Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.

Joseph Arun
Unit 3 – Power Plant Selection • An intake valve regulates the entry of the air and fuel mixtures while an
Piston Engine: exhaust valve lets out the exhaust and burned gases from the combustion
A Reciprocating Engine, also often known as a Piston Engine, is typically a heat chamber.
engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert pressure into a rotating f. Spark Plugs
motion. • Spark plugs are usually located on top of a cylinder above the valves. They
Engine is the power generator which provides power to drive the aircraft by are used to ignite the compressed air and fuel mixture during the
combustion of air fuel mixture. Chemical energy of the fuel mixture is converted to compression and ignition strokes in a reciprocating engine.
thermal energy by combustion. Thermal energy is converted into mechanical work • Ignition takes place just before a piston reaches its top position. This
Reciprocating engines operate by converting the heat and pressure released results in very hot gases expanding rapidly to drive a piston down while
w
during the combustion of fuel mixed with air into mechanical energy. turning the crankshaft to yield rotary motion.
Construction: Diagram:
a. Cylinder
• A cylinder is the confined space in which combustion takes place. It is the
major component of an engine. It houses the piston, Crank shaft, connecting
rod etc
• The Cylinders are accurately machined for easy movement of piston.
• It should withstand high pressure and temperature. Hence it is made up of
cast iron or aluminium with steel sleeves.
b. Pistons:
• It is cylindrical shaped structure in the form of inverted bucket that freely
reciprocates inside the cylinder.
• A piston’s wall is usually grooved to hold rings that fit tightly against a
cylinder wall, preventing gases from escaping the combustion chamber.
c. Connecting Rod
• A connecting rod links a piston and crankshaft held by the crankcase. Piston
stroke depends upon the length of the connecting rod.
• It is connected to the piston at the small end by means of piston pin and to
the crankshaft at the big end by means of crank pin. Working Principle:
d. Crankshaft: • Suction Stroke: The piston moves downwards. The inlet valve opens to let
• A crankshaft transforms the up and down movement of a piston into rotary air fuel mixture inside the cylinder.
motion. • Compression Stroke: Both the valves are closed. The piston moves
• While connected to a piston with a connecting rod, a crankshaft yields a upwards compressing the air-fuel
air fuel mixture. Temperature and pressure rises
rotary motion as the piston moves up and down. and at the end of the stroke, ignition is initiated by the spark plug.
e. Valves • Power Stroke: The combustion of fuel takes place. Thermal energy is i
• A reciprocating engine has an intake and an exhaust valve. These are released and piston moves down. Crankshaft converts reciprocating
located adjacent to the fuel-air mixture inlet and exhaust outlet at the top of motion to rotary motion. This rotary motion is translated to the propeller
a cylinder, respectively. through gear arrangements.
• Exhaust Stroke: The piston moves up. Outlet valve is opened and all
exhaust gases and smoke are released.
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Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun
Types of Piston Engines: Gas Turbine Engines:
1. Inline Piston Engines: Gas Turbine is an internal combustion engine that uses air as the working fluid.
In Inline Piston Engine, all Cylinders are in one straight line. An inline The Gas Turbine engine extracts chemical energy from fuel and converts it to
engine generally has an even number of cylinders, This engine may be either mechanical energy to rotate the propeller and propel the airplane.
liquid-cooled or air-cooled and has only one crankshaft.
The main advantage to this engine type is that it is narrow and allows the
aircraft to have a narrow front fuselage. However, airflow around this engine
type is inadequate to allow air cooling so liquid cooling is required
2. V – Engines:
In V – Engine, Cylinders are inclined at 90° to each other joined in a "V"
configuration by a common crankshaft. The V engines have a shorter length as
compared to inline engines but have a larger width.
Mostly the V-type engine is made with an even number of cylinders. For
instance, the cylinders are in a multiple of 2 such as 4, 6, 8 or 12 etc. This design
considerably helps in reducing the height, length & weight of the engine The fundamental gas turbine unit is one operating on the open cycle in which a
rotary compressor and a turbine are mounted on a common shaft. Air is drawn into the
compressor and after compression passes to a combustion chamber. Energy is supplied
in the combustion chamber by spraying fuel into the air stream, and the resulting hot
gases expand through the turbine to the atmosphere. Expansion of hot gases results in
propelling the aircraft.
