AIRCRAFT PROPULSION-II

Mr. N.Tamilselvam
Ap/Aero
ACE-HOSUR
 UNIT-I
AIRCRAFT GAS TURBINES
Impulse and reaction blading of gas turbines
Velocity triangles and power output
Vortex theory
Choice of blade profile, pitch and chord
Estimation of stage performance
Limiting factors in gas turbine design
Methods of blade cooling
Matching of turbine and compressor.
Numerical problems
University question paper solution
 Gas Turbines
Work can be extracted from a gas at higher
inlet pressure to the lower back pressure by
allowing it to flow through the turbine.
The work done by the gas is equivalent to the
change of its enthalpy.
 Turbine
A turbine is a rotary mechanical device that
extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it
into useful work. A turbine
is turbomachine with at least one moving part
called a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum
with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the
blades so that they move and impart rotational
energy to the rotor. Early
Impulse and reaction turbine
 Impulse turbines
An impulse stage is characterized by the expansion of the gas
which occurs only in the stator nozzles.
The rotor blades act as directional vanes to deflect the
direction of the flow.
They convert the K.E. of the gas into work by changing the
momentum of the gas more or less at constant pressure.
 Reaction turbines
A reaction stage is one in which expansion of the gas takes
place both in the stator & in the rotor.
The function of the stator is the same as that of the impulse
stage, but the function of the rotor is in two folds
 Methods of blade cooling

Convection cooling works by passing cooling air through

passages internal to the blade. Heat is transferred by
conduction through the blade, and then by convection into
the air flowing inside of the blade. A large internal surface
area is desirable for this method, so the cooling paths tend to
be serpentine and full of small fins.[
 A variation of convection cooling, impingement cooling,
works by hitting the inner surface of the blade with high
velocity air. This allows more heat to be transferred by
convection than regular convection cooling does.
Impingement cooling is often used on certain areas of a
turbine blade, like the leading edge, with standard convection
cooling used in the rest of the blade.
 The second major type of cooling is film cooling . This type of
cooling works by pumping cool air out of the blade through
small holes in the blade. This air creates a thin layer (the film)
of cool air on the surface of the blade, protecting it from the
high temperature air. The air holes can be in many different
blade locations, but they are most often along the leading
edge.
 Transpiration cooling, the third major type of cooling, is
similar to film cooling in that it creates a thin film of cooling
air on the blade, but it is different in that that air is "leaked"
through a porous shell rather than injected through holes.
This type of cooling is effective at high temperatures as it
uniformly covers the entire blade with cool air.
Transpiration-cooled blades generally consist of a rigid strut
with a porous shell. Air flows through internal channels of the
strut and then passes through the porous shell to cool the
blade.
 UNIT-II

RAMJET PROPULSION
Operating principle of Ram jet engine
Sub critical, critical and supercritical operation of Ramjet
Combustion in Ramjet engine
Ramjet performance
Sample Ramjet design calculations
Introduction to scramjet.
Preliminary concepts in supersonic combustion
Integral ram- rocket
Numerical Problems
WORKING PRINCIPLE OF RAMJET
RAMJET ENGINE
 A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a flying
stovepipe or an athodyd (an abbreviation
of aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of air
breathing jet engine that uses the engine's forward
motion to compress incoming air without an axial
compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero
airspeed; they cannot move an aircraft from a
standstill. A ramjet-powered vehicle, therefore,
requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to
accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce
thrust. Ramjets work most efficiently
at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (2,284 mph;
3,675 km/h). This type of engine can operate up to
speeds of Mach 6 (4,567 mph; 7,350 km/h).
 RAMJET OPERATION
jet engine without compressor and turbines
very simple engine configuration
there are no shafts, no rotating parts
flow coming inside the intake M>1
Intake should have a capability to handle shocks
Shocks positioned in the intake system of the
ramjets and the flow comes in through these
shocks and they get supersonically decelerated or
diffused or compressed
 At First, supersonic compression is happening
through the intake system through a series of shocks.
All of these are actually to begin with oblique
shocks, ending finally, with a normal shock, at the
end of which the flow actually does become
subsonic and then the subsonic diffusion is
happening through a normal diffusion process.
supersonic compression followed by a subsonic
diffusion or subsonic compression

aerodynamic compression process (ram compression)

