of piteh chug of 8° por gee.” Assume ball bearing races in the blade socket with a bull couter diameter of 4.375 in. and a mechanical efficiency for the mochanism of 40 per exnt. CHAPTER 5 EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON AIRPLANE PERFORMANCE General Considerations. ‘The functioning of the propeller is aixplane engine operation. Optimum performance of the powerplant unit demands the most favorable operating conditions for both e and propeller. Unfortunately, this combination is not easily obtainable It is, moreover, dependent upon another variable, the performance of the complete airplane. Reference to Fig. 2-9 will elarify some points in propeller performanee Keeping in mind that each of the blade angle eurves is plot of thrust ‘yorsus velocity for a given propeller and throttle setting, note th dovided increase in thrust with deerease in blade angle throughout the tire flight range, It would scem that a general rule of utilizing th lowest blade angle possible would provide maximum thrust, and there- fore the maximum propulive efficeney for any given velocity. The only limitation to this decrease in bkide angle Ties in the engine rpm. ‘As the blade angle decreases the engine xpm inereases but it rust not be allowed to exceed its maximum rated value for safe operation. ‘A fixed-piteh or aadjustable-piteh propeller must therefore be pitelied high enough to prevent the engine from dangerously overspeeding at the condition of maximum velocity for the airplane. Referenee to the blade cloment relationship of Fig. 1-8 will show that this condition determines the referonce blade angle at which the blade must bo set. At all lower velocities the engine is held to a lower speed owing to the increase in angle of attack of each blade clement, which in turn increases the aero- dynamie torque of the blades and slows the engine down. In terms of test coefficients the previous explanation implies that the power eoeff- cient C, must increase with decreasing V/nD for a given blade angle. Such a relationship exists in the tost data of Fig, 2-7 and similar data, ‘As airplano velocities increased it became nevessary to increase the blade angle setting to compensate, This inerease in blade angle caused a decided drop in thrust at the lower velocities and particularly during takeoff because of a stalled condition existing over a large portion of the blade as shown in Fig. 2-4. The advent of the two-position, controllable 798, AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES pitch propeller then made it possible to obtain an optimun blade angle for both takooff and maximum velocity, resulting in greatly increased takeoff and climb performanee, With constantly inereasing airplane velo ul high-altitude oper tion duo to engine suporcharging, ib became necessary to extend the mange between low and high piteh and to provide inter mediate settings. ‘This mnge of blade angle settings in a modern, high- performance airplane must adapt the propeller to the following con ditions: a. Takeoff. b, Cruising and maximum velocity at low al 6. Climb to rated power altitude. 4, Cruising and masimum velocity ab the rated power altitude, ce Plight at service eviling. OF all the variows possibilities of provi ¢ sottings for the propeller the seli us oF decreasing, the blade angle as needed to maintain 2 constant engine rpm has evolved ‘os the most satisfactory to dale. ‘The propeller diameter may he selected from a design ehirt te favor Ube most evitical condition and the blade tangle is then automatieally adjusted hy one of the various governing, methods discussed previously to provide a selected engine rpm under all other conditions, ‘Thiust and torque forces, centrifugal foree, aero- dynamic and centrifugal blade torque are all potential motivators ima control mechanism, but thus far centrifugal force as ereated by the erank= shaft rotation and tseel in fly-weight governor has been employed. pre= dominantly. With constant-speed control the engine is protected from. overspeeding, and the maximum amount of brake horsepower is released for a given throttle setting even though the actual propulsive efficiency, is not the maximum possible under all cond x the essential of incre wwe of blade Performance