17.1 Flashcards
What principle does a propeller work under?
The reaction principle
A propeller converts torque into?
Thrust
How does a propeller move the air?
A large mass of air, slowly rearwards
Coarse pitch moves the blade to?
In a more horizontal position
Fine pitch makes the blade move?
In a more vertical position
What are the effects of low pitch?
Good low speed acceleration, and good rate of climb
What are the effects of high pitch?
High speed performance and economy
What must be done to a propeller to ensure its thrust remains the same along the entire length of the propeller?
Must incorporate washout, the blade twist ensure equal thrust from hub to tip
What is blade angle?
The angle between the chord of the blade and the rotational plane
On a fixed pitch propeller what is the angle of incidence?
The angle between the chord of the blade and the rotational plane
Is the propeller blade angle the same along its entire length?
No, as the washout imparts twist on the blade
Where is the reference blade station typically located?
0.5 to 0.75 of the radius of the propeller
What is blade angle of attack?
The angle between the profile chord and the relative airflow
With forward movement, what two forces are created?
The air flow velocity, resulting from aircraft airspeed v
Propeller rotational velocity u
What is the helix angle (angle of advance)?
The angle of advance φ is the angle between the rotational plane of the propeller and the relative airflow (RAF) w. The angle of advance increases with increasing airspeed v.
How do you calculate blade angle?
Blade angle = helix angle + angle of attack
A change in airspeed or rotational velocity creates a change in what?
The relative airflow direction and velocity
A change in airspeed or rotational velocity can lead to?
A negative angle of attack
If an aircraft is at idle power in a decent, what will happen?
The propeller angle of attack will decrease, and the airflow will now drive the prop creating a negative torque
What is said about a propellers angle of attack for different purposes?
As a certain angle of attack is optimal for any given propeller, fixed pitch propellers can only operate efficiently within a given aircraft speed range. Therefore, fixed pitch propellers are designed for a particular type of flight
regime. For example: Good climb performance
High cruising speeds
Towing
Explain propeller brake moment?
At a constant rotational speed the sum of propeller brake moment and engine torque is zero. In simple terms Propeller Brake moment can be considered to
be the effort with which is required to be able to spin the propeller
What is the effect of AoA with changing RPM?
We can see that with increasing RPM for a propeller with a given pitch at a constant airspeed AoA increases and similarly when RPM is reduced at a constant airspeed AoA is reduced
What is the effect of Brake Moment when Changing the Blade Angle?
A reduction in blade angle leads to a reduction the brake moment. With constant motive power the rotational speed will increase
How can brake moment be maintained?
If the pitch is adjusted to a changing airspeed, the magnitude of brake moment can be maintained. This leads to a constant rotational speed without
changing engine power and to almost constant propeller thrust
Explain brake moment whilst wind-milling
With a constant pitch if airspeed increases rapidly or rotational speed is greatly reduced, the angle of attack will reduce and can become negative. The flow of air to the propeller now causes the propeller to windmill. In this case the Brake moment works in the direction of rotation and begins to drive the
propeller. As the thrust is relatively large in this situation and directed against the
direction of flight, the aircraft drag is considerably increased by the wind milling propeller.
This increased drag can be greatly reduced if the propeller is driven into the feathered position so that the leading edge is presented into the oncoming
airflow
What must be available when in reverse pitch?
The brake moments, which occur very quickly, become
very large when the blade angle is moved into reverse pitch. Therefore a corresponding increase in engine power must be readily available to maintain
the propellers rotational speed
Can brake thrust exceed take off thrust?
Yes, As the mass of air that is flowing through the propeller plane is not accelerated but decelerated, maximum achievable brake thrust increases with
airspeed and can, under certain circumstances, even exceed take-off thrust
What effects the amount of lift a prop can make?
Shape, RPM and angle of attack
What is done to the aerofoil shape of a prop to ensure near constant pitch?
Must be twisted from root to the tip
What is pitch distribution?
The blade angle becomes smaller the further it is from the centre axis in order to keep a nearly constant angle of attack
Explain root losses
A thickened root area can withstand high stresses but loses aerodynamic efficiency. Airflow at the root is affected by the engine
Explain tip losses
Tip vortices and induced drag cause tip losses at high rotational speeds. Further losses are caused by compressibility effects
Explain blade washout
To maintain a constant angle of attack at differing rotational speeds along the blade, the leading edge of the propeller blade is twisted downwards from root
to tip
Explain prop slip
Slip is the difference between geometric pitch and effective pitch which is, in effect, the efficiency losses of the propeller. Efficiencies can vary from between 50% to 90% depending on the amount of slip
Explain prop pitch
Propeller pitch is defined as the distance that a propeller will move forward in one revolution. This is based on the blade angle at the 75% blade station.
Master Reference Station
Explain prop geometric pitch
If the propeller were to spiral through the air on a course, where the angle of pitch equalled the blade angle, the propeller would, in one rotation, have
moved forward axially by the geometric pitch.
In this case, if the aircraft moved through the air according to the geometric propeller pitch, the propeller angle of attack would be zero. This is the
theoretical, or design pitch and will only occur if the propeller was 100% efficient