Chapter 2

Performance parameters of jet

engines
 2.1: Introduction
• The designer of an aircraft engine must recognize the
varying requirements for take-off, climb, cruise, and
maneuvering, the relative importance of these being
different for civil and military applications and for
long- and short-haul aircraft.
• In all types of aircraft, the engines are required to
provide efficiently the thrust force necessary for their
propelling during different flight phases and under
different operating conditions, including the
hottest/coldest ambient temperature, as well as rain,
wind, and snow.
• all jet engines, including rocket motors, belong to
the class of powerplants called reaction engines. It
is the internal imbalance of forces within the gas
turbine engines that gives the reaction engine its
name.
• The propulsive force developed by a jet engine is
the result of a complex series of actions and
reactions that occur within the engine.
• These thrust constituents and the different factors
affecting the thrust will be discusses. Some of these
factors are related to the engine; others are related
to the medium in which the engine operates.
• The performance of jet engines is evaluated
through the following efficiencies: propulsive,
thermal, and overall. The propeller efficiency of
turboprop engines is also evaluated.
• Fuel consumption is properly evaluated through a
parameter identified as the thrust- specific fuel
consumption (TSFC), which is the ratio of fuel flow
rate into the engine to the generated thrust. Thus,
different jet engines may be compared. The range
of aircraft is a combined engine/aircraft parameter
where the fuel consumption through the engine is
coupled to the aircraft’s lift and drag forces.
 2.2: Thrust Force
• Thrust force is the force responsible for propelling the aircraft in
its different flight regimes.
• Thrust, lift, drag, and weight represent the four forces that
govern the aircraft motion.
• During the cruise phase of flight, when the aircraft is flying
steadily at a constant speed and altitude, each pair of the four
forces are in equilibrium—lift and weight as well as thrust and
drag.
• During landing, thrust force is either fully or partially used in
braking the aircraft by means of a thrust-reversing mechanism.
• The basic conservation laws of mass and momentum are used
in their integral forms to derive an expression for thrust force.
• Consider a schematic diagram for an engine with a part of its pod
installation (i.e., a structural support for hanging the engine to the wing).
• Next, define a control volume which control surface passes through the
engine outlet (exhaust) plane (2) and extends far upstream at (1). The
two side faces of the control volume are parallel to the flight velocity u.
The upper surface side cuts the structural support while the lower one is
far from the engine.
• The surface area at planes (1) and (2) are equal and denoted by A.
• The stream tube of air entering the engine has an area Ai at plane (1),
while the exhaust area for gases leaving the engine is Ae .
• The velocity and pressure over plane (1) are u (which is the flight speed)
and Pa (ambient pressure at this altitude).
• Over plane (2) the velocity and pressure are still u and Pa except over the
exhaust area of the engine Ae which values will be ue and Pe .
• The x and y directions employed here are chosen parallel and normal to
the centerline of the engine.
• The following assumptions are made:
1. The flow is steady within the control volume;
thus, all the properties within the control do not
change with time.
2. The external flow is reversible; thus, the
pressures and velocities are constant over the
control surface except over the exhaust area Ae
of the engine.
 2.3: Factors affecting the thrust force
• As seen from Equation 2.3a through c, the thrust force of a
single-stream aeroengine (ramjet or turbojet engine) depends on
the inlet and outlet mass flow rates, fuel-to-air ratio, flight speed,
exhaust speed, and exhaust pressure.
• Though it looked like a simple task to identify the factors listed,
each of them is dependent on several parameters.
• For example, the inlet air mass flow rate influencing both of the
momentum thrust and momentum drag is dependent on several
variables including the flight speed, ambient temperature and
pressure, humidity, altitude, and rotational speed of the
compressor. The outlet gas mass flow rate is dependent on the
fuel added, air bleed, and water injection. The pressure thrust
term depends on the turbine inlet temperature, flight altitude,
and nozzle outlet area and pressure. The momentum thrust is
also dependent on the jet nozzle velocity.