Analysis ‘To illustrate 9 method of propeller performance ealeulation and to point out the basie differences betwoen the preceding propeller types, a hypothetical airplane will he equipped with a fised-piteh, two-position, and eonstant-specd propel lation, and the airplane power re- quired and available curves will be compared. ‘The following airplane characteristics are assumed: Bimotor, low-vving, transport monoplane. Pratt & Whitney Wasp, Jv., SB motors, each rated 400 Dhp at 200 rpm to 5000 ft. Gross weight 12,000 Ih. EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 99, Wing area 500 sq fi, aspect ratio 7, Ainplane eificiency factor, ¢ = 0.90. Cy, = 0.0230. ‘Three-bladed, aluminum-alloy propeller with Clark-Y seetion, ‘The horsepower required curve is plotted versus velocity in Fig. 5-1 for sea lovel.t I ofa’ es 2200 - ‘ 2000 wpm vaioton | hed Pc + jE 1 \ o —|—}—han 0} —| t— |e Contant sped WAH 1 | Horaower \ as ‘le \ » i} 5 | yo i xed ch 4° Tow Riek PT | Horsepower +00} —- — wer a! 3000 a8 29 0 True Velcty ~ mph Fic. 6-1. Power availble and zpm relationships, "Fora diseussion of the power required relationship see Millikan “Aerodynamics of the Ainplane,” John Wiley and Sons (1941), Chapter 3.100 AIRPLA\ PROPELLER: PRINCIPLES Propeller Selection ‘The propellers seleeted for maximum efficieney at sea-level maximum volovity. An estimated. value of propulsive efficiency is used to obtain ‘un approximate thrust horsepower whieh yields an approximate value for maximum velocity on the horsepower required! curve. This velocity ik then nsod in the propeller selection. If the effcieney dacs not closely upprosimate the estimated value the process is repeated, In this ease the design chart of Vig. 5-7 will be used. The assumption is made hat this test data with a Tiquid-eooted engine nacelle will apply to a radial cngine nacelle. ‘The calculations follow Asume 9 = 0.86 from Fig. 5-7, Vans 198 mph from Big. 5-1 0.638 X 198 1 _ 0.638 198.1 * a0) (2200) 3.82 x QT = 175. B= 25° a 0.75 radius from Wig, 5-7, using line of m: efficiency for C,, = 1.02 from Fig. 5-7. 198 1.467 X 60 = = 1700 7 9in), 2200 X 1.02 tein) s §ls Check. Actual » with propeller selected = 0.86, which cheeks the asumed value. Tip speed is 893 ft per see, whieh ix below the exitical value given by Fig. 2-102 Fixed-Pitch Analysis, Fixed-pitch propeller performance may he evaluated by several dif- ferent methods ‘The approach discussed in the Appendix of NACA Tech. Rept. 640 ancl based upon the use of power eoeticient. curves will be used herein because of its adaptability to published data and the relatively high degroe of accuracy which it insures. ‘The procedure follows By using the subseript 0 to denote the design condition, (V/nD)p and fy determine Cr, and Cr, from Fig. 5-8. At even values of V/nD. A minimum tip elearance of 9 in, from the ground, 18 jn. fom the water, and 1 in, from the fuselage wil also linit the diameter selested See E, P, Warner, “Airplane Desa,” McGraw-Hill (1986), Chapter XV. MINISTERIO DA AERONAUTICA OTESHIGO DL A RORE STIG, EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 101 pick of Cr and Cr for a constant fo, Compute Cp,/Ce and ealeulate the engine rpm using the relationship‘ n/ng = Vp,/Cp. Then Brake horsepower = blip ) for the condition of full throttle. Also a) ”* Ge \nby ‘Thrust horsepower = Brake horsepower (9) ‘locity may be determined from V/nD and the rpm. Propeller thrust at any velocity may also be computed, if needed, using the rela- or pa(2) (C2) =a) However, thrust calculations are avoided at this point in order to empha- size engine performance and propulsive efficiency variations, By using By = 25° and (V/nD)o = 1.02, values of Cr, = 0.057 and Cry = 0.067 ave obtained from Fig. 5-8. A tabular summary of the eale culations follows, Slide rule accurney is used throughout. Prxeo-Paren Proveiisn —— Sea-Levet, Homszrowne Avaitannt: Carcubasion 5° at 075 radius diameter mm | bp | 0.182 | 0.127 0.527 | 0.725 1503 | sso | 0.479 o-ui9 | 0.122 0.549 | o.710 | 1038 | Sa 0.610 0.136 | 0-117 | 0.572 0.758 16m | ns | 0.007 0.120 | 0-110 0-610 | o-781 720 | 625 | 0.70 o.101 | 0.101 | 0.664 | 0.815 | ra | 651 | 0.800 0-050 | 0-086 0.780 | O.8S4 1982 | TOG | 0.890, .00/ 0.000 | 0-070 