AIR BREATHING ENGINES

Ram-jet

Ideal Cycle consists of (Brayton Cycle)

0 2 : Isentropic compression
2 3 : Constant pressure combustion( Heat interaction)
3 4 : Isentropic expansion
4 0 : Constant pressure "heat rejection"

o When viewed as a thermal engine, the "work" of the engine,

in the thermodynamic sense, appears as the change in kinetic
energy between the incoming and outgoing fluid.
- Not all of this work appears as useful work (supplied to the
aircraft),

however,

and

the

more

conventional

performance

parameter is the thrust, .

- For an ideally expanded nozzle, (exit pressure equals ambient
pressure) the thrust may be written

(62)

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o Another performance parameter of prime significance is the

specific fuel consumption , defined by

here

(63)

of fuel flow

EX 1. What is the "Specific Impulse," , of a typical turbofan

measured in terms of its fuel flow rate?

We have

Typical is about , so have .

This compares to for rocket of the space
shuttle. (Note of course that the turbofan is compared by fuel
flow

rate

only.

It

does

however

suggest

look

at

"air

augmented rockets.")
EX 2. Fuel cost for test of thrust turbofan.
Have

Cost of fuel is approximately .
Thus cost of test is approximately for the fuel.

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TURBO-JET

'

Inlet

Compressor

Burner Turbine Afterburner Nozzle

We will later find that the ram-jet

produces no static ( u o = 0 ) thrust.

This is due to the absence of an inlet

pressure rise in the static case.

With a turbo-jet, we can adjust

pressure ratio independently of ,

but cycle is still (basically) the same.

'

'

Turbojet has good static thrust, behaves well from ~

, but encounter limitation with turbine temperature and tip

speeds.
After burning gets more work/lb but is not as efficient. It
gives conditions between "dry" turbojet and ramjet.
PROPULSIVE EFFICIENCY,

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Thus, as , , but .
o Obvious way to increase

is to reinvent the propeller

(turbo-prop).
- Turbo-props are limited to about 400 mph because of tip
Mach

number

loss

problems

and

problems

of

propeller

stressing.
- The gearbox also introduced weight and reliability problems.
- By ducting the "propeller" or fan, we can avoid tip Mach
number problems by diffusing flow prior to fan.
- This results in a turbofan engine. Also, we can load fan
heavily because end flow problem removed.
o The "by-pass ratio" (ratio of air passing through outer duct to
that passing through the core engine) for modern turbofans
used on subsonic aircraft is about five or six.
o The bypass ratio of a turboprop is about 100.
o It is interesting to note that NASA is presently pushing the
"very high bypass ratio turbofan."
- It appears that this engine will have a bypass ratio of about
50, have eight blades, and no cowl. (Such a huge cowl has
too large a weight penalty.)
- The blades are expected to be swept backwards (in the
relative flow) to reduce transonic Mach number effects (so
called Scimitar blades).
- It is hoped that aircraft equipped with these engines will be
able to fly efficiently at Mach numbers up to 0.8.

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CYCLE ANALYSIS
o The object of cycle analysis is to relate the performance
parameters (primarily and ) to design choices (compressor
pressure ratio, fan pressure ratio, fan bypass ratio, etc.), to
design limitations (burner exit temperature, compressor exit
pressure, etc.) and to the flight environment (flight Mach
number, flight ambient temperature, etc.).
Notation
We introduce the ratio of stagnation pressures and ratio
of stagnation temperatures :

[Examples]

Compressor stagnation temperature, pressure ratio

Burner stagnation temperature, pressure ratio, etc.
[Exceptions]
We define and by

(64)

Thus, free stream stagnation temperature

stream stagnation pressure .

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: free

Also, is defined as

[Assumptions]
o We will assume calorically perfect gases throughout.
o Note we will later consider the gases following the burner to
have different properties than those upstream of the burner.
o Also,

, and .

[Component Behavior for Ideal Cycles]

o Many of the properties are simply related (or known), for
ideal cycles which consist of the following ideal components.
o We will, later, consider the loss mechanisms for these
components and then analyze non-ideal cycles.
[Diffuser]
Diffuser -

o Here to a very high degree of approximation, the flow is

adiabatic. Thus, . (No change in stagnation temperature.)
o If the process is ideal, also, it is isentropic, so that

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[Compressor] (or Fan)

o Here, the air undergoes an isentropic compression. Since
there is work done on the air, and are greater than 1
with

[Burner] (or Afterburner)

o Obviously, the stagnation temperature rises. For an ideal
burner the stagnation pressure remains constant, so .
Note that this assumption implies burning at very low Mach
number. Reference eqn 45.
[Turbine]
o As with the compressor, we note that the ideal turbine
behavior corresponds to a reversible adiabatic process, and is
hence isentropic. Thus, for the ideal case

[Nozzle]
o As with the diffuser, the ideal process would be isentropic,
and hence

, and .

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RAM JET-- IDEAL CYCLE ANALYSIS

Thrust :
o We have for the case of and the thrust is ;

Note :

(66)

o We will be able to obtain thermodynamic relationships

between the various stations, so note

(67)

o Thus, we want a relationship for and in

terms of design variables.
o To get the exit Mach number, we use the 1st definition of
the 's.

since

Also, the above equation, by isentropic definition, becomes ;

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Equating the two expressions and applying , we obtain

or, !!

(68)

o To get the exit temperature, we do the same thing for

and 's :

or,

(69)

Thus,

And we find

(70)

o Alternatively, we may write, since ;

(71)

Specific Fuel Consumption,

o Here we must go to the energy balance across the
combustor.

,
Here "heating value" of the fuel. Then with

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or,

(72)

Then as in equation (63),

So,

(73)

Results

o From these results, we see that as , where no fuel is

added, the thrust tends to zero.
- As the fuel flow increases, the thrust also increases.
- The specific fuel consumption (SFC) also increases with
increased fuel flow which indicates that the fuel flow increases
more rapidly than the thrust.
o Variations with flight Mach number are shown on page 32.
o Note here that the expressions for

and

have been

obtained in terms of design parameters and flight conditions.

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 is a function of the size of the inlet, and

o Thus,
the flight condition, and is a function of the design limit
temperature and the flight condition . is, of course, a
function of the fuel used.

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