2.3.1 Jet Nozzle
• The outlet area and pressure of the exhaust nozzle affect the
net thrust. The nozzle is either of the convergent or
convergent–divergent type.
• Convergent nozzles may be choked or unchoked. For a choked
convergent nozzle, the speed of the exhaust gases is equal to
the sonic speed, which is mainly influenced by the exhaust gas
temperature. The exhaust pressure for a choked nozzle is
greater than the ambient pressure and thus the pressure thrust
has a nonzero value. The pressure thrust depends on both the
area of the exhaust nozzle and the difference between the exit
and ambient pressures. If the nozzle is unchoked, then the jet
velocity varies with the atmospheric pressure. The exhaust
pressure is equal to the ambient pressure, and the pressure
thrust is zero.
2.3.2 Airspeed
The airspeed, sometimes denoted as the approach speed, is
equal to the flight speed in the thrust force (Equation 2.3a
through c) derived from the control volume in Figure 2.1.
Such a parameter has a direct effect on the net thrust. If the
exhaust gas velocity is constant and the air velocity is
increased, then the difference between both velocities [(1 +
f)ue − u] is decreased, leading to a decrease also in the net
thrust. If the air mass flow and the fuel-to-air ratio are
assumed constants, then a linear decrease in the net thrust
is observed
2.3.3 Mass Airflow
The mass airflow is the most significant parameter in the
thrust equation. It depends on the air temperature and
pressure as both together determine the density of the air
entering the engine. In free air, a rise in temperature will
decrease the density. Thus, as the temperature increases, the
thrust decreases. On the other hand, an increase in the
pressure of free air increases its density and, consequently, its
thrust increases.
In brief, the density affects the inlet air mass flow and it
directly affects thrust. A 10,000 lb thrust engine, for instance,
might generate only about 8,000 lb of thrust on a hot day,
while on a cold day this same engine might produce 12,000 lb
of thrust.
After 11,000 m the temperature stops falling, but the pressure
continues to drop steadily with increasing altitude. Consequently,
above 11,000 m (36,089 ft) the thrust will drop off more rapidly.
This makes 11,000 m the optimum altitude for long-range cruising
at nominal speed, just prior to the rapidly increased effect of
altitude on thrust. It may be concluded that the effect of altitude
on thrust is really a function of density.
2.3.5 Ram Effect
The movement of the aircraft relative to the
outside air causes air to be rammed into the engine
inlet duct. Ram effect increases the airflow to the
engine, which, in turn, means more gross thrust.
However, ram effects combine two factors: the air
speed increases and at the same time the pressure
of the air and the airflow into the engine increases.
The increase of airspeed reduces the thrust, which
is sketched in Figure as the “A” curve. The increase
of the airflow will increase the thrust, which is
sketched by the “B” curve in the same figure. The
“C” curve is the result of combining curves “A” and
“B.” The increase of thrust due to ram becomes
significant as the airspeed increases, which will
compensate for the loss in thrust due to the
reduced pressure at high altitude. Ram effect is
thus important in high-speed fighter aircraft. Also,
modern subsonic jet-powered aircraft fly at high
subsonic speeds and higher altitudes to make use
of the ram effect.
Finally, it is fruitful to classify the factors affecting thrust into two
groups:
I. Factors related to the engine
II. Factors related to the surrounding medium
The first group includes
1. The rotational speed (rpm), which influences both the
compressor pressure ratio and the turbine work
2. Exhaust nozzle size, which influences the jet velocity
3. Fuel flow rate and turbine inlet temperature, which affect the
combustor heat generation
4. Compressor bleed flow and components’ performance, which
lead to increase of the specific work
Thus, the first group contributes to both the air mass flow rate
and jet velocity.
The second group includes
1. Forward (air) speed, which leads to thrust
decrease and more fuel consumption
2. Air density (influenced by the flight altitude,
humidity, hot/cold day), which influences the
airflow leading to a thrust decreased if the
airflow is increased and vice versa
Problems