NATIONAL

ADVISORY
COMMrITEE
FORAERONAUTICS
TECHNICALNOTE 4126

EXPERIMENTALmitigation OF THE EFFECTSOF SOME

SHROUD
DESIGNVARIABLESONTHESTATICTIEtUST
CHARACTEREWICS
OF A SMALL-SCALESHROUDED
PROPELLERSUBMERGED
IN A WING
By RobertT. Taylor
LangleyAeronauticalLaboratmy
LangleyField, Va.

Washington
January1958

-..”.
 mvIsoxYcmmTEE
N4TIONAL

mcmtw mm 4=6
.

ExmukmLIIWEWTGATION
OFTHEEKEECTS
OFSOME
SHROUD
DESIGN
VARIABLES
ONTHESTATIC
THRUST
~ICS CXE’
A SMALL-SCALE
SEROUJ3ED
PROPELLER
SUPMERGED
IXA W13’W
By Robert
T.Taylor

An qerimentalinvestigation
hasbeenmadeto deteminetheeffects
of shroud-ltp
radius
of curmture,
shroud
length,andshrouddiffuser
angleonthestaticthrustcharacteristics
ofa small-scale
shrouded
., propeller
whtchsimulated
a propeller
submerged
inthewingofan air-
, Pm “ Alsoincluded
aretheeffects
ofdistancefromtheexitofthe
shroudtothegroundonthethrustavailable
fortake-off.
*
Thedataindicatethat whena shroud-lipradiusof curvature
below
6 percent
ofthepropeller diameterisused,marked reductionsinstattc
thrustefficiency
result.Relatively minorlossesin staticthrusteffi-
ciencyoccurasa resultofdecreasing theshroudlen@h. Emreasesin
exitarearesulttnsomeminorlosses in static
thrust efficiency
but
stillallowstistantial
Increasesin staticthrust.Closeproximtty of
thegroundtotheshroud exitcanresult inverylargelosses inthrust.

ImTRomc!mm

Reducedpropeller tiplossesandthe~llityto control theslip-

streamdiameter maketheshrouded propeller
attratiivefortheproduction
ofM@ static thrust forverticalascent.Sever&lplansforadapting
shroudedpropellers touseInvertical-take-off aircrafthavebeenpro-
posed.Oneplan(ref.1) involves an installation
wherea propelleris
locatedina wingwithitsshsftaxisperpendicular tothewing-chord
plane.Thusshrouded, thepropeller
wouldbe usedtopowertheaircraft
inverticaltake-off andlanding md, astheaircraft gainedsufficient
fo- speed, its weight wouldbe transferred
franthepropellertothe
h wing Thisapplication
● @pltesa minimumshroudlengthfora given
2 NW m 4126

propeller
diameter.
Certain questionsthusariseastoproper design
shortshroud.Theminimum
ofa relatively LLpradius ofcurvature,the
minimum
shroudlengthaheadofthepropeller plane, theminimumshroud
length
behindthepropellerplane, andthe diffuser anglepezmisslble
intheexithavea pronouncedbe=ingon shroud lengt&.
TheIangley Aeronautical
Laboratory,
therefore,,
hasundertakena
systemtic investigate
Iontoprovidebasicinformation
onshroudconfig-
uration at zeroforwardspeedfora specific
shroudedpropeller
appli-
cation.Presented hereinaretheresultsofan agmAmentalinvestiga-
tionat zeroforward speedtodetermine
theeffectsof shroud-llp
radius,
shroud lengthaheadofthepropeller, shroud
lengthbehindthepropellers
anddiffuser angle behindthepropeller
planeonthestatic thrustchar-
acteristics ofa small-scale
shroudedpropeller.

mmxs

A mea of cross 8ection, sqf%

D propeller
dkneter, in.
R shroud-lip of curvature,
radius in.
r radius
propeller atanystation,
in.
rt radius
propeller attip,in.
b bladechord,
propeller in.
t bladethickness,
propeller in.
z of shroud
length behind
propeller
plane,
in.
h distance
fromshroud
-ust togruund
board,in.

