Aircraft Propulsion System

Theory & Principle of Propulsion

Basic type of aircraft engines
 Aircraft Propulsion System
• Basic theory & principle of
propulsion
• Basic type of aircraft
engines
• Basic parts of jet engine
• Introduction to propellers &
piston engines
• Ramjet & Scramjet engines
• Turbojet engines
• Turboprop engines
• Turbofan engines
• Engine instruments
• Propulsion laboratory
demonstration
Basic theory & principle of propulsion
What is propulsion?

The word is derived from two Latin words:

pro meaning before or forwards and

pellere meaning to drive.

Propulsion means to push forward or drive an object forward.

A propulsion system is a machine that produces thrust to push an

object forward.

On airplanes, thrust is usually generated through some application

of Newton's third law of action and reaction.

A gas, or working fluid, is accelerated by the engine, and the

reaction to this acceleration produces a force on the engine.
Basic theory & principle of propulsion
A general derivation of the thrust equation shows that the
amount of thrust generated depends on the mass flow
through the engine and the exit velocity of the gas.

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Basic theory & principle of propulsion
Different propulsion systems generate thrust in slightly
different ways. We will discuss four principal propulsion
systems:
the propeller,
the turbine (or jet) engine,
the ramjet,
and
the rocket
Why are there different types of engines?
If we think about Newton's first law of motion, we
realize that an airplane propulsion system must serve
two purposes.
First, the thrust from the propulsion system must
balance the drag of the airplane when the airplane is
cruising.
And second, the thrust from the propulsion system
must exceed the drag of the airplane for the airplane to
accelerate.
In fact, the greater the difference between the thrust
and the drag, called the excess thrust, the faster the
airplane will accelerate.
 Some aircraft, like airliners and cargo planes, spend
most of their life in a cruise condition. For these
airplanes, excess thrust is not as important as high
engine efficiency and low fuel usage.
Since thrust depends on both the amount of gas
moved and the velocity, we can generate high thrust by
accelerating a large mass of gas by a small amount, or
by accelerating a small mass of gas by a large amount.
Because of the aerodynamic efficiency of propellers
and fans, it is more fuel efficient to accelerate a large
mass by a small amount. That is why we find high
bypass fans and turboprops on cargo planes and
airliners.
Some aircraft, like fighter planes or experimental high speed aircraft,
require very high excess thrust to accelerate quickly and to overcome
the high drag associated with high speeds.

For these airplanes, engine efficiency is not as important as very

high thrust. Modern military aircraft typically employ afterburners on
a low bypass turbofan core. Future hypersonic aircraft will employ
some type of ramjet or rocket propulsion

Therefore

all propulsive devices cause a change in momentum of a mass of

fluid, called propellant, by imparting it energy and the reaction of this
accelerating mass of fluid produces, in the direction opposite to that
of mass flow, a propulsive force called thrust

So for energy you need ENGINES

Basic type of aircraft engines
• Piston Engines
• Ramjet engines
• Scramjet engines
• Pulsejet engine
• Turbojet engines
• Turboprop engines
• Turbofan engines
Typical Jet Engine

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 A Jet Engine A jet engines makes a plane move by adding
energy to the air and then shooting it out the back of the
engine.

 This technique uses a series of rotating and static blades to

draw air into the engine.

 The combination of burning fuel and the rise in temperature

causes a rapid increase in the volume of gas.

 The resultant pressure is channeled past the turbines before

. blasting out of the tail pipe at two or three times the speed of
sound

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The different pieces of the engine are the
o inlet (1)
o fan and compressor (2)
o combustor (3)
o turbine (4)
o and finally the nozzle (5).

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 The major components of a jet engine are similar
across the major different types of engines, although not
all engine types have all components.
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 Piston Engines
or

Reciprocating Engines

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Simple Reciprocating Engine

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Simple Reciprocating Engine

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 What is a crank
Converts reciprocating motion into linear or translatory motion

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Reciprocating Engine
Parts

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 Reciprocating Engine Parts

• Basic Parts

• Crankcase
• Cylinders
• Pistons
• Connecting rods
• Valves
• Valve-operating mechanism
• Crankshaft
• Head
• Spark plugs
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Reciprocating Engine
How it works

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 Reciprocating Engine

Stroke Defined

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 Reciprocating Engine

Four Actions

Suction Compression Expansion Exhaust

or or
Intake Working

Each action requires one stroke

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Reciprocating Engine
4-stroke Engine

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 Reciprocating Engine
•As the piston moves down it draws in fuel/air mixture.