high static pressure air is now fed into the
combustion zone
 flame holders
normal combustion phenomenon at low
subsonic speeds.
require low subsonic speeds to have a good
efficient combustion
Flow is fed on to the convergent divergent
nozzle
convergent divergent nozzle then exhausts the
high temperature gas into the atmosphere back
again, thereby creating an exit jet.
 overall momentum increase across the jet
engine for the amount of mass that has come
in, with a little bit of fuel addition and this
change in momentum created by the jet engine
creates the thrust. This thrust would then
enable the aircraft to fly
Joule Brayton cycle
Now, in contrast to the air breathing engines
the working cycle is performing without any
compressor or turbine and it also does not need
an enclosed combustion, which is often used in
turbojet or turbofan engines where the
combustion is isolated for very high efficiency.
 Since the compression is dependent on the ram
compression or aerodynamic compression, it is
entirely dependent on the entry Mach number.
Now, Mach number above 2 creates reasonable
amount of ram compression, but as the entry
Mach number starts going down, the amount of
compression that would be available
aerodynamically becomes less and less and less.
As a result of which, a ramjet is actually very
useful in supersonic speeds, but at very low
speeds and especially during take off and landing,
it actually cannot deliver much of compression
and if it cannot deliver compression, it cannot
really effectively work as a good jet engine.
 So, ramjets utility is restricted to supersonic
speeds. It cannot really be used for take off and
landing of an aircraft
 the graph has been plotted with reference to
the Mach number and specific impulse, which
is actually thrust per unit weight of flow
Normally, in most of the rockets and other
flying vehicles at high altitudes and space, the
specific thrust is often designated as specific
impulse; that is thrust per unit weight of flow
of fuel and whatever other oxidizer are there.
Now, in case ramjets and turbojets, the other
oxidizer is only air; so, the Isp would be
designated accordingly.
BLUE - hydrocarbon fuels used
 reasonably good Isp configurations at very low
Mach numbers.
as the Mach number starts going up, typically the
turbojets at Mach numbers about 2.5 or 3, turbojets
become less and less competitive and ramjets
become more and more competitive and then, upto
a Mach number about 7 or 8, ramjets are very good
and then from there onwards, you have the
scramjets, which actually are the better fuel
efficient engines.
Rockets come in to use for even higher Mach
number and they have a much lower I sp, but. at
very high Mach numbers where the rockets fly to
space, rockets actually are the more useful vehicles
 At very high Mach numbers above 10, the
vehicles using ramjets, scramjets are still being
designed; we still do not have them flying as
yet.
Red -hydrogen fuel
high Isp can able to fly at higher mach
number
problem of using hydrogen fuel- lighter-so
need more space to carry
much cleaner fuel in terms of environmental
and pollution effects
 Ramjet cycle
open cycle. So, the returnpath from 4 to 1 is
open
ideal cycle is the dotted cycle-1 to 02 prime
and then from 02 prime to 03 prime and then
down to 4 prime
 The real cycle of a ramjet is slightly different. The
path from 1 to 2 is not isentropic; so, it does not go
up straight. It goes up with a slight increase in
entropy. So, there is a certain amount of efficiency
that comes into the picture, which we shall normally
be calling isentropic efficiency of the compression
process. Then in the combustion process, there is
likely to be certain amount of pressure loss most of
which is a fluid mechanic pressure loss. That pressure
loss needs to be accounted between 02 and 03. So,
the 02 and 03 are on two different pressure lines.
Ideally, as we know, from 02 prime to 03 prime, it is
supposed to be constant pressure combustion.
 However, actual combustion is not exactly
constant pressure, there is a small amount of
pressure loss which is mainly fluid mechanic
pressure loss and the combustion efficiency is
typically of a very high order in constant
pressure combustion. So, we will continue to
treat it as more or less constant pressure
combustion.
 Then you have the expansion process. There is
no turbine. So, you have fully expansion in the
nozzle and this expansion process is again not
isentropic, unlike from 03 to 4. It is non-
isentropic process or a polytrophic process and
as a result, there is a slight increase in the
entropy. So, there is a total increase in entropy
from one end to the other and as a result of
which, the whole cycle will have certain
efficiency which again you are familiar with.
Now, at the entry to the jet engine, you have
certain amount of
 at the entry to the jet engine-certain amount
of kinetic energy
combustion at very high speeds is a big
problem
 Ramjet Inlet Operation :
There are three distinct conditions under which a ramjet engine
diffuser can operate, depending on the heat released in the
combustor.
 Critical

When the heat released in the combustor is just

enough that the back pressure at the exit section of the subsonic
diffuser causes the normal shock to be positioned at the inlet throats,
the operation is said to be critical; this is the design condition.

Subcritical
If the heat release in the combustor is increased, the static
pressure at the exit of the subsonic diffuser is greater than can be
achieved under the design condition. The normal shock wave moves
upstream, is expelled from the diffuser, and continues to move
toward the vertex of the supersonic diffuser. Behind the normal
shock wave, the flow is subsonic. Since
the shock wave is detached from the inlet, the incoming air spills
over the cowl of the diffuser. increasing vehicle drag and possibly
leading to instability.
 Supercritical

When the heat released in the

combustor is decreased, the back pressure at the
outlet section of the diffusion system becomes
too small to maintain the normal shock at the
inlet. The excess pressure associated with the
internal flow must therefore be dissipated inside
the diffusion system by a strong shock wave
forming in the diverging portion of the diffuser.
In other words the normal shock moves into the
inlet.
These three operating conditions can be related
conveniently by means of pressure recovery and mass
flow rate of air.
Ramjet combustion chamber
 Scramjet
A scramjet (supersonic combusting ramjet) is a
variant of a ramjet air breathing jet engine in which
combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. As in
ramjets, a scramjet relies on high vehicle speed to
forcefully compress the incoming air before
combustion (hence ramjet), but a ramjet decelerates
the air to subsonic velocities before combustion,
while airflow in a scramjet is supersonic throughout
the entire engine. This allows the scramjet to operate
efficiently at extremely high speeds.
Scramjet
Scramjet
 Scramjet