P propeller *
shaftpower,-3?
& m

Tu unshrouded
propeller
thrust,
lb

‘P
thrust
ofpropeXLer
inpresence
of shroud,
lh
T6 thrust
carried
onshroud
withpropeller
operating,
lb
T totalthrust configuration,
of shrouded T6+ ~, lb

P
 m m 4=6 3
u
Q propeller
shafttorque,
fi-lb
.. n rotational
propeller speed,
rps
P propeller
bladeangle,
deg
propeller
bladeangleat ~
rt = O.m, deg
‘.75
o shroud-diffuser
included
angle,
deg
nu unshrouded
propeller static
thrust
efficiency
(orfigure
of
~u312
merit
), ) AD
11OOP
i
p -z-
4/2
V8 shrouded
propeller
static
thrust
efficiency, —
lloqpeq
w P airdensity,
slugs/cu
ft
Subscripts:
●

E station
at shroud
exit
D station
atpropeller
plane
m hflnitedistmcefrcmground

ANDTE9TS
AmmATt.Js

usedIn thisinvestigation
Thetestconfiguration consisted
ofa
PmeUer, a shroud, simulating
anda platform theuppersurface
ofa
wing
. Photographs
oftheconfiguration as figure
arepresented 1.
Figure
2(a)isa sketch partsofthetestconfiguration
ofthecomponent
andthebalance
mounting
arrangement.
Theshroud consisted
oflaminated unitswhichcould
mahogany be
assenibledto testvariousconibinations shroud
of liPradius, length,
and diffuser sagle (fig.
2(b)).Thermge o>thev&ables investigated
is asfollows:
*

-.
4 m m 4=6
i
Shroud-lip R.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 to0.125D
radius,
Shroud
len@haheadofpropeller o.25D
. . . . . . . . . . . . 0 LUICI
Shroud
len@hbehindpropeller,
2 . . . . . . . . . . . 0.03Dto1.03D M-
Diffueer deg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0,7, and14
lncludedangle,
Thepropeller
consisted
ofthreeadjustable-pitch
bladesof
ClarkY section.Theblade-f
ormcurvesofthepropeller areshownin -
figure 3. Theclearance
betweentheprapeller
bladetipsandshroud
washeldata constant1/16inch(O.0039D)throughout
thetests.Ref-
erence2 indicates
a smaU lossinthrustatthisvalueoftipclearance,
butfromthepracticalaspectsofthemodelsetupItwasdeemed important
tohavesufficienttipclearanceforthetestsendthe1./I6-inchchar: - -
ante wasarrived
atonthebasisoftheflexibility ofthemountbetween
thepropellershaftandtheshroud.
Thedynamometerusedtopowerthepropeller wasidentical
tothat
describedinreference
3. ~ ~r meas~edthethrufi ~ tor- -—
queofthepropeller shaft.Thepropellerrotationalspeed
wasdeter-
minedby observing
a stroboscopic
typeofindicator, towhichwasfed
the‘outputfrequency
ofa smalLalternator
connectedtotherotorshaft.
Theentireshroud-propeller
combination
endthesimulated wing
surfaceweremountedona strain-gage
balancewhichmeasured
thestatic 7-.—
thrustoftheconfiguration.Themeasurements
takenallowed
thecQ-
tationofpropellerthrustinthepresence
oftheshroud, propeller ● ✿
shaftpower,andthrustofthepropeller-shroud
ccmibinatlon.
Fromthese
-tities itW= possibleto ccmputethestatic thrust
efficiency(fig-
ureofmerit)q,theratioofpropeller thrusttototal-conf
@ration
thrustTp/T,andtheratioofshrouded propellerthrust
touuhmded
propellerthrustT/~ througha rangeofpropellerbladeanglesfor —.
theconfigurations
tested.

