17.6 propellor maintenance Flashcards
what are the three important types of balance on a propellor
Static Balancing
Dynamic Balancing
Aerodynamic Balancing
how would you know a propellor is balanced?
If a body is in static balance, each time it is rotated it comes to a stop in a random position.
how is static balance carried out?
The propeller is mounted on a mandrel which is placed across stable and perfectly levelled knife edges or rollers. The balance is checked in two planes, one horizontal and the other vertical.
when is dynamic balancing performed?
while the engine is running
what are the areas that dynamic balance is possible?
blades hub and spinner
what is dynamic balance?
Balancing the propeller to reduce the moment of imbalance
why are small propellors not typically dynamically balanced?
any shift of the centres of gravity is only small.
what are the steps i dynamic balance?
-Obtain in-flight vibration information.
-Ensure vibration is greater than permitted limits.
-Calculate the mass and location to reduce vibration to an acceptable level.
-Install balance weight(s) and confirm vibration levels are within limits.
what is aerodynamic imbalance?
No two blades are manufactured to 100% accuracy. This means that each blade can produce slight variations from the standard theoretical values for torque and thrust.
if a blade is producing more torque what might it also be producing more of?
torque
can we correct for torque and thrust variation?
it is difficult to manage both
what do we do rather than correct for aerodynamic imbalance in both ways?
The blades are balanced for either thrust or torque. The choice will be marked on the blade as an Aerodynamic Correction Factor (ACF), preceded by the letter ‘T’ if the correction is for thrust, or ‘Q’ if it is for torque
what is aerodynamic balance necessary for?
propellors with high performance
what is done instead or aerodynamic balance for manufactured blades?
they are are compared individually with a master blade and receive, according to deviation from the zero lift angle, an aerodynamic correction factor in the form of a reference to the blade angle difference necessary to the basic setting.
what is the universal blade protractor?
used to measure the propeller blade angle at a specific blade station to determine if the propeller is properly adjusted. The blade angle is referenced from the propeller plane of rotation, which is ninety degrees to the crankshaft centreline
where is the reference station for the universal blade protractor?
This reference station is normally set at either the 30-inch, 36-inch, or 42-inch measurement on the propeller blade
what is blade tracking?
Blade tracking is the ability of one blade to follow the other in the same plane of rotation
what are the limits for blade tracking and reasons for it?
Tracking is held to reasonable limits to prevent roughness and vibration
where is measurement usually taken from for blade tracking?
master station
how is the propellor turned for blade tracking?
by hand
what is flat bench tracking method?
This method requires the use of a smooth board placed just under the tip of the lower blade and paper taped to it.
On controllable props, move the tip fore and aft carefully through its small range of movement, making small pencil marks at each position.
Centre the blade between these marks and draw a line the full width of the blade
what is the allowable distance between blades in blade tracking?
3mm or the AMM given figure
how is block or pointer blade tracking performed?
Another method can be by means of a heavy block or pointer method.
As before, rotate one of the blades so it is pointing down.
Place a solid object (e.g., a heavy wooden block that is at least a couple of inches higher off the ground than the distance between the propeller tip and the ground) next to the propeller tip so that it just touches or attach a pointer/indicator to the cowling itself as shown in the image below.
Rotate the propeller slowly to determine