ME-207 Thermodynamics-II

Ideal Jet-propulsion Cycle

(Lecture # 25)

TEXT BOOK: CHAPTER 9 (9.11)

Ref Book :Ch 9 Sec 9.11 of Ref-1
Learning Objectives
 Introduction

 Ideal Brayton v/s Jet Propulsion Cycle

 Schematic of a Turbojet Engine

 T-s Diagram : Ideal Turbojet Cycle

 Actual Cycle: Effect of Irreversibilities

 Thrust and Propulsive Power

 Propulsive Efficiency of Ideal Jet Propulsion Cycles

Slide 3
Introduction
 Gas-turbine engines are widely used to power aircrafts because
they are light and compact and have high power-to-weight
ratio
 Aircraft gas turbines operate on an open cycle called a jet-
propulsion cycle

Slide 4
Schematic of a Turbojet Engine

Slide 5
T-s Diagram : Ideal Turbojet Cycle

Slide 6
Ideal Brayton v/s Jet Propulsion Cycle
 The ideal jet-propulsion cycle differs from the simple ideal
Brayton cycle in that the gases are not expanded to the ambient
pressure in the turbine
 Instead, they are expanded to a pressure such that the power
produced by the turbine is just sufficient to drive the
compressor and the auxiliary equipment
 That is, the net work output of a jet-propulsion cycle is zero
 The gases that exit the turbine at relatively high pressure and
temperature are subsequently accelerated in a nozzle to
provide the thrust to propel the aircraft

Slide 7
Ideal Brayton v/s Jet Propulsion Cycle
 Aircraft is propelled by accelerating a fluid in the opposite
direction to motion, by:
• slightly accelerating a large mass of fluid (propeller-driven
engine) or
• greatly accelerating a small mass of fluid (turbojet engine)
• or both (turboprop engine)

Slide 8
propeller-driven engine

turboprop engine
(propjet engine)

Slide 9
Actual Cycle: Effect of Irreversibilities
 In the ideal case, the turbine work is assumed to equal the
compressor work
 Also, the processes in the diffuser, the compressor, the turbine,
and the nozzle are assumed to be isentropic
 In the analysis of actual cycles, however, the irreversibilities
associated with these devices should be considered
 The effect of the irreversibilities is to reduce the thrust that can
be obtained from a turbojet engine

Slide 10
Thrust : Turbojet Engine
 The thrust developed is determined from Newton’s Second
Law
 The pressures at the inlet and the exit of a turbojet engine are
identical (the ambient pressure); thus, the net thrust developed
by the engine is

Velocities relative to aircraft

Mass flow rate of air flowing through the engine

Slide 11
Thrust : Turbojet Engine
 In reality, the mass flow rates of the gases at the engine exit
and the inlet are different, the difference being equal to the
combustion rate of the fuel
 However, the air–fuel mass ratio used in jet propulsion engines
is usually very high, making this difference very small
 Thus mdot is taken as the mass flow rate of air through the
engine
 For an aircraft cruising at a constant speed, the thrust is used to
overcome air drag, and the net force acting on the body of the
aircraft is zero

Slide 12
Propulsive Power: Turbojet Engine
 The power developed from the thrust of the engine is called
propulsive power , which is the propulsive force (thrust)
times the aircraft velocity

Slide 13
Propulsive Efficiency: Turbojet Engine
 The net work developed by a turbojet engine is zero
 Thus, we cannot define the efficiency of a turbojet engine in
the same way as stationary gas-turbine engines
 The desired output in a turbojet engine is the power produced
to propel the aircraft , and the required input is the heating
value of the fuel
 The ratio of these two quantities is called the propulsive
efficiency and is given by

Slide 14
Propulsive Efficiency: Turbojet Engine
 Propulsive efficiency is a measure of how efficiently the
thermal energy released during the combustion process is
converted to propulsive energy
 The remaining part of the energy released shows up as the
kinetic energy of the exhaust gases relative to a fixed point
on the ground and as an increase in the enthalpy of the gases
leaving the engine. (Notice that for the highest propulsion
efficiency, the velocity of the exhaust gases relative to the
ground Vg should be zero)

Slide 15
Practice Problem
An aircraft engine operates on a simple ideal Brayton cycle
with a pressure ratio of 10. Heat is added to the cycle at a rate
of 500 kW; air passes through the engine at a rate of 1 kg/s; and
the air at the beginning of the compression is at 70 kPa and 0
o
C. Determine the power produced by this engine and its
thermal efficiency. Use constant specific heats at room
temperature.
cp = 1.005 kJ/kg·K and k = 1.4

Slide 16
Conclusion
 Gas-turbine engines are widely used to power aircraft because of
high power-to-weight ratio
 Ideal jet propulsion cycle differs from the simple ideal Brayton
cycle as gases are not expanded to ambient pressure in turbine
 Thrust developed is the difference in momentum of the low-
velocity air entering the engine and the high-velocity exhaust
gases
 Propulsive efficiency is a measure of how efficiently the thermal
energy released during the combustion process is converted to
propulsive energy

Slide 17