=ULTS ANDDISCUSSION

Effect
ofPropeller
BladeAngle
Curvesofthestaticthrustefficiency
plottedagainst
propeller
bladeanglefortheunshrouHApropeller
(thati~,thepropaller
alone)
andfortheshroudedpropeller
withseveral
valuesofshroud-lip
radius
ratioR/I)areprese~edInfigure 4. Thevaluesofstaticthrust
efficiencyq presented
wereobtained
by averaging
theefficiency
over
a reageofrotational
speeds
(powerloadings).Theshroud
Inthiscam- —
parlsonextends
1.03diameters
behind
theplaneofthepropellerand

●
 HAMm 4M6 5

AE_l~
hasan exitarearatioAD “ . Themaxhumstatic thrustefficiency
&
fortheshroudedpropellerisapproximately
10percenthigherthanthat
oftheunshroudedpropellerandoccursata higherbladeangle.The
increase
inbladeangleformaximum efficiency
isduetothehigher veloc-
i@ inducedatthepropeller pleaewiththeshroudinplace.Thus,M
thebladesectionsareto qpsrateatmaximumlift-dreg
ratio,an increase
inthebladeangleoftheshrouded propeller
becomesnecessary.
Thedatain figure4 shuw
the mximmstatic thrustefficiency
for
theshroudedpropeller
tobe relatively
low. A possible
explanation
llesinthefactthatthepropellerusedforthesetestswasnotdesigned
totakeadvantageoftheinflowvelocitydistribution
oftheshroud.
Also,theunitwasoperatedw#thoutcounter
vaneswhich,ifused,might
be eqectedto reduce
thelossesdueto slipstream
rotation.Itis
believed,
however,thattheincremental
&sagesh efficiencythatoccur
asa resultofthe~lous ccmfigurationsdonotdependtoanygreat
degreeonthe~ efficiency
oftheshroud-propeller
ccmibination.

Effect
ofLipRadius
w Figure5 is a crossplotofthedatafrc?n figure
4 at several
propel-
lerbladeangles andshowsthe~ce of staticthrustefficiency
on
●
theradiusoftheshroud Mp . Relatively
severelossesh attainable
efficiency
areassociated withvaluesoflipradiibelowaboutO.06D.
Exsminatton
oftheentrance flowby inserting
inita wandwithtuf%s
attached
whilethepropeller wasoperating
showedthattheflowentering
theshroudhadseparated fromthelipsurface whenlipradiibelowabout
0.06Dwereused.It isemphasized thattheseresults
applyonlytodata
obtained
understatic conditions. Inasmchasthistypeof configuration
willacquireforwardspeedinflight, theveloci@acrosstheentrance
perp~- tothepropeUeraxismayreqdre that a vastly different
formoflipbe used.
Figure6 showsthe effect
of changesinshroud-lipradius onthe
ratioofpropeller thrusttototalthrust~/T. Thesepoints weretaken
atveLues ofbladeangleformsxdmum static
thrustefficiency. Withthe
largestlipradius, thethrustloadisegpeJly divided
between thepro-
pller andthe shroud,as wouldbe e~cted fora straight shroud
(e~ OO).Asthelipradius isreduced,howewr,theloadcarried by
theshroud isalsoreduced becauseofthepreviously=ntionedseparation.
Itis interestingtonote,however, thatevenwitha sharp-edged entrance
(R/D. O)theshroud stillcarriesaboutx Wrcentofthetotalthrust.
6 NACATN4126
t
Effect
ofPropeller
Iocation
inShroud
A comparison
ofcurves ofstaticthrust
efficiencyplottedagainst- b
propeller
bladeanglefortwopropeller-plana”p
ositions attwovalues of -.
lipradius 7. Thedataat R/D= 0.0625showed
ratiois shownin figure
essentially
no changeinstaticthrustefficiency
whenthepropellerwas
movedO.= dismeterintotheduct,whereasat R/D= 0.0156the onepoint
takenshoweda decrease
inefficiencyofabout6 percent.Readingstaken
withthesmallerlipradiiwereveryunsteady,andconsiderablescatter
waspresentinthedata.Ingeneral, theadvantage
oflocating thepro-
peller0.25Dinsidetheshroudisnegligible. .-