0.958 0-978 | 2150 | 782 | 0.855 1.02/ 0.057 | 0.067 | 1.000 | 1-000 | 2200 | son | o.s6 Note that the total brake honsepower of both engines is used in the bhp and thp ealeulations whereas Cp and Cp apply only to each propeller unit. Cr, may be checked by direet ealeulation for the design condition «This follows from equation 6, Chapter 2, assuming constant engine torque for & fixed throttle postion.102 AIRPLANE PROPE LER. PRINCIPLES, and has a computed value of 0,068. The variation of power available and engine rpm is plotted versus velocity in Fig, 5-1. The deerease in bhp along with the drop in propulsive efficiency has aceounted for the reduced power available at the low velocities. Climb in fect per minute. at any velocity may be ealeulated by multiplying the excess horsepower by 38,000 and dividing by the airplane gross weight that the pilot with a fixedpitch propeller installation may con engine rpm in lovel flight only by adjusting the throttle and therefore a fixed relationship exists between manifold pressure and rpm. ‘Two-Position Analysis When a two-position propeller is available, the low-pitch position may be selected to favor climb and takeoff, Tn the present instanee the low= pitch blade angle will be selected for a climbing velocity of L10 mph st sea leve V _ uo x 1.467 x 60 nD 2200 X 776 400. 550) 0.566 amilysis may now be repeated for velocities below 110 mph, using the new design condition (V/nD)y = 0.566 combined with Cr, = 0.0668, Vrom Fig. 5-8, we obtain 6 = 19° at 0.75 radius and Cr, = 0.088. ‘TworPosimios Provmuunk — Ska wt, Hlonsnown Avathantar Cauecnation = 19" at 0.75 maine TAL in. diameter sing | rym | bhp |e | tp | aap ou ane | zat |o.sa0 | a0 vind) er | cr lenier 0.85 | 0.128 | 0.080 | 0.888 2 0.40 | 0.120 | 0.078 | 0.856 | 0.925| 235 | T40 | aces | ans | 72 0.45 [ou2 | 0.075 | o-sor | o-o4s | 280 | 756 0.672) S| SS 0.80 | 0.100 | 0.072 | 0.928 | 0-061 | 2129 | 771 | 0.095 | 536 | oF 0.36 | 0-08 [0.8 000-000 2200 | sm fora) ts | 0 ‘The preceding two-position analysis is essentially that for two fixed- pitch propellers of the same diamoter but with different blade angles. ‘The large inerease of excess power at the low-piteh angle will result in ® For part throttle operation refer to Weiek, “Aireraft-Propeller Design,” MeGirww- Hill (1980), p. 172. EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE U0) greatly improved climb. Tn addition there will be a substantial increase thrust during takeoff. ‘The results are plotted in Fig. 5-1 for come parison with the fixed-piteh analysis, Constant-Speed Analysis ‘The same propeller will now be considered as a constant-speed unit, Dasod on the previous design condition of 7 ft 9 in, diameter, favoring maximun velocity at sea level. The power coefficient chart of Fig, 5-8 is again used but the procedure is modified. ‘The power coefficient Cp ix now a constant and equals 0.0668 at all velocities at sea level. At even values of V/nD interpolated values of Cr ar » &( ry Brake horsepower (q) = 800 (n) ‘The velocity is calculated from V/nD. ‘The thrust may also be ealeu- lated from the relationship T= CrpnD* = Cp. A tabular summary of the ealeulations follows, ‘Thrust horsepower Consrarrsvikn Prornuien SeacLuves. Honsirowie Avasiant CAveUnAION 2200 rpm Cp = 0.0068 7469 in, diamrtor vied on 6 , mph 038 ous. 0" 0.5390 4 3 ot 0.106 15" 085 508 1s 05 0-005, Isa ot m0 a 08 0-086 tna orm ts 6 or 077 20.5" o.s07 65 138 os 0.070 ato 8 670 135 9 0-064 23.2 ost eo | a5 1 | ooss 246° 0-868 eo ot Loz | L057 25.0° os 605 198, Note that the propulsive efficiency is sustained at fairly high levels ‘The lower blade angles at velocities below the maximum tend to increase the efficiency whereas the lower V/nD values decrease the efficiency so that the final value depends upon the relative effvet of these conflicting tendencies. The large increase in thrust horsepower, however, is due to the maximum brake horsepower being available from the engine under all conditions. ‘The results are plotted in Fig. 5-1 for comparison with the previous examples.104 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES ‘The pilot with a constant-speed propeller control may select any: combination of engine rpm and manifold pressure eeessary to meet: his requirements inasmuch as the control of these two items is now eom- pletely independent. Dangerous engine resonanee condition may be avoided by proper rpm selvetion. Operating economy of the engine may bo inereased by evuising at reduced rpm and inereased manifold press On the airlines 1 eruising deseo ising horsepower without over- speeding the engine may be accomplished, resulting in improved sehddles, However, for sea ¢ it is apparent that no appreciable gain may be derived from constant-speed operation when compared to two-position control. ‘The henefity of eonstantspeed contrat become much more important with supercharged engine operation, ‘Supercharged Engines ‘To emphasize the effect of supercharging it will be assumed that the engines of the prosent example are supercharged to 10,000 ft altitude. ‘Tho constant-xpeesl calculations fallow. o- 2 400.5500 Ce EDS ~ O.FSR(HWEITS) (8.7) TO™ ConsmanSiian Puornisae — 10,000er Towser AvattAmu Caturcnation 2200 rpm Cy = 0.0K 719i, diameter - | vim ’ . hp mph 0.8 ous oats 370 88 of 0.138 wsss | t0 8 05 01, 0.45 540 a 06 om 0788 5m 116 o7 100 om 619 136 08 oo ost 650 155 0 0.088 0.825 ‘00 1% 10 om i) 180 194 mh 0.070 0.350 oso ay Horsepower required at altitude is obtained by multiply level values of horsepower and velocity by 1/-V._ ‘The constant-speed analysis for both sea-level and 10,000-it operation is plotted in Fig. 5-2. Note that the propulsive efficiency holds up very well at altitude EFFECE OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 105 although an appreciably higher blade angle is requived. Both fixed pitch and two-position propellers would require the pilot to throttle hack at altitude with « supercharged engino to prevent the engine from ‘overspeeding, ‘This would result in a lange loss of engine power, and the altitude performance for a fixed-pitch propeller would not be much better than that for sca level at the same power output. tow sno} —| | | | — | Horsepower Avaitab joo} —|—L |g || a : _| 2400 ( 200 0 ig a0 a8 eo B00 BI Fa True Velocity =mph Fa. 5:2. Constant-spood propeller pesformanoe sb seu Tevel and altitude with suporeharyed engine. Thrust During Takeoff During the takeoff period the concept of propulsive efficieney is not, applicable because the efficiency diminishes to zero as the velocity ap- proaches zero. A direct evaluation of thrust is necessary as it alone is the accelerating foree acting upon the airplane. Several methods of computing airplane takeoff performance are available.? and will not be discussed here. It is obvious that the takeoif performance will always be optimum for the propulsive unit yielding the highest amount. of thrust, all other factors being equal, A comparison of propeller sea-level thrust for the three previous eases will be of interest and may be readily calculated from the previous data. For a more detailed dieussion of performance snd superchangingeffots refer to E, P, Wamer, “Airplane Design," MeGrav-Hill (1988), Chapter XIV. W.S. Dich, “The Caleulation ef PakeO8 Run,” NACA Tock, Rep £0 (1988). M. Schrenk, “Fake-Om and Propeller Thrust,” NACA Tach, Mem. 703 (1933).106 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES. For the fixed-pitch propeller, 106 von (0.0668) Cp Cr s(n) 6 = 7 Vin oy » np o 0.155; 0.084 0 0.10 ots 0.08 ry v 020 ar 0.082 is 38 a0 0.185, 6.081 208 BB oa on 0.078 1196, n 045, one 0.075 162 i 0.50 6-100) 0.072 1080 o 0.506 | 9.08 10-0668 100 Ho For the constant-xpeed propeller: T= Crppn®D* = Cry (0.002378) (36.7)"(7.76)* = 11,6200r mph | v/mp Cr Te o | 6 onus. i722 20 | 0.13 | oat 1640 ao | 0208 | oan 1512 oy | om | oir 1360 | 8) oat 0-105, 1229 100 | 0.85 0.0 0s2, ao | 0.866 0.088 102 ERFRCT THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMAN 107 A plot of thrust versus velocity is given in Fig, 5-3 for the three examples. Note the decided loss in thrust at low velocities for the fixed- pilel propeller because of the stalled condition of « large portion of the Dlule, “Phe twerposition propeller results in TL per cent inevease in static thrust, which will be reflected in a substantial increase in takeoff performance. ‘The constant-speed propeller will also give an improved takeotf, It should be realized 3 this point that as the maximaum