Questions tagged [propulsion]
Questions about the various methods used to propel aircraft.
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Why don't we see diverging nozzles or diffusers?
When it comes to fully subsonic propulsion, all outlets are converging nozzles (I did say fully subsonic so no converging diverging). From what I understand, they are flow regulating devices (changing ...
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Non-dimensional variables choked nozzle
I understand that a choked nozzle removes the dependance on the static pressure $p_a$ because if M>1 in a choked nozzle then waves cannot travel upstream in the nozzle (as explained in the paragraph ...
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1answer
211 views
Are there modern airplanes with two propellers driven by one single engine?
Except 1903 Wright flyer, are there any other airplane using one single engine driving two coplanar propellers?
Coplanar means push-pull and coaxial designs are not in the question's frame.
Tilt ...
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2answers
150 views
What are the relative efficiencies of the various stages of a counter rotating propeller?
After going through the CFD results of a drone project I am involved in, I noticed that the data shows significantly increased (+10%) thrust generation at the second stage of a counter-rotating, 2-...
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1answer
63 views
Propeller effect on the L/D of an aircraft (Pusher Propeller configuration)
I recently performed an aerodynamic analysis of a fixed-wing UAV with a pusher propeller configuration. I found out that the L/D reduced by about 15% when compared to the body alone without propeller. ...
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1answer
115 views
Why can’t electric motors be used in aviation [duplicate]
Why can’t electric motors be used in aviation? Is it a problem with batteries, torque, or what? From what I’m aware motors at high torque are expensive and need a massive footprint, than a high rpm ...
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1answer
311 views
How fast do four Tire-Propellers have to rotate to lift 2000 lbs? [closed]
I just saw this come out, Goodyear's Tire-Propeller Concept – a combination tire that can also act as propeller (well, more like a ducted fan I guess).
There's a neat video that goes with it, ...
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205 views
Why Engine Exhaust Nozzle can not be totally buried in aircraft fuselage? [closed]
Why The CD nozzles of the fighter aircraft are always outside the fuselage, Why the whole engine is not buried in the fuselage??
If engine shroud also can be made variable area and varies with CD ...
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1answer
178 views
Can a turbofan engine have less noise so that it doesn't disturb our ears?
A few years back I have seen that Pratt and Whitney 's Geared Turbofan Engine(GTF) has reduced it's noise levels to about 50%. But recently I was having a discussion with a friend and he told me that ...
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1answer
403 views
Hydromechanical/Electronic fuel control system [closed]
Can someone explain the picture below which represents hydromechanical/electronic fuel control? What's the function of the solenoid on the picture below? What are the differences between solely ...
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2answers
271 views
Is the Meredith effect utilized in the cowling design of air-cooled engines?
The P-51 is famous for its advanced-for-its-time aerodynamics, the prime example of which is the radiator design under the belly which utilizes the Meredith effect to, in effect, turn it into a mini ...
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6answers
630 views
What are the advantages of using a ramjet in an air-to-surface missile?
Which are the advantages of using a ramjet compared to a rocket engine in an air-to-surface missile? I suppose the cost rises a lot, so why do some countries use ramjets as a way of propelling ASM ...
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1answer
164 views
How does the debris rejection system in the CFM LEAP engines work?
How does the debris rejection system in the CFM LEAP engines work?
LEAP - The debris rejection system
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0answers
73 views
Does Froude Efficiency represent an upper bound for propellers in certain flight / aircraft conditions?
I used the Simple Propeller Theory to calculate the Froude Efficiency for my theoretical propeller-driven craft (at 65k feet). Here are the results: https://ibb.co/kPPqzU.
My results were that, for ...
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2answers
358 views
How is a propeller diameter for given application determined?
let's say I need 1000 N of thrust for a given aircraft and flight velocity. I have available a fixed pitch propeller with a given shape, and thus given performance to advance ratio curves. Let's say ...
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2answers
390 views
Can motorjets be a viable means of propulsion?
A motorjet is a very early type of jet engine where intake air passes through a compressor driven by a separate piston engine, and is then mixed with fuel and burned to provide thrust. They were used ...
