Module 17

Propeller
Topic 17.1: Fundamentals
 INTRODUCTION

On completion of this topic you should be able to:

17.1.1 Define blade element theory.

17.1.2 Define the following and explain their effect on propeller

thrust:

• High/low blade angle

• Reverse angle

• Angle of attack

• Rotational speed

17.1.3 Define propeller slip.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 2

 INTRODUCTION

On completion of this topic you should be able to:

17.1.4 Define the following in regards to propellers:

• Aerodynamic

• Centrifugal

• Thrust

• Torque

17.1.5 Define the effect of changes in the direction of the relative

airflow on blade angle of attack.

17.1.6 Define the effects of vibration and resonance.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 3

 BLADE ELEMENT THEORY

A propeller is a rotating aerofoil that creates lift just as a wing does.

A ‘blade element’ is any randomly selected chord wise ‘slice’ of the blade.

A ‘true pitch’ propeller is one that creates the same amount of lift at any one
element.

Therefore, all elements will advance the same distance in one propeller
revolution.

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 MOMENTUM THEORY

A propeller is a rotating aerofoil which accelerates a mass of air in

accordance with Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion.

“for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”

A resultant forward acting force combines with the lift.

This combination of forward acting forces is termed ‘THRUST’.

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 TOTAL REACTION

Total reaction of a blade is the resultant of two pairs of forces;

Lift and drag

Thrust and torque

By plotting the vectors for lift and drag, it is possible to derive the total
reaction.

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 BLADE ANGLE

The Plane of Rotation is the actual path which the propeller passes through.

Blade Angle is the angle between:

The chord line

The plane of rotation

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 BLADE ANGLE

Which angle shall I use?

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 BLADE ANGLE

The AMM and the Aircraft Type Certificate will give definitive angles and
positions for the measurement of them.

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 BLADE ANGLE

Dash 8 300 AMM Ch61 Propellers showing the reference marks for
measuring blade angles.

Blade angles quoted are measured at the beta 42 inch station

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 10

 ANGLE OF ATTACK

Chord line is an imaginary line drawn through the propeller blade’s leading
and trailing edges.

Angle of Relative Airflow is the actual path which the on coming airflow
strikes the propeller.

Angle of relative airflow will vary with airspeed.

Angle of Attack is the angle between the:

Propeller chord line

Angle of relative airflow

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 FINE PITCH

Fine Pitch is a relatively small blade angle.

Fine pitch is also called low pitch, which means ‘low blade angle’.

A propeller with fine pitch provides best performance for takeoff and climb.

A fine pitch propeller is often referred to as a ‘climb propeller’.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 12

 COARSE PITCH

Coarse Pitch is a relatively high blade angle.

Coarse pitch is also called high pitch, which means ‘high blade angle’

A propeller with coarse pitch provides best performance for high speed
cruise and high altitude flight.

A coarse pitch propeller is often referred to as a ‘cruise propeller’.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 13

 REVERSE BLADE ANGLE

Reverse Blade Angle is where the blade chord line is behind the Plane of
Rotation.

A propeller with this capability is referred to as a ‘Reversing Propeller’.

Reversing propellers have changeable blade angle.

To achieve reverse pitch, the blade passes through fine pitch.

Reversing propellers are often used to provide reverse thrust for braking on
the landing roll.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 14

 PITCH

Propeller Pitch determines the theoretical distance a propeller advances in

one revolution.

A propeller having a high pitch will advance greater distance than one with a
lower pitch.

Limiting factors effecting the actual distance include the following:

Propeller slip

Propeller efficiency

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 15

 BLADE TWIST

As a propeller rotated its tip will have a higher velocity than its root.

Angle of attack’ varies with velocity.

A propeller blade is twisted, decreasing in blade angle from root to tip.

This attempts to maintain a constant Angle of Attack across the whole blade.

The amount of twist is referred to as ‘Pitch Distribution’.

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 TORQUE REACTION

If the propeller rotates anti clockwise the aircraft will tend to rotate clockwise.

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 PROPELLER SLIP

Geometric Pitch is the actual propeller blade pitch.

It can be considered to be distance the blade would advance through a solid

object (as a screw into wood).

A propeller can not advance the distance of its geometric pitch.

Effective Pitch is the actual distance the propeller advances in one

revolution.

The difference between geometric pitch and effective pitch is called slip.

Propeller Slip = Geometric Pitch minus Effective Pitch.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 18

 GEOMETRIC / EFFECTIVE PITCH

Geometric Pitch on a fixed pitch propeller will always remain the same.