velocity: 1800 - TTT | Popper Papp ab seo) | bod | _ an [i ott Speed 21400] i 1 | tT | - 3 Fin scol__| _| fies \ ST 000 ; T LacFinad Pic, 2005 20 40 0 80 100 120 Netty ~ mon Vc 6 Pople het cing of the airplane inerses, the constant-specd installation will show a. constantly ineve in aver the fwomposition. Note that propeller Uhnest in general is inversely” proportional to the king the conventional propeller inherently a low propulsion system becomes theoretically attvac= tive for high velocities owing Lo its fredom from compressibility effects andl ibs development of a anust foree whieh is independent of forward velocity ovity: device. Engine Gearing Phe reduetion of propeller rpm hy menns of u gear reduetion drive om tho engine erankshaft his con into extensive use within weeent years Buch cut arrangement allows the engine fo operate under move favorable10s. AIRETAN PROPELLER: PRINCIPLES: conditions without penalizing the propeller with tip loses due to exces: sive tip speeds. The increased 1/1) ratio fikewise improves the prow pulsive efficiency. ‘Typieal gear ratios employed are 16:1, 1659 1627, and 322. The high rpm of current engine designs combined ‘al tip speeds at altitude and takeofl have resulted in ean isos in the gear reduction drive ratio. No general eampari- d each ease must he eunsidered Power Coefficient Curves and Design Charts In oder to facilitate performance ealeuations and propeller selection for different designs, seven additional sets of power eoefficient curves 1 design charts are inchided in Wigs. 5-5 to 5-18 whieh ave reproduced from NACA Trek. Repl 640, ‘The blade form enrves are given in 24. ‘The test series may be classified as follows, | ete Bit Samter | Nope | cwky 2 | as 9 + | aww rare | 2 | sue no | | os | sus rs | it | APG | | as tested were of 10-ft danneter snd hi aud p tribution except had 9 50 per cont greater width than the fwo-bkuled 586 All were tested on the liquid-eouled engine nacelle of Fig, 2-2. Vor small changes in bhule width on similar propellers the power snd thrust may be assumed to vary directly with blade width, Hence in Cy and Cp calculations the power should he multiplied by the ratio b/b" where b is the blade width a 0.75 radius for the tested propeller and Bis the same quantity for the propeller under consideration. ‘The thrust ‘obtained from the charts should then be divided by b/b" to obtain the actual thrust Al the propel form, thickness, width, eh ou ono 009 008 oor 0108 0.05 00s 0.03 002 001 EEFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMAN| ost oo 036 02 028 2a 020 016 oz 008 Fe. 5-4 Blale low 2 erpeters!_| Se a Bech oP 02 05 04 05 06 07 08 09 Va vem eneves, (NACA Tee, Repl. 640)Lo AIRPLANE PROPELLER: BRINCIBLES. ERECT OF TH PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE ILL i 1520 & Hie. 5-5, Design ele for propeller ASK8., Chak-Y anstion, two hls, (NACH Teed, gh 0h) van Fie. 5:6 Power oelfcient eure for propeller BSH, Clark-Y section, ti Mads (NACA Took, Repl 638)BPPECE OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 113. y oh Fea. 7. Dsign chat for propeller BSS, Cyr seotion, ane blade (NACA Took, Rept 30.) 92 Na 2 Poh 2 1 o-az ae GE Ob WO TF TF 16 18'30-22 22 26 28-30 70 Voc. 5S. Powe evelfciont curves for propeller BAHLD, Clank section, tee blades, (VACA Teoh, Repl 672)i AIRPLANE PROVELLER: PRINCIPLISS ency Wh | (+ 25 ic 8-9, Design earl for propeller 8684), ClarkeV seetion, fr Mk Oaenr 0.) EFVECY OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 115, OOF OF 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 20-25 25-26-28 30 Wao Fic, 6-10. Power coefficient eurves for propeller 58069, Clarke section, four blades. (NACA Pooh, Rep. 64096 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES Cr TL) Pia. 6-11, Design chart for propeller S868-R6, RAF soction, two blades. (VACA Toeh, Res, 640.) EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 117, mn \ Bie ral TNA sae ropa 0 G2 OF Os 05 to 12 id ie is 30-22-24 van Fis. 6:12. Power enefcient curves for propeter 5868-R6, RAIS section, to blades. (WACA Trek. Rept 050.) F 15° Blade Angle at 0.75 oF Maxima Eiceey fr Ct o 05 i0-~=C*SC c Fic, 5-18, Design chart for propeller 5865-R6, RAF-6 section, three blades. (ACA ech. Rep 80.)Is