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1answer
213 views
How does the load transfer from a prop to the airframe?
I was just watching this video...
Restoration and startup of a Wright 1820 Cyclone
...and it got me thinking: a propeller shoves back air, and this creates a forward force on the prop. The prop ...
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1answer
336 views
Why divide the blades of a 9 blade propeller into 3 groups?
In a youtube video an airboat is featured with two contra-rotating propellers, each holding nine blades. Interestingly those nine blades are not spaced evenly, but grouped into three groups. I've ...
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1answer
287 views
How do you maximize an electric engines thrust?
I‘ve been recently looking for answers to this question on the internet but the jungle of propellers, fans and electric motors didn‘t quite get me an anwer.
How would I have to design an electric ...
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3answers
15k views
Could a Dyson fan scale up to be used as a bladeless aircraft engine?
Dyson has been making bladeless fans for a few years now that accelerate a consistent stream of air without exposed blades.
If this concept were applied to aircraft engines, it could potentially ...
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0answers
114 views
How does a partially covered air intake affect the thrust of a propeller ?
does a partially covered air intake of a ducted propeller significantly affect its thrust?
If so, will it be like 10 or rather 90 percent less thrust ?
Thanks for your answers!
Simon
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3answers
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What is a biplane propeller and how efficient is it?
Lazair ultralight series II used biplane props to absorb more power from the engine....so my question is what really is a biplane propeller and are they efficient in comparison to a four bladed prop?
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Why does the diffuser section generate thrust in a jet engine?
I am studying the thrust distribution of jet engines.
But I'm now a bit confused.
In Rolls-Royce's "The Jet Engine" book,
http://aeromodelbasic.blogspot.com/2012/05/thrust-distribution-distribution-...
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5answers
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How does the nozzle diameter affect the thrust of a ducted propeller?
I currently do some experiments with ducted propellers in which I try to figure out which effect a nozzle has on the thrust produced.
My theory goes like this: If I reduce the exit diameter of the ...
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2answers
132 views
What are technical and aerodynamical limitations to blown wings main propulsion?
Why wouldn't some blown flap or blown wing device (suppressing propeller or fan or jet exhaust from aircraft design) produce sufficient thrust needed for takeoff and cruise flight, opposed to "only" ...
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1answer
341 views
In what way are the airfoils used for a propeller different from the ones used in turbofan engine?
Airfoils are used in the blades of a propeller as well as the blades of the fan, axial compressor and turbine in a turbofan engine. Thus, the airfoils used in above two applications have different ...
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0answers
109 views
Alternate for jet fuel [duplicate]
At some point maybe after around 8 to 10 decades we may end up with a situation where the crude oil wells get drained up due to massive extraction and increasing demand for gasoline and ATF. What ...
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0answers
40 views
What are the effects of angle of attack on turbines in composed delta wings with jets in upper side?
: a layperson doubt. What would happen during take-off and landing of a machine as Boeing X-48, because of the high angle of attack, the steep attitude of the airplane: would this difficult air supply ...
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2answers
1k views
Would injecting water into a jet engine’s exhaust increase velocity?
Can high pressure mist of water be sprayed into jet engine exhaust, to create steam, to increase velocity? Would the steam generated from high pressure water being injected into the jet engine exhaust ...
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1answer
887 views
Can an airliner land safely using only propulsion control?
In this amazing story ,after losing all hydraulic power of the aircraft , Captain Al Haynes guided the plane to the Sioux city, crashed but saved 185 of the 296 lives (United Airlines Flight 232-Sioux ...
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2answers
2k views
What do I need to know to design contra rotating propellers for a powered paraglider?
I wonder if anyone has any technical information that would assist in using the correct Size & Pitch Contra rotating Propellers (CRP) on this Foot launched Powered Paraglider engine ?
We are ...
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1answer
445 views
What prevents miltiary jets and turbo-props from being refitted with a turbofan?
What prevents military jets and turbo-props (such as P-3 Orion) from being refitted with a high bypass turbofan?
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What is this plane and what are the rockets on the back used for?
While reading this question I saw an image of a plane marked as a US Marines plane of some sort with thrusters or rockets of some sort attached to the sides just past the CG. What plane is this and ...
