Aircraft Engines Theory
Course Code: ENTH-14D2
Hours: 60hr
Introduction
In simple terms, an aircraft power plant is an engine. It is made up
of many components, such as cylinders, pistons, and fans, which
help produce the energy needed to propel an aircraft. The power
plant may be a jet engine or a combination of propellers and an
engine.
Power plant is the complete installation of an aircraft engine,
propeller, fan, and all the accessories needed for its proper
operation.
WHAT IS PROPULSION?
Latin words: pro meaning
forward 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.
What is thrust?
LIFT
THRUS
T
DRAG
LOAD
Applicable Physics Laws
Gas laws
Boyle’s law
Charles’s law
General gas law
Newton’s laws of motion
Thermodynamics laws
BOYLE’S LAW
When the temperature of a confined gas was kept
constant and the pressure doubled the volume was
reduced to half the former value.
PV = Constant
CHARLE’S LAW
All gases expand and contract in direct proportion
to the change in the absolute temperature, provided
the pressure is kept constant.
V/T = Constant
GENERAL GAS LAW
It is the combination of Boyle’s and Charles’s laws.
Given initial state it can be used to define state of the gas
after a certain process.
P1V1 / T1 = P2V2 / T2
Newton’s laws of motion
First law: an object remains at rest unless disturbed by
an external force
Second law: the acceleration of a body is directly
proportional to the fraction of the force and the mass of
the body
Third law: for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction
Description of Newton’s Law
This
Equal pressure in all This pressure
pressure is
direction (zero net force) released
remains
Unequal pressure
causes moving force
Maintain Constant Pressure
Net force
Maintaining Balloon pressure assures the
resultant net force to act continuously.
Placing The Burner
Placing a burner will
increase the volume
flow rate of the air
stream.
It will increase the
change in momentum
Some of these energy is
used to drive the
turbine thus the
compressor.
Newton’s Third Law
For every action, there is
an equal and opposite
reaction.
Example:
Pistol Recoil
Lawn sprinkler
Motor boat
Jet-engine thrust
Newton’s Third Law
Example:
Pistol Recoil
Lawn sprinkler
Motor boat
Jet-engine thrust
THERMODYNAMICS
The branch of physics which seeks to derive, from a few
basic postulates, relationships between properties of matter,
especially those which are affected by changes in
temperature.
It also describes of conversion of energy from one form to
another.
First law
Second law
First Law of Thermodynamics
It is the law of conservation of energy.
When heat energy is added to (removed from) a system
an equal amount of some other form of energy appears
(disappears).
This law applies for all heat engines
Reciprocating engine
Turbine engine, etc.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Heat flows spontaneously from hotter to a colder object,
but not vice versa. Because of this, it is impossible for a
system to transfer heat from a lower temperature body
to a higher temperature body unless external work is
done on the system.
This law is used to explain temperature difference
between combustion chamber and turbine or jet nozzle.
Thermodynamics application
GTE follow the Brayton
engine cycle
It is a constant pressure cycle
Point 1 2 3 4 5 6
PRIME MOVERS
HEAT ENGINES NAUTRAL ENGINES
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
COMBUSTION COMBUSTION
RECIPROCATNG
REACTION ENGINES
AIR BRITHING
ATHODYDS
GAS TURBINES
NON-AIR BRITHING
(ROCKETS)
Heat engines are mechanical devices that convert chemical
energy of the fuel into heat energy and then into
mechanical energy.
There are two basic types of heat engines
• External combustion engines
• Internal combustion engines
In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-tem-
perature and pressure gases produced by combustion
applies direct force to some component of the engine, such as pis-
tons, turbine blades, or a nozzle.
This force moves the component over a distance, generating useful
mechanical energy.
Aircraft power plant progress
The first successful airplane engine
The first successful gasoline engine powered flight in an airplane was
made by the Wright brothers /Wilber & Oliver Wright/ on December
17,1903. The engine was designed & built by the Wright brothers & their
mechanic Charles Taylor
The engine has the following characteristics
Water cooled
Four cylinder
Weigh 180 lb /82 kg/
Bore 11.11cm, Stroke 10.16cm,
12 HP /8.94 kw/ …/1HP = 750W/
Aluminum alloy crack case
Carburetion by means of fuel flow into a heated manifold
Ignition by means of a high-tension magneto
Branca Application
The first gas turbine
device came into use by
Italian engineer, Giovanni
Branca 1629.
Boiler produces steam to
rotate turbines
Rotating turbine is used to
do work.
Horseless carriage
Jet propelled steam carriage
Designed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1680. implemented by
Gravensade, British scientist
Provides illustration of his third law of motion
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Great Britain
1926 Dr. A.A Griffith developed a theory
1930 Sir Frank Whittle added the theory into a better
form.
1936 the first jet company was established and production
started
First flight by Whittle W-1 engine on Gloster-Meteor
aircraft in 1941.
Great Britain
First application of turbines
on aircraft engines by Dr.
Sanford in 1918
The turbocharger (turbo-
supercharger) increases
airflow into reciprocating
engines
Americans
The first GTE built in USA was in 1902 under the
supervision of Dr Sanford A. Moss.
First successful flight by Bell XP-59 aircraft powered
by two GE-1A engines in 1942
Germany
First Turbojet Engine Flight
August 27, 1939 Germany.
Built by Heinkel aircraft company.
Engine –Hes3B, on He-178 aircraft.
Italy
Caporoni made successful flight with jet engine in
1940.
It consisted of a fan engine where the compressor of
the engine was driven by a reciprocating engine.
Engine was inefficient due to its excessive weight
Russians
Since everything was secret in the former soviet union the jet engine
production was known to have been built after the second world war.
The Russian technology has contributed for engine development in
various aspects
Comparison of GTE & propellers
1. How does an aircraft fly?
2. What are the main components of an aircraft?
3. What types of aircraft engines do you know?
4. What are the basic components of an a/c engine?