AIRPLANE: PROPELLER PRINCLPLIBS \ | asl] as oa CEE . ry oze|- Hy DN oa op 18 phe o acl ars ae Waar oa LA AA TN SEEN os DANN 6 BREN DS | ooa|| eexe | 0a LSERREACr Sarr Ba aN has La o OF Of 06 OF ld i? 1a 16 18 20 22 2a” 36 v/nd Foo, 14, Pover ecient curves ur propeller SS08-RE, RAL seston, three blades. (VACA Tech. Kept. 640.) EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCE 119 os| oe 20 oa hs m 02| 0 0 z ire of Mest licery tf e o 7 0 ae 1D S28 2580 a Vwi. 5:45, Design chart for propullor SSOS-R6, RAR-6 seetion, four blades, (NACA Tech, Rpt. 02)120 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES 036, 03 a 032 030F= — 017 0.6, o24| ‘1s 20] fox o1s| 7 011] 6, oas E> TINE Weal AN ~ Q ua) an2| 10 0.08} ROY 005 “y t 00 0.02] SOS AL 15: store 2 \ b5°\|_ 20} Fic, 5-16. Power coefiient curves for propeller 5S68-R6, RAF soction, four blades i 0 OF 04 0608 i0 i714 16 18 20 22 24 van (WACA Tech. Rep. 640.) ‘EFFECT OF THE PROPELLER ON PERFORMANCK 121 os EA20 “ 5 15 | v. psa % 04 5 i 7 a - uo 02 155 Blade Angle at 075 8 4 05 FtLine of Maximum Etficency for Ca 005 ip 1S 20a °, ia. 5-17, Design chart for propeller 37-9647, RA section, two blades, (NACA Tech, Repl. 640.) lo oz} Ts -— —j—{- 022| 020 ons| oas| 014 c og; 010) 0.08 006 oae D A BEN = =A OC RaF CAN BAL ah Om 0 Gs Bea aa ae vo Fra. 6% Tower olsen curves fr proper S23047, RAF seo, tro Vidas (ICN Te kee od122 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES PROBLEMS 41. Caleulate and plot the thrust and propeller blade angle variation during seatovel takeoff (0-100 mph) om the Douglass DC-3 airplane equipped with Wright Cyelone GR-18206-102 engines rated 1100 bhp stb 2350 rpm (16 2 11) and three-way, constant-speed propellers of Clark-¥ section and 11 ft 6 in. diameter. Assia that test data of Hips. 2-7 and 2-8 apply. 2 Calealate and plot the see-lovel power available and propeller blade angl variation for the airphune engine and propeller of problem 1, with the engi porting at its nonnal rating of 000 blip at 2200 rpm (162 11). Grea velocity range of 60 to 20 mph '3. Repeat problem 2 for the eritiea altitute of the engine, 6000 4. Select a propeller dismueter for the airplane of problem 1 for maxinnunt ceffcieney at 9 eruising velocity of 165 mph at sea lovel with an engine output of {00 blip at 2200 xpma (Hi 11), using the data of Hig. 2-7 and 2-8, Assume that tie fiselage tip clearance Finite the diauneter of the propeller to 11 ft 6 in. ‘Cheek for eompressibility loses, an give the eomected elurt efficiency. '. Caleulate and plot the seutevel power available for a Cessna nixplane equippesd with a Warner Super Searah engine rated 145 bhp at 2050 rpm. Propeller sntallation iv Curtiss viugle-picee design of Clirk-Y seetion selected for maxinvum efficiency when eruising at 135 mph at ea level. Assume test diate of Figs. 5-5 and 5-Gapply. Use velosity range of 40 to. 150 mph. 6. A constantajed propeller is to be installed in au ainplane and engine with the following eluracteristies Vu = 800 mph at 12,000 1 Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp SC-G engine rated 900 bhp at 2550 rpm. Engine Engine gear rat 43: ‘Ascutming that the propeller tip ground elearanco limits the diameter to L1 ft 6 in, and the only blade available is 10 f¢ 10 in. diameter, select. the proper engine gear ratio to favor maximum efficiency at Vion, inehuding compressibility Tosses. Assume the installation is identical with that given in Pigs. 2-7 and 2:8, APPENDIX Definitions, (Reoferouee, NACA Tock. Repl 475) Angle Blade angle, ‘The vente angle between the chord ofa section of a propeller, for of notary wing system, and a plane perpendienlae to the axis of rotation. Coning angle. The average angle between the span axis of « blade oF wing ‘of a rotary wing syntern ane a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Riffertve hele angle, ‘The angle of the helix deseribed by a particular point ‘on a propeller blade as the airplane moves forward through air otherwise undisturbed. Area, projectel propeller. Projected Ilade area tines the number of blades, ‘Area, projected propeller Hade. ‘The projection of the propeller-blule area on a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the propeller ‘Area, propeller. Blade area times