Types of Gas Turbine Engines:
1. Turbojet Engines:
Turbojet Engine consists of a tube with an inlet (Diffuser), followed by a
compressor for the air, a combustor (where the high-pressure air and fuel are
3. Horizontally Opposed Engines: mixed and burned), and a turbine to power the compressor. At the exhaust end of
Cylinders are arranged horizontally in pairs facing each other. It has the turbine there is a nozzle to direct the exhaust to give thrust. The three
common crank shaft. Although the engine can be either liquid-cooled or air- components, compressor, burner, and turbine, are the core of the turbine engine.
cooled, the air-cooled version is used predominantly in aviation. The design is
simple, reliable and easy to maintain. Construction:
a. Diffuser: It is a divergent section which reduces the air velocity and
4. Radial Engine: increases the pressure. The purposes of the diffuser are to bring air
Cylinders are placed in radial from common centre similar to spokes of a smoothly into the engine inlet, to slow the fluid and to increase the
wheel. It has common crank shaft. The radial engine consists of rows of cylinders, pressure, and to deliver a uniform flow to the compressor.
arranged radially about a central crankcase. This type of engine has proven to be
very rugged and dependable. b. Compressor: The compressor is made up of stages. Each stage consists of
Due to the small size of the crankcase, this engine type has a better power rotating blades and stationary stators or vanes. As the air moves through
to weight ratio. The cylinder arrangement allows good cooling airflow and the compressor, its pressure and temperature increase. The power to drive
smooth operation. the compressor comes from the turbine.
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Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun
c. Combustion Chamber: It is used for burning large quantities of fuel, • Velocity of gases at the exit is much higher when compared to inlet velocity
supplied through the fuel spray nozzles in very large quantity of air received of air. Thus the thrust produced due to the rate of change of momentum and
from compressor. Heat is released and expanded hot air is supplied to its reaction generates the necessary propulsive force to propel the jet
turbine. It should withstand high temperature of 2000°C engine in the forward direction.
• At higher speeds the turbojet has higher propulsive efficiency which are
d. Turbine: The turbine has series of movable and fixed blades. The air suitable to aircrafts travelling at speeds higher than 800kmph.
expands and cools through each turbine stage, and energy is converted into
mechanical shaft work. The power produced from the turbine is sufficient to Advantages:
run the compressor, fuel pump and other auxiliaries. a. These engines have simple construction and low weight to power ratio.
b. Higher rate of climb & High speed operation is possible.
e. Nozzle: The hot gases from the turbine are then allowed to expand through c. Less number of mating parts which causes less wear.
nozzle. A nozzle is a pipe or tube, of varying cross sectional area, and it can d. Low maintenance and low cost
be used to direct or modify the flow of a fluid.
Disadvantages:
a. At lower speeds, the efficiency reduces.
b. Noisy and high fuel consumption
c. At takeoff and climb, low thrust is available.
d. Sudden speed reduction is tough.
2. Turboprop Engine:
There are two main parts to a turboprop propulsion system, the core
engine and the propeller. The core is very similar to a basic turbojet except that
instead of expanding all the hot exhaust through the nozzle to produce thrust,
most of the energy of the exhaust is used to turn the turbine. The drive shaft is
connected to a gear box. The gear box is then connected to a propeller that
produces most of the thrust.
Working: Construction:
• Atmospheric air at high velocity enters the diffuser. The diffuser converts a. Propeller:
the kinetic energy of the air into pressure energy. It reduces the velocity and Propeller is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades. The blades
allows uniform flow of air into the compressor. are specially shaped so that their rotational motion through the air causes a
• The air is further compressed in the compressor. This pressurized air is pressure difference between the two surfaces of the blade and exerts force on
then passed through the combustors where the fuel is sprayed through fuel the air. Propeller converts rotary motion from an engine into a swirling
injectors. slipstream which pushes the propeller forwards. Propeller may generally
• The products of combustion then expand over the gas turbine and the have 2-44 radial airfoil-section blades
turbine develops power which is capable of driving the compressor and the
rest of the auxiliaries. b. Gear Arrangements:
• The pressure of the gases at the outlet of the gas turbine is above the Turbo prop turbine and propeller are connected by speed reducing gear
atmospheric. Thus, these gases finally expand in the nozzles up to arrangements for uniform flow of air around the turbine and through the
surrounding pressure. compressor.