Effective pitch will increase with an increase in aircraft speed.

For example: Effective pitch would be zero and slip at its maximum with an
aircraft stationary at power.

As the aircraft moves forward, effective pitch increases and slip decreases.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 19

 PROPELLER FUNDAMENTALS

Propeller Solidity

The ability of the propeller to absorb power from the engine is defined as:

The surface area of the propeller divided by the surface area of the
propeller disc.

Solidity may be increased

Increasing number of blades

Increasing the chord of the blades

Increasing the length of the blades

𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒙 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 =
𝑪𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 ☻
2017-06-29 Slide No. 20
 PROPELLER TORQUE

Aircraft will tend to roll due to torque from the propeller

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 CENTRIFUGAL TWISTING MOMENT (CTM)

Centrifugal Twisting Moment (CTM) is an effect caused by centrifugal force.

Centrifugal force attempts to align the propeller centre of mass with its
centre of rotation.

This tends to move the blade towards a low blade angle (fine pitch).

A propeller’s center of mass is typically ahead of its center of rotation.

Centrifugal force including CTM is the greatest force effect a propeller.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 22

 AERODYNAMIC TWISTING MOMENT (ATM)

Aerodynamic Twisting Moment (ATM) tends to move a blade into a higher

blade angle (coarser pitch).

The blade’s centre of pressure is normally ahead of its centre rotation.

As the blade thrust production increase the centre of pressure moves

towards the blade leading edge.

This attempts to rotate the blade around its centre of rotation into a coarser
pitch.

Both CTM and ATM are often used in pitch control on changeable pitch
propellers.

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 TORQUE BENDING FORCE

Torque Bending Force (TBF) is a force which tends to bend the propeller
blade in the opposite to the direction of rotation.

The bending force is caused by the resistance of the air or, drag acting on
the propeller blades as they rotate.

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 PROPELLER TORQUE

Propeller Torque differs from TBF in that it transmits a reaction onto the
airframe.

If the propeller turns clockwise (as viewed from the cockpit) it imparts a
tendency for the aircraft to rotate counter-clockwise.

Torque is cancelled out by contra-rotation propellers.

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 THRUST BENDING FORCE

Thrust Bending Force tends to bend the propeller blades forward at the tips.

The lift created toward the tip of the blade flexes the thinner blade sections
forward.

Thrust Bending Force opposes centrifugal force to some degree.

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 FACTORS AFFECTING
ANGLE OF ATTACK (AOA)

On one blade of propeller:

Angle of Attack – the angle between the airfoil chord line and the relative
wind
Angle of relative airflow – the angle between the direction of rotation of
blade and the relative wind
Pitch angle, or Blade angle – the angle between the airfoil chord line and
direction of rotation of blade

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 27

 FACTORS AFFECTING
ANGLE OF ATTACK (AOA)

For a fixed-pitch propeller, two factors effect the angle of attack.

They are:

Aircraft forward speed

Propeller RPM

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 28

 FACTORS AFFECTING
ANGLE OF ATTACK (AOA)

As the propeller RPM increases for a given forward velocity, the angle of
attack increases (the yellow angle is less than the red angle shown in
diagram).

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 29

 FACTORS AFFECTING
ANGLE OF ATTACK (AOA)

As the forward velocity of the aircraft increases, the angle of attack of the
blade decreases (the pink angle is less than the red angle shown in
diagram).

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 30

 BLADE VIBRATION / RESONANCE

When a propeller is producing thrust, vibration occurs due to aerodynamic

and mechanical forces.

Resonance will occur if propeller vibration frequency approaches the blades

natural frequency.

Critical range of vibration / resonance is dependent on RPM.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 31

 CONCLUSION

Now that you have completed this topic, you should be able to:

17.1.1 Define blade element theory.

17.1.2 Define the following and explain their effect on propeller

thrust:

• High/low blade angle

• Reverse angle

• Angle of attack

• Rotational speed

17.1.3 Define propeller slip.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 32

 CONCLUSION

Now that you have completed this topic, you should be able to:

17.1.4 Define the following in regards to propellers:

• Aerodynamic

• Centrifugal

• Thrust

• Torque

17.1.5 Define the effect of changes in the direction of the relative

airflow on blade angle of attack.

17.1.6 Define the effects of vibration and resonance.

2017-06-29 ☻ Slide No. 33

 This concludes:

Module 17
Propeller
Topic 17.1: Fundamentals