•The intake stroke begins as the piston starts its downward travel.
When this happens, the intake valve opens and the fuel/air mixture is
drawn into the cylinder.
 Suction Stroke
TDC TDC TDC

BDC BDC BDC

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 Reciprocating Engine
•As it moves up it compresses the charge.

•The compression stroke begins when the intake valve closes

and the piston starts moving back to the top of the cylinder. This
phase of the cycle is used to obtain a much greater power output
from the fuel/air mixture once it is ignited
Compression Stroke
TDC TDC TDC

BDC BDC BDC

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 Reciprocating Engine
•Ignition occurs, and expanding gases force the piston down.

•The power stroke begins when the fuel/air mixture is ignited. This
causes a tremendous pressure increase in the cylinder, and forces the
piston downward away from the cylinder head, creating the power that
turns the crankshaft.
Expansion Stroke
TDC TDC
TDC

BDC BDC
BDC

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 Reciprocating Engine
•On the return upward stroke, the piston forces the exhaust gas out.

•The exhaust stroke is used to purge the cylinder of burned gases. It

begins when the exhaust valve opens and the piston starts to move
toward the cylinder head once again.
 Exhaust Stroke
TDC TDC
TDC

BDC BDC
BDC

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 Reciprocating Engine
•This force is transmitted to crankshaft through connecting rod.
 Engine Classification

Even though basic parts are the same,

design differences can change the way engines
operate and how they are repaired
For this reason, you must be able to
classify engines
 Internal Combustion
Engines

An engine, such as a gasoline or diesel

engine, in which fuel is burned inside the engine
Designed to be run on any fuel that
vaporizes easily or on any flammable gas
 External Combustion
Engines
An engine, such as a steam engine, in
which fuel is burned outside the engine
Fuel is burned to produce heat to make
steam
Fuel burning can take place within a few
feet of the engine to several miles away
Diagram External
Combustion
Engine Classification

Cylinder arrangement
Number of cylinders
Cooling system type
Valve location
Camshaft location
Engine Classification
cont.
Combustion chamber design
Type of fuel burned
Type of ignition
Number of strokes per cycle
Number of valves per cylinder
Type of aspiration
# 1 Cylinder Arrangement
 Refers to the position of the cylinders in
relation to the crankshaft
 There are five basic cylinder arrangements:
 inline
 V-type
 slant
 W-type
 opposed
 Cylinder Arrangement
 inline

 V-type

 slant

 W-type

 opposed
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Horizontally Opposed
Horizontally Opposed

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In - Line
V configuration
 # 2 Number of Cylinders
Most car and truck engines have
either 4, 6, or 8 cylinders
Some may have 3, 5, 10, 12, or 16
cylinders
Engine power and smoothness are
enhanced by using more cylinders
 Numbering of Cylinders

Engine manufacturers number each engine

cylinder to help technicians make repairs
Service manual illustrations are usually
provided to show the number of each cylinder
Cylinder numbers may be cast into the intake
manifold
 # 3 Firing Orders
Refers to the sequence in which the
cylinders fire
Determined by the position of the
crankshaft rod journals in relation to each other
May be cast into the intake manifold
Service manual illustrations are usually
provided to show the firing order
Numbering and Firing Order
 # 4 Method of Cooling
 There are two types of cooling systems:

 Liquid cooling system

 surrounds the cylinder with coolant

coolant carries combustion heat out of the

cylinder head and engine block

 Air cooling system

 circulates air over cooling fins on the cylinders

 air removes heat from the cylinders

 # 5 Fuel Type
Engines are classified by the type of fuel
used
Gasoline engines burn gasoline
Diesel engines burn diesel fuel
Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasohol
(10% alcohol, 90% gasoline), and pure alcohol
can also be used to power an engine
 Aspiration (how does air arrive)

•Normal aspiration – atmospheric

pressure
•Forced induction (Turbo or Supercharger)
 # 6 Method of Ignition

Two basic methods are used to

ignite the fuel in an engine combustion
chamber:
spark ignition (spark plug)
compression ignition (compressed air)
Spark Ignition
Compression Ignition
 # 7 Valve Location
Engines are classified by the location of the
valves:

L-head engine

also called a flat head engine

F-head engine

Compromise between I & L head engines

I-head engine

Both overhead valve (OHV) engines and

overhead com (OHC) are I-head
 ‘I’ and ‘L’ Head

Both the intake and exhaust

Both valves are in the valves are in the block
cylinder head Flathead-Model T
F Head (1971 Jeep)
 # 8 Camshaft Location

There are two basic locations for the engine

camshaft:

Camshaft located in the block

cam-in-block engine

Camshaft located in the cylinder head

overhead cam (OHC) engine

 Cam in Block (OHV)