Effect
ofShroud
Length
Behind
the,Propell.er
Plane
Theeffectofvaryingshroudlengthbehindthepropellerplaneon
thestatic thrustefficiency
isillustratedinfigure8. Thesedatawere ‘“
takenwithlip radiith@tgavethe highestefficiency.At thepower
loadingsused(about0.3to3.8horsepower persqi%ofpropeller &Lsk ,- -..+
area),thelosses instaticthrustefficiencyassociated
withdecreases
inshroud lengthfrcm1.03to0.03propeller _ters a~eartobe
relativelysmall.No evidence
ofanyappreciable lossdueto friction
ontheinternal surfaceoftheshroudatthepowerloadings investigated v“
isapparent. A lossofthistypewouldshowupasan increase ineffi-
ciencywitha decreaseinshroudlength.T& losses shownforshort
shroudsseemtobe duetoa shroud lengthinsufficient
toallowthepres- t.
sure riseofthepropellertodevelopasaxialdynamic pressure.This
typeoflossmaybemoresevere atpowerlo~ingshigher thanthbseused .
inthisinvestigation.

Effect
ofDiffuser
Angle
A diffuser
to increasetheexitareaofa shrouded propelleris
frequently
proposedasa meansofincreasing thestaticthrustcapacity
oftheunit.Diffusers withincluded anglesof70and14°weretested
witha lipradiusof0.1250 propellerdiemeter,andtheresultsarepre-
sentedinfigures9 to11. Figure 9 showst~ effect onstaticthrust
efficiency
of changes
inexitarearatiow AD forincluded
angles of
7° and14°inthediffuser. Thestaticthrust efficiency
gradually
decreases
withanincrease inexitmea butseemstobe independent of
angle.A y-percent
diffuser lossinstatic thrustefficiency
isassoci-
atedwitha ~-percentincreaseinexit~ea~ Itshould be notedthat,
ifthefigure ofmeritfortheunshrouded propeller ~ hsdbeenused,
thevaluesofefficiencyinfigure 9 would~ve incresaedwithincreasing
exitarea.Theefficiency qs,therefore,isdeemed morea~rqpriate,
asitrepresentstheratiooftheactual slipstreamenergytotheinput
power.

.
 mcmm 4U6 7
\
Although theefficiencyisreduced somewhat,
theuseofdiffusion
in the exit,nevertheless,resultsin a substantial
increase
intotal
a thrust, asisshowninfigure 10. fithersnge ofs- lengthsand
diffuser angles usedinthesetestk, there~ears to be littlechoice
inarriving ata givenexitareawitha l.cmg orwitha shortshroud.
J&reasing arearatiobetween thepropellerdiskandtheshroud exit
appears togovern theincreaseinstatic thrust
andthedecrease in
staticthrust effickncy.Figure 10alsoshowsthatthevariation of
theratiooftheshrouded propellerthrusttotheunahrobdedpropeller
thrust~Tu forconstant powerisgreater ~hentally thanisindi-
catedby simple theory(ref.4)by s- 15to20percent.The
momentum
increment shown between
experimentandsimple mc?nentum
theoryisprob-
ablyassociated withthedecreasedtiplosses ofthepropellerwhenIn
thepresence oftheshroud.
Theratioofthrustcarried
~ thepropeller
tothetotalshrouded
propeller
thrustTp/Z!asa function
ofexitarearatioispresented
in
f@re U.. Thiscurve1sinexcellent~ement withthecurveobtained
by shph mcmentum
theory,
whichindicates
thatanIncreasing
percentage
ofthetotslthrustiscarried
~ theshroudastheexitsxeais
increased.
n
Effect
ofGround
Proximity
*
Theproximityoftheground to theexitofa shroudedpropeller
submerged
Ina wing(orplatf onu)could be expected
to exerta pronounced
effect
ontheavaihble thrustofthemachine.A configuration (shuwn
infig.12)representing a relatively
shortshroudwasselected andground
prmdmitytestsweremade.W thiscaseboththeupperandlowersurfaces
ofthewingweresimulated. Theresults ofthesetests~e showninfig-
ure13. The ratioofthrust in groundeffecttothrust outofground-
effectT!/Tmispresented asa functionofpropeller
diameters above
theground.At a distance frcm&e gr- Of*out 0.25-* the
ratioisabout-1.0ora download equaltotheliftoutofground
thrust
effect.Thefigure illustratesclearlythatforthetypeofinstallation
careshould
tested, be takento providesufficient
groundclearsnce for
take-off
andlanding.