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Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun
c. Compressor: The compressor is made up of stages. Each stage consists of • The air is then passed to the turbine stages and this is where the major
rotating blades and stationary stators or vanes. As the air moves through the difference between a jet engine and a turboprop engine is seen.
compressor, its pressure and temperature increase. The power to drive the • The turbine section of the engine is simply used to turn the propeller, and
compressor comes from the turbine. this turning action of the propeller makes it generate the required propeller
thrust which pulls the aircraft forward.
d. Combustion Chamber: It is used for burning large quantities of fuel,
supplied through the fuel spray nozzles in very large quantity of air received Advantages:
from compressor. Heat is released and expanded hot air is supplied to a. Higher Efficiency than jet engines
turbine. It should withstand high temperature of 2000°C b. Lower Specific fuel consumption
c. Requires shorter runways
e. Turbine: The turbine has series of movable and fixed blades. The air expands d. Simple Operation and easy maintenance.
and cools through each turbine stage, and energy is converted into
mechanical shaft work. The power produced from the turbine is sufficient to Disadvantages:
run the compressor, fuel pump and other auxiliaries. a. Efficiency decreases with higher altitudes
b. Noisy and high vibration
f. Nozzle: The hot gases from the turbine are then allowed to expand through c. Passenger discomfort inside clouds
nozzle. A nozzle is a pipe or tube, of varying cross sectional area, and it can be d. Occupies more space.
used to direct or modify the flow of a fluid.
3. Turbofan Engines:
A turbofan engine is the most modern variation of the basic gas turbine
engine. In the turbofan engine, the core engine is surrounded by a fan in the front
and an additional turbine at the rear. The fan and fan turbine are composed of
many blades. The fan shaft passes through the core shaft for mechanical reasons.
This type of arrangement is called a two spool engine.
Construction:
a. Fans:
It consists of a large fan in front of the engine. The fan is very much like a
propeller, but with 30 to 40 blades instead of just 2 to 4. The large fan
accelerates a large amount of air at a much lower speed than the exhaust of a
turbojet producing the same thrust or power.
b. Compressor: The compressor is made up of stages. Each stage consists of
rotating blades and stationary stators or vanes. As the air moves through the
Working: compressor, its pressure and temperature increase. The power to drive the
• The turboprop engine is similar in construction as turbojet engine. However compressor comes from the turbine.
the power from the turbine is used mainly to rotate the propeller.
• Air is sucked by the engine intake and directed to the compressor assembly. c. Combustion Chamber: It is used for burning large quantities of fuel, supplied
Here, the air is slowed down and its pressure increased. From the through the fuel spray nozzles in very large quantity of air received from
compressor, the air then goes to the combustion chamber where it is burnt compressor. Heat is released and expanded hot air is supplied to turbine. It
with fuel which increases its velocity and temperature. should withstand high temperature of 2000°C
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Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun Department of Aeronautical Engineering Prepared By: V.P.Joseph Arun
d. Turbine: The turbine has series of movable and fixed blades. The air expands 4. Turbo-Shaft Engine:
and cools through each turbine stage, and energy is converted into mechanical A turbo-shaft engine is a form of gas turbine which is optimized to produce
shaft work. The power produced from the turbine is sufficient to run the shaft power rather than jet thrust. Generally, a turbo-shaft engine is made up of two
compressor, fuel pump and other auxiliaries. major parts assemblies:
a. The Gas Generator: It consists of one or more compressors,
combustion chamber, and one or more turbines.
b. The Power Section: The power section consists of an additional
turbine, a gear reduction system, and the shaft output.
Turbo-shaft engines are similar to turboprops, they differ primarily in:
a. The hot gases are expanded to a lower pressure in the turbine, thus
providing greater shaft power and little exhaust velocity.
b. The function of the turbine, Instead of driving a propeller, the turbine is
connected to a transmission system that drives helicopter rotors
Working:
• The incoming air is captured by the engine inlet. Some of the incoming air
passes through the fan and continues on into the core compressor and then
the burner, where it is mixed with fuel and combustion occurs.
• The hot exhaust passes through the core and fan turbines and then out
the nozzle, as in a basic turbojet. The rest of the incoming air passes
through the fan and bypasses, or goes around the engine, just like the air
through a propeller.
• The air that goes through the fan has a velocity that is slightly increased
from free stream. So a turbofan gets some of its thrust from the core and
some of its thrust from the fan. The ratio of the air that goes around the
engine to the air that goes through the core is called the Bypass Ratio. Advantages:
• Much higher power-to-weight ratio than piston engines
Advantages: • Typically smaller than piston engines
a. Higher Thrust than jet engines
b. The fan is enclosed in a cowling , hence has controlled aerodynamics Disadvantages:
c. Well protected from external disturbances • Very Loud and Noisy
Disadvantages: • Gear systems connected to the shaft can be complex and break down
a. Lower Speed than jet engines
b. More front area and engine diameter is big.
c. Cannot handle sudden fluctuation in load.
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