the number of blades: ‘Area, propeller blade, ‘The developed area of the blade face Joss and the root, Le, exclusive of that portion the thrust of whieh, 1 comparison with the total thrust of the hlade, Aven, propaller-disk, ‘The total area swept hy a propeller, i, the area of a cirete having the sume diameter as the propeller. “Aspect ratio, propale-blade, ‘The ratio of the tip radius to the msximur, blade width. (Obsolete) Blade tack. ‘The sile of a propeller blade that corresponds to the upper surface of an airf Blavte clement, — portion of « propeller lade contained between the surfaces of two oylinders coaxial with tho propeller cutting the propeller blades. Blade fore. ‘The surivee of a propeller blade that corresponds to the lower ssurfaco of am al metimes ealled thrust face or driving fue. Blade section. exces soetion, of a propeller blade made at any point by ‘plane yeurallel to the axis of rotation of the propeller and tangent af the centroid of the section to an are draven with the axis of rotation as its center. Blade-with ratio, The ratio of the chon of « propeller blade section to the diameter of the propeller. ‘Mean ilade-width ratio, ‘The ratio of the mean blade width to the diameter of the propeller. clusive of the negligible 13124 AIRPLANE PROPELLER PRINCIPLES Dynamomeler, bub, A devieo built into « propeller hub for mexsuring the cengine thrust and/or tora Tnglow, "The flow of ai into a propeller Leading edge, Tue foremost edge of an arfuil or propeller blade. Nacelle, Aw enclose shelter for personnel or for a powerpla usually shorter than a fuselage and doas not earry the tail unit, Bitch of a propeller Hifoctive pitch. "Phe distance ‘one revolition of the propeller. Geometvval pitch, Te distance xn element of a propeller would ad in one revolution if it were moving along helix having an angle equal to its bade ant Zero-tirws pitch, ‘The distance a propeller would have to advance in one revolution to give no thrust. Also called experimental man piteb. Ditch ratio (propeller). ‘The ratio of the pitel to the diameter. Propller, Any dovice for propelling a eraft trough a Haid, such as water or ir; expecially «device having blades which, when mounted ox a power-driven shalt, prodace 2 thrust by their aetion on the fluid. Prouller rake, "Tho mean angle which the Tine joining the centroids of the sections of propeller blade makes with a plane pespendicular to the axis. Propaler rot, ‘Phat pat of the propeller blade near the hub. Propeller thrust, Tho component of the total airforce on the propeller whieh js panalel to the dirostion of advance, Propeller thrust, effective. "The net driving force developed Ly a propeller ‘when mounted o craft, ie, the actual thiust exertod hry the propeller, as inounted on an aitplane, mints any inerease in the resistance of the airplane due tw the action of the propelle Propller thrust, satie, ‘The thrust development by a propeller when rotating without translation, Propeller tipping. A. protective covering of the blade of a propeller near the tip, Propulsive efficiency. ‘Tho ratio of the product of the effective thrust and flight speed to the actual power input into the propeller as mounted on the airplane. Slip. ‘The difference between the geometrical piteh and the effective piteh of a propeller. Slip may be expressed ast « poreentage of the mean geometrical piteh, oF a6 a Hinear dimension. Slip function, ‘The ratio of the speed of advance through the undisturbed air to the product of the propeller diameter and the number of revolutions per unit time, ie, V/nD. ‘Stipsiveam.” ‘Tho eurrent of air driven astern by a propeller. ‘Spinner, A fairing of approximately coniesl or paraboloidal shape, which is fitted coaxially with the propeller hub and revolves with the propeller ‘Tip radius (or propeller radius). ‘The distance of the outermost point of propeller blade from the axis of rotation. Trailing edge. ‘Th rearmost edge of an airfoil or of a propeller blade. A nacell incraft advo ces along its flight path for APPENDIX 38 2628 803288 (ACA Pech, Rept 218.) 2 is 20 2 Altude in Thousands of Feet aw mn of density, pressure, and temperature of standard atmosphere with altitude, oF e012 16 6 Prssurd Rao 6/A sea ec & FF ig “tmeredway 85883 333° sony emendos 9 W9sg onsang 28 125126 ho 100 15004 1200 1300 120 too 1000 900. 