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1answer
872 views
When is jet engine thrust maximum?
Assuming we have a convergent nozzle I've read that the maximum thrust is achieved just in the moment the nozzle exit -minimum area- is chocked, i.e., the nozzle is adapted in the sense the pressure ...
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0answers
677 views
Shaftless propeller vs duct fan [duplicate]
If both have the same dimension, same amount of fan blade, and supplied by the same amount of energy, which one would product bigger thrust and less total drag (the drag on the blade and the "tube" ...
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1answer
1k views
How much thrust is gained from placing a propeller in a duct?
Assuming that the power and diameter are the same, how much extra thrust can be gained by placing a propeller in a duct? How does it influence the RPM?
To clarify: take any prop, place it in a well-...
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3answers
522 views
Why do some fighters have two engines?
Some countries (e.g. Russia) develop fighter aircraft (e.g. Sukhoi) with 2 engines.
Is it for maneuverability, or is it because they can't build an engine that would meet the power requirement?
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1answer
213 views
Where does this integral for a 'aerospike nozzle' come from?
Today I was reading about the aerospike nozzle and found this image:
(from section 10.3.1 of this lecture)
This image tells us how to measure the thrust of this kind of nozzle. I can understand all ...
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2answers
4k views
Why is max endurance different for jet and props?
Max endurance speed is not the same for gliders, propeller planes (also for turbo prop, right?) and jet planes.
While for for jet planes max endurance is at the minimum drag speed ($V_{md}$), for ...
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1answer
6k views
What are the mass flow rate and exhaust velocity for a CF6 or GE90 turbofan?
For a typical turbofan jet engine (two examples given in the title), what is the exhaust velocity and mass flow rate of air at sea level and cruising altitude (~ FL350)?
Also, does the specific ...
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3answers
3k views
Why are the top speeds for jet engines higher than for propellers?
I realize turbines are more efficient than piston engines, but if that were true, then why don't turbo-props reach jet speeds?
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1answer
282 views
All Electric Jets [duplicate]
I've been researching electric jets, and I have seen a number of schemes. What is the most likely way to build an all-electric jet engine, assuming that the power source is available and practical?
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1answer
451 views
Are flame holders made of a special material other than that used in combustion chamber?
Are the flame holders made of materials which have higher friction coefficients than the combustion chamber in order to create turbulence?
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1answer
153 views
How does one determine the freestream and ultimate slipstream velocities to estimate thrust?
The task before me is estimating the thrust of a propulsion system (a ducted fan) using this equation for thrust (Eq. 2.1.1)1:
$$T = (mass\; flow\; rate)\;(slipstream\; velocity - freestream\; ...
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1answer
643 views
How much do the fan blades of a GE90-115b stretch when the engine is spinning at maximum RPM?
I've always wondered what kind of stresses and resulting deformations jet engines are subjected to when running.
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1k views
Are fixed wing aircraft with gimbal thrust feasible?
Elon Musk has suggested that he'd look at implementing VTOL electric aircraft with a "gimballed thrust" system similar to the one used in rockets.
Aircraft have all these unnecessary things like ...
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293 views
Where can I find an example of a propulsion maintenance task card?
I'm looking for an example of a task card for aircraft propulsion maintenance, e.g. propeller or engine maintenance. I've found examples for wings and airframes, but not for propulsion.
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2k views
Can a pulse jet be used on a light GA aircraft?
I have an idea for designing a light, cheap and fast 2-seated private airplane... I was thinking about using a pulse jet engine which is simple to design and build, and is cheap too.
Noise is not an ...
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2answers
440 views
Why aren't tilting propellers used as an alternative for ailerons or elevators?
I was wondering what are the reasons for not using tilted propellers fixed to ailerons/elevators/elevons? Or even on wings with no control surfaces at all? Wouldn't the 2nd way of thrust vectoring ...
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3answers
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Are ducted fans more efficient?
As far as static thrust, does a shrouded/ducted propeller outperform an un-shrouded propeller? It seems that the guide blades on the bottom of the duct would allow little more thrust to be extracted ...