The scramjet is composed of three basic

components:
a converging inlet, where incoming air is
compressed;
a combustor, where gaseous fuel is burned
with atmospheric oxygen to produce heat;
a diverging nozzle, where the heated air is
accelerated to produce thrust.
 Scramjet
Scramjet engines operate on the same principles as
ramjets, but do not decelerate the flow to subsonic
velocities. Rather, a scramjet combustor is supersonic: the
inlet decelerates the flow to a lower Mach number for
combustion, after which it is accelerated to an even higher
Mach number through the nozzle. By limiting the amount
of deceleration, temperatures within the engine are kept at
a tolerable level, from both a material and combustive
standpoint. Even so, current scramjet technology requires
the use of high-energy fuels and active cooling schemes
to maintain sustained operation, often
using hydrogen and regenerative cooling techniques
 Bow shock
A bow shock, also called a detached shock or normal shock, is
a curved, stationary shock wave that is found in a supersonic flow
past a finite body. The name comes from the example of a bow
wave that forms at the bow of a ship when it moves through the
water.
Unlike an oblique shock, the bow shock is not necessarily
attached to the tip of the body. Oblique shock angles are limited
in formation and are based on the flow deflection angle,
upstream Mach number. When these limitations are exceeded
(greater deflection angle or lower Mach number), a detached bow
shock forms instead of an oblique shock. As bow shocks form for
high flow deflection angles, they are often seen forming around
blunt objects
 Performance of ramjet
FACTORS AFECTING RAMJET
PERFORMANCE
Velocity
Specific Impulse
Thrust
Altitude
Weight
Cost:
Development Time
RAMJET PERFORMANCE
U
SCRAMJET
 UNIT-III

FUNDAMENTALS OF ROCKET PROPULSION

Operating principle
Specific impulse of a rocket
Internal ballistics of rocket engines
Rocket nozzle classification - Explanation
Rocket performance considerations
Numerical problems
University question paper solution
SOLID PROPELLANT ROCKET MOTOR
 PRINCIPLE
All the conventional propulsion systems work by causing
a change of momentum in a working fluid in a direction
opposite to the intended motion. Rockets fall under the
category of direct acting engines since the energy
liberated by the chemical process is directly used to
obtain thrust. Being non-air breathing devices the basic
component of a rocket are
(i) Combustion chamber where exothermic processes
produces gases at high temperature and pressure, and
(ii) Nozzle, which accelerate the fluid to high
velocities and discharge them into surrounding atmosphere
thereby deriving the desired force or thrust.
Classification of Chemical Rockets
Depending on the context, the chemical
rockets are classified in many ways as follows:
(a) Type of propellant: Solid, Liquid (mono
propellant / bipropellant and hybrid rockets)
(b) Application: Launch vehicle, ABMs,
JATOs, ICBM, IRBM, SAM etc.
(c) Size of Unit (and thrust level sometimes): 10
ton, 100 kg etc.
(d) Type of subsystem: Turbopump fed,
clustering, grain type etc.
 Specific Impulse
The specific impulse of a rocket, Isp, is the
ratio of the thrust to the flow rate of the weight
ejected,
that is

where F is thrust, is the rate of mass flow, and

g is the acceleration of gravity at ground
level.
Specific impulse is expressed in seconds. When
the thrust and the flow rate remain constant
 UNIT-IV

CHEMICAL ROCKETS
Solid propellant rockets Selection criteria of solid
propellants
Hardware components of solid rockets Propellant grain
design considerations
Liquid propellant rockets Selection of liquid propellants
Cooling in liquid rockets
Hybrid rockets
Numerical problems
University question paper solution
LIQUID ROCKET MOTOR
 UNIT-V
ADVANCED PROPULSION TECHNIQUES
Electric rocket propulsion
Ion propulsion techniques
Nuclear rocket
Solar sail
Concepts in nozzleless propulsion
Numerical problems
University question paper solution
Revision
 Electric rocket propulsion

ELECTRO THERMAL
ELECTRO MAGNETIC(PLASMA THRUSTERS)
ELECTRO STATIC(ION PROPULSION
 ELECTRO THERMAL PROPULSION

Electro-thermal propulsion systems are those systems in which

electrical energy is used to heat propellants, thus producing
thrust.
Principle
Electro-thermal systems heat propellants , which produce
gases. The gases are then sent through a supersonic nozzle
to produce thrust.
 Ion propulsion Technique
This technique of propulsion utilizes
electrostatic energy, i.e. energy due to
electric charges on materials is used to propel
rockets. Since ions are used for this, the
technique is also called as ion propulsion
technique.
 Nuclear Rocket
Nuclear energy is used as propellant.
Solar sail
 NOZZLELESS PROPULSION

Nozzleless solid propellant rocket motor

THE END