700 «00 fae 400 300 20 AIRPLANE, PROPELLER PRINCIPLES mS rom pm an (26) 2500 f° 23 30,000 ~[- 982 a ‘mo -o83 . ° mol yp e000 | | INDEX 45 2100 son bo A Compressbility effect, 30° sooo 22 | oes Aetvity actor, 94 Const of to dat 8 ae Acroptoducts Division, 78 Counterweight, blade, 61 4a 1900 24000 | 996 [Airfoil sections, hide, 16 Caf, blade, 45 . veo | 20 Ai ost dt, Carls Pree Division, 79 42 vino 200 {oar Ale ptr, tr > an 1600+ 49 oss “Altitude effect, on propeller, 33, 104 Patletions tel, ” 20,000 Aluminuntalloy propellers, 38 torsional, 59 40 1500 7 “Area, blade section, 49 De-icer, o4 088 “Assumptions, blue bending, 58 Design chart, 27, 108 » 1100 4g 16000 Aszutiony U Din ong, 43 090 e * me 600 ® Efficiency, spparent, oat Balance, blade, 41 fey, spares ar 1200-17 000 ‘bub and blade assembly, $2 ie se ose Bearing frit tore, 12, 83 20 ow neo Bending stron, 52 pleut ern ss 22000 | 953 Be angle range, cotrllaleiteh 7 | imple ae dene vow f® Blade counterweight aston, 6 rirements of, $8 choos lady element efiieney, 13 1oce0 aficeny. gine ae rt, | Blade element cheory, Evora propeller, 88 so 02s Blut form eure, 4 2 6 000 ade uber #3 r a9 Blade planter, 44 un state, 21 2 x0 ‘coo Bade sation, 48 tg firs, 71 oo? Bide st, 58 igh tests, 20 aa Me Blade torque, aoradyname, 48,00 | Fue, enti, 400 strife, Preawencien, tu 67 700 oa Blade width, 43 “ 30 Body interference, 29 a 709+ 099 Brake state, 22 Gear reduction, engine, 107 Gentian diagram, 8 . 2 600 0-10 c Governor, Aeroproduets, 79 “ Center of gravity, bli section, 49 Carts, 7 2628 oo be Clarke airfoil, 46 Hamilton Standard, $2 iin eo octet, ail dea, 7 Graton de rac of, 06 Spon power clit chat ‘iri ies Gyroeopi nad, BB power, 24 speed-power, 27 i thst 22 Viamtton Standard Division, $2 torus 2 Tb, edjestbleyite, 1,78 tontueseed, 30 ontraalegiteh, 1 78 wzPower cooficient, 24 Power eoofficent curves, 26, 108 128 INDEX Hub, controllablepiteh, Acroproduets, B Curtiss, 79 uropean models, 99 Hamilton Stsndard, 82 fixoi-piteh, 77 general design considerations of, 90 stress analysis of, 2 Hub accessories, Inertia, Interference, body, 20 L Loads, critical operating, 49 inyreseoqio, 68 rain steady, 48 Lycoming-Smith propeller, 89 M ‘Magnesium propellers, 40 ‘Materials, Dae eonstruetion, 35 Micarta propellers, 41 Moment, centefigal restoring, 53, 56 Moment, thrust bending, 52 Moment theory, ° ‘One-piece forged propellers, 38 ‘Oseilograph record, 71 Pp Performance analysis, fixed-piteh, 100 ‘owo:position, 102 constant-spoed, 108 Performance curves, propeller, 23 Pokup, blode vibration stress, 60 Pitch, adjustable, 1 ‘ontellable, 1 eflestive, 3 Fixed, 1 seometrio, 3 Ditch control, automatic, $0 Pitch change, rate of, 91 itch distribution, 42 uniform geometric, 43 Power available, fixed-piteh, 100 ‘worposition, 102 ceonstant-speed, 108 Power required, controllablepiteh hub, 2 Propeller state, 22 R RAPS airfoil, 46 Rotation, dual, 9 RPM variation, ixed-piteh, 101 ‘wo-posiion, 102 constant-speed, 108 8 SAE hub standards, 88 Safety, margin of, 63 Seloction of propiller, 27, 100, Sensitivity of speed control, 9. Solidity factor, 48 Sound, variation of velocity of, 38 Speo-power eooficient, 27 Spinner, 29, 95 Standards, SAE hub, 98 Steel propellers, 39 Strength tests, 74 Sires allowable, 65, 74 ening, 52 contra, 51 fombined, 8 steady, 48, 05 vibratory, 67, 74 Stross analysis, blade, 47 hub, 92 Stresrineasuring equipment, vibratory, oo ‘Stress variation with apm, 64 v Takeo thrast, 105 ‘Terminology, 1 ‘Test data, application of, 88 ‘Tests, aerodynamic, 18 Slight, 20 strength, 7 ‘win! tunnel, 18 ickness ratio of blade section, 45 ‘Torus, effective, 28 takeoff, ixe-pite, 108 two-position, 106 constant-speed, 106, variation of, 30, 97 ‘Thrust bending moment, 52 ‘Thrust coefficient, 23 ‘Thrust load distribution, 52 ‘Thrust loading, blade clement theory, u Tilt, blade, 59 Tip epeod effet, 32 ‘Torque, acrodynamnie blade, 60 ‘lade bearing feition, 83 centrifugal blade, 60 “Torque coelicient, 28 rs SRL OTBCA 010 i: INDEX 0 ‘Torque loading, blade clement thewry, 11 Torque-speed cocticien!, 80 w Windmill state, 22 Wind tunnel tests, 18 Wood, impregnated, 40 Wood propeliers, 37 Y ‘Yaw, efeot of, 34