CONCLUSION
.
Teststo determine
theeffect
onthestaticthrustcharacteristics
of several
shroud-design ona small-scale
variables shrouded
propeller
* representing
a propeller ina wingindicate
mibmerged thefollowing
conclusions:
●
8 IVACA
m 4u!6

1. Relatively
severe
losses static
inattainable thrustefficiency
wereassociated
withshroud-entrance-lip than6 percent
radiisnmJ.ler
ofthepropellerdiameter.
2.Relatively
minorlosses
instaticthrust
efficiency
wereassoci-
atedwithdecreases
inshroud from1.03to0.03prupeller
length
dismetera.
3. Wtthln
the-e ofthetestsincreases
inexitareaallowed
stistantlal
increases
instatic
thrust
butdecreased
thestattcthrust
efficiency.
4.Theproximityof
theshroud
exittothegroundhadapronounced
adverse
effect
onthestatic
thrust
of a shrouded
propeller
milxnerged
Inawtng.

Langley
AeronauticalLaboratory,
National
Adtisory
Ccmmlttee
forAeronautics,
Langley Va.,July31, 1957.
Fteld,

1. Hickey,DavidH.: Prelhinary
hvestigation
oftheCharacteristics
ofa Two-Dimensional
Wingandpropeller
WiththePropeller
Plane
ofRotationintheWing-Chord
Plane.NAM RMA57F03,
1957.
.
2. Hxibbard,
kyH.: nts forFiveShrouded
SoundMeaeureme Propellers
atStaticConditions.
NACA~2024,lfiO.
3. Kuhn,
RichardE., andDraper,
JohnW.:-hvestigation
oftheAero-
dynamic
characteristics
ofaModelWing-Propeller
Ccmibinatlon
and “-
oftheWingandPropellerSeparately
atAngles
ofAttack
@ togo”.
NACARep.M63, 1956.(S~ersedesNACATN3304byDraper
andKuhn.)
4.Platt,
Robert
J.,Jr.: Static
Testsofa Shrouded
andanUMmouded
Propeller.
NACARML7H25,1948.
 NAMm 4u6 9

frontview.
(a)Three-quarter L-96069
Figure
l.-Photograph
of shrouded-propeller
configuration
mountedfor
te8ting
in simulated
uppersurface
ofwing.# = 0.01%;$ = 1.03.
 d

(b)Three-quarter
rearview. L-%070 s.

Figure
1.-COnClu&d. -.
b-
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Figure 4.- Effectof propelkmblade anglem staticthrustefficiencyfor unshrouded
. ; = 1.03.
aldforthedlrouad ProPe- with IKlIwrf’lld.on.

. ● . b
 4 r

—---- 20
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- 5.- Effectof lipradiueratioon static*t at msveralbladeangles.

efficiency
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6.- E@mimmtel mriation of propellerthrustmtio ~/T ulth llpre&luE
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8.- Effect
Figure
— of shroud
length
on static
thrust withno
efficiency
diffusion
inshroud.

.
 19

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9.-Variatim of staticthrust
Figure area
efficiency with shroud-axlt
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22 NACATN
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1 . . . ..