Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory

Chapter 5: Propeller theory Examples

Example 5.1
5.1 Froude’s momentum theory of propulsion An airscrew is required to produce a thrust of 4000N at a flight speed of 120m / s
5.2 Airscrew coefficients at sea level. If the diameter is 2.5m , estimate the minimum power that must be supplied
5.2.1 Thrust coefficient on the basis of Froude’s theory:
5.2.2 Torque coefficient T  2SV 2a(1  a )
5.2.3 Efficiency that is,
5.2.4 Power coefficient
T
5.2.5 Activity factor a  a2 
5.3 Airscrew pitch 2SV 2
5.3.1 Geometric pitch Now T  4000N , V  120ms 1 , S  4.9m 2
5.3.2 Effect of geometric pitch on airscrew performance 4000
a  a2   0.0232
5.3.3 Experimental mean pitch 2  1.226  14400  4.9
5.4 Blade-element theory Whence
5.5.1 Vortex system of an airscrew a  0.0227
5.5.2 Performance of a blade element Then the ideal efficiency is
5.5 The momentum theory applied to the helicopter rotor 1 1
5.5.1 Actuator disc in hovering flight i  
1.0227 1  a
5.5.2 Vertical climbing flight Useful power= TV  480000W
5.5.3 Slow, powered descending flight Therefore, the minimum power supplied P is given by
5.5.4 Translational helicopter flight
TV
5.6 Hovercraft P  480000 * 1.0227  491kW
Examples i
Problems The actual power required by a practical airscrew is probably about 15% greater than
this (approximately 560 kW).
Example 5.2
A pair of airscrews is placed in tandem (Fig. E5.2) at a streamwise spacing sufficient
to eliminate mutual interference. The rear airscrew is of such a diameter that it just fills
the slipstream of the front airscrew. Using the simple momentum theory, calculate:
(1) the efficiency of the combination and
(2) the efficiency of the rear airscrew if the front airscrew has a Froude efficiency of
90% and if both airscrews deliver the same thrust.
9
For the front airscrew, i  0.9 .Therefore,
10
1 9 10 1
 ;1  a  ; a 
1  a 10 9 9
Thus
10
V0  V (1  a )  V
9

Figure E5.2: Actuator discs in tandem.

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 Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory
And 2TV 9
Efficiency of combination    0.818 or 81.8%
11 22 11
VS  V (1  2a )  V TV
9 9
The thrust of the front airscrew is Example 5.3
10  2  20 An airscrew of 3.4-m diameter has the following characteristics:
T  S 1V0 (VS V )  S 1  V  V   S V 2
 9  9  81 1
The second airscrew is working entirely in the slipstream of the first, so the speed of
the approaching flow is VS .The thrust is
T  S 2V ' 0(V 'S V ' )  S 2V0'(V 'S VS ) (a) Calculate the forward speed at which it absorbs 750 kW at 1250 rpm at 3660 m
Now, by continuity, (   0.693 ) and the thrust under these conditions.
S 2V ' 0  S 1V0
(b) Compare the efficiency of the airscrew with that of the ideal actuator disc of the same
area, giving the same thrust under the same conditions.
Also, the thrusts from the two airscrews are equal, so
Pow er  2n Q  Q
T  S1V0(VS V )  S 2V ' 0(V 'S V ' )  S 2V0'(V 'S VS )
Therefore,
Whence
750000  60
VS V  V S VS '
torque Q   5730Nm
2  1250
that is, 1250
n  20.83rps n 2  435(rps )2
 22  13 60
V '
 2VS V    1V  V
S
 9  9 So
Then, if the rate of mass flow through the discs is m , Q 5730
kQ    0.0368
 13 11  2 n 2D 5 0.639  435  (3.4)5  1.226
Thrust of rear airscrew= m (Vs' Vs )  m   V  mV
9 9  9 Plotting the given values of kQ and  against J shows that, for kQ  0.0368 ,
The useful power given by the second airscrew is TV, not TVs; therefore, J  1.39 and   0.848 . Now J  V / nD , so
2 V  JnD  1.39  20.83  3.4  98.4ms 1
 2
Useful power from 2nd airscrew  mV
9 Since the efficiency is 0.848 (or 85.8%), the thrust power is
Kinetic energy added per second by the second airscrew, which is the power supplied 750  0.848  635kW
by (and to) the second disc, is Therefore, the thrust is
dE 1 1  169 121  2 8 Power 635000
 P  m (Vs' 2 Vs2 )  m   V   2
mV T    6460N
dt 2 2  81 81  27 Speed 98.4
Thus the efficiency of the rear components is For the ideal actuator disc,
2 T 6460
 2
mV a(1  a )    0.0434
9 2SV 2 
 0.75 or 75% 2  0.693  (3.4)2  (98.4)2  1.226
8 4
 2
mV
27 Whence
TV a  0.0417
Power input to front airscrew  Thus the ideal efficiency is
0.9
1
TV i   0.958 or 95.8%
Power input to rear airscrew  1.0417
0.75
Therefore, The efficiency of the practical airscrew is ( 0.848 / 0.958 ) of that of the ideal actuator
 10 disc, so the relative efficiency of the practical airscrew is 0.885, or 88.5%.
4 22
Total power input    TV  TV Example 5.4
 9 3  9
An airplane is powered by a single engine with speed-power characteristics as follows:
Total useful power output  2TV
Therefore,

The fixed-pitch airscrew of 3.05-m diameter has the following characteristics:

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 Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory
The solution to this problem is essentially a process of successive approximation to
the values of a and b:
Solidity
Bc 4  0.25
   0.1273
The airscrew is directly coupled to the engine crankshaft. What is the airscrew thrust 2r 2  1.25
and efficiency during the initial climb at sea level, when the aircraft speed is 45ms 1 ? 1500 rpm=25 rps=n
Preliminary calculations required are 1
tan   whence   1.15
Q  kQ n 2D 5  324.2kQn 2 50
after using the appropriate values for  and D , and Geometric pitch  2r tan   4.4
J  V / nD  14.75 / n Where
tan   0.560,   29.3
The power required to drive the airscrew Pr is
V (1  a ) 67(1  a ) 1a
Pr  Q  2n Q tan     0.3418 s
r(1  b) 62.5(1  b ) 1b
With these expressions, the following tabulated results may be calculated. In this Speed of sound in atmosphere  20.05(273  14.7)1/2  325m.s 1
table, Pa is the brake power available from the engine, as given in the data, whereas the
Suitable values for initial guesses for a and b are a  0.1 , and b  0.02 . Then
values of kQ for the calculated values of J are read from a graph. 1.1
tan   0.3418  0.383
0.98
  20.93,   29.3  20.93  8.37 
V (1  a ) 67  1.1
VR  V (1  a )cos ec    206m.s1
sin  0.357
206
M   0.635 , 1  M 2  0.773
325
dC L 0.1
  0.1295 per degree
d 0.773
Since  is the absolute incidence (i.e., the incidence from zero lift),
A graph is now plotted of Pa and Pr against rpm, the intersection of the two
dC L
curves giving the equilibrium condition. This is found to be at a rotational speed of 2010 CL    0.1295  8.37  1.083
d
rpm (i.e., n=33.5 rps). For this value of n , J  0.44 , giving kT  0.112 and Then
kQ  0.015 . Then q  C L sin(   )  1.083 sin(20.93  1.15)  0.408
T  0.112  1.226  (33.5)2  (3.05)4  13330N And
And t  C L cos(   )  1.083 cos 22.08  1.004
1 kT 1 0.112 b 1 q 0.1274  0.408
 J   0.44  0.523 or 52.3%  q cos ec 2    0.0384
2 kQ 2 0.0150 1 b 2 2 sin 2 2  0.675
As a check on the correctness and accuracy of this result, note that Giving
Thrust power  TV  13300  45  599kW 0.0384
b  0.0371
At 2010 rpm, the engine produces 1158 kW (from engine data), and therefore the 1.0384
efficiency is 599  100 / 1158  51.6% , which is in satisfactory agreement with the a 1 0.1274  1.004
 t cos ec 2 
earlier result. 1a 4 4  0.357  0.357
Example 5.5 So
At 1.25-m radius on a four-bladed airscrew of 3.5-m diameter, the local chord of 0.2515
each blade is 250 mm and the geometric pitch is 5.4 m. The lift-curve slope of the blade a  0.336
0.7485
section in incompressible flow is 0.1 per degree, and the lift/drag ratio may, as an Thus the assumed values a  0.1 and b  0.02 lead to the better approximations
approximation, be taken to be constant at 50. Estimate thrust grading, torque grading, and a  0.336 and b  0.0371 . A further iteration may be carried out using these values we
local efficiency in flight at 4600 m (   0.629 , temperature   14.7C ) at a flight speed can more quickly find the final values of a and b by using, as the initial values for an
of 67m.s 1 TAS and a rotational speed of 1500 rpm. iteration, the arithmetic mean of the input and output values of the previous iteration.
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 Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory Lecture notes: Chapter 5 Propeller theory
Thus, in the present example, the values for the next iteration are a  0.218 and Example 5.6
b  0.0286 . The arithmetic mean is particularly convenient when giving instructions to A helicopter weighs 24,000 N and has a single rotor of 15-m diameter. Using
computers (whether human or electronic). We continue the iteration process until we momentum theory, estimate the power required for level flight at a speed of 15ms1 at
obtain agreement with the desired accuracy between the assumed and derived values of a sea level. The drag coefficient, based on the rotor area, is 0.006:
and b. The results of the iterations are 
a  0.1950 ; b  0.0296 A (15)2  176.7m 2
4
to four significant figures. With these values substituted in the appropriate equations,
W 24000
we have the following results: lde    136Nm 2
  2248 ' A 176.7  1
lde 136
  628 '   55.6m 2s 2
VR  207m.s 1 ; M  0.640 20 2  1.226
giving With these values, and with V  15ms1 , Eq. (5.57) is
dT 1 1 0.0062
 VR2ct  3167Nm 1 per blade U 4  225U 2  U (0.006)(3375)  (55.6)2  (15)4
dr 2 2 16
and that is,
dQ 1 U 4  225U 2  10.125U  3091
 VR2cqr  1758Nmm 1 per blade This quartic equation in U may be solved by any of the standard methods (e.g.,
dr 2
Thus the thrust grading for the whole airscrew is 12670Nmm1 and the torque grading Newton-Raphson), with the solution being U  15.45ms 1 to four significant figures.
is ... The local efficiency is Then
 0.006  153 0.0062  154 55.62 
V t P  2  1.226  176.7     88.9kW
1   0.768 or 76.8%
2nr q  4 16  15.45 15.45 
This is the power required if the rotor behaves as an ideal actuator disc. A practical
rotor requires considerably more power than this.
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