Uses push rods to transfer motion

to the rocker arms and valves
Alsocalled an overhead valve
(OHV) engine
Diagram of OHV

Note the adjustment screw

on the end of the rocker
arm. Not all rocker arms
have this adjustment.
Check the shop manual
for adjustment
procedures.
 Cam in Head
OHC engines may use one or two camshafts per
cylinder head

Single overhead cam (SOHC) engine

uses only one camshaft per cylinder head

Dual overhead cam (DOHC) engine

uses two camshafts per cylinder head

one cam operates the intake valves, while the

other cam operates the exhaust valves
 Diagram of OHC

Notice that the pushrod

and rocker arm have
been eliminated in this
OHC engine. Less moving
parts in the transmission of
camshaft motion to open
the valve.
This not only reduces
friction points and weight
but also less points for
NOTE-not all OHC have
wear and component
eliminated the rocker arms.
breakage. (See next slide)
Diagram of OHC with Rockers
Diagram of DOHC
# 9 Combustion Chamber Design
 Four basic combustion chamber shapes
are used in most automotive engines:

pancake

wedge

Hemispherical (hemi)

pent-roof
 Pancake

Chamber forms a flat pocket over the piston

head
Valve heads are almost parallel to the top of
the piston
 Wedge

The valves are placed side-by-side

The spark plug is located next to the valves

When the piston reaches TDC, the squish area

formed on the thin side of the chamber squirts the air-
fuel mixture out into the main part of the chamber

this improves air-fuel mixing at low engine

speeds
 Hemispherical (Hemi)

Shaped like a dome

The valves are canted on each side of the combustion

chamber

The spark plug is located near the center of the chamber,

producing a very short flame path for combustion

The surface area is very small, reducing heat loss

 Pent Roof

Similar to a hemispherical chamber

Has flat, angled surfaces rather than a domed

surface

Improves volumetric efficiency and reduces

emissions
Pent Roof Combustion
Chamber

Uses two exhaust valves and two intake

valves to increase flow
Additional Combustion Chamber
Designs

Swirl

Causes the air-fuel mixture to swirl as it enters

the chamber, improving combustion
Reciprocating Engine
2-stroke Engine

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Intake/Compression Stroke

A 2 cycle engine actually accomplishes two things

per cycle while running, whereas a 4 cycle
completes one task per cycle. This is possible by
making use of both the combustion side and the
crankcase side of the piston. Following the flow of
fuel, we'll start with the engine intake from the
carburetor. As the crankshaft rotates, the piston is
pushed upwards. This does two things. One, the
rising piston generates a vacuum in the sealed
crankcase which pulls a fresh air/fuel charge from
the carburetor into the crankcase (thus the reason
for having to add lubricating oil to the gas for 2
cycle engines). A small reed valve (a one way
valve) allows the mixture to enter the crankcase,
but not leave by the same path. At the same time,
the rising piston is also compressing the previous
charge in the combustion chamber. As the piston
nears the top of the stroke, the ignition system
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ignites the charge in the combustion chamber.
Power/Exhaust Stroke

Once the air/fuel charge is ignited, the pressures generated by the

burning mixture forces the piston down, again accomplishing two
things. The downward motion of the piston turns the crankshaft,
providing power output. In addition, the downward motion is
pressurizing the air/fuel mixture previously loaded in the crankcase. As
the piston continues it's travel down the cylinder bore, it will first
expose the exhaust port in one side of the cylinder. The spent gases
from the burning mixture are then released to the exhaust system. A
small amount of further piston travel down the cylinder now exposes
the intake port. At this point, the now pressurized mixture in the
crankcase is released into the combustion chamber through the intake
port. A piston dome design, unique to 2 cycle engines, is used to help
'sweep' the chamber clean of spent exhaust gases by directing the
incoming rush of air/fuel up towards the cylinder head and then down
towards the exhaust port. As the crankshaft continues it's rotation, the
piston will eventually reach the bottom of it's stroke and return to the
top, covering the intake and exhaust ports in the process, and repeat
the Intake/Compression cycle. It can be seen by the overall design that,
unless the reed valve is mechanically operated, i.e. is actually a rotary
valve used to accomplish the same one-way function, that the
crankshaft can rotate in either direction making no difference in how
the engine runs. Also notable, is the fact that since the piston itself
controls the flow of air/fuel/exhaust by way of the intake & exhaust
ports, that no valve train or cam is required.
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 FUEL
INTAKE
COMPRESSION
COMBUSTION
&
EXHAUST
TWO STROKE
OPERATION

TWO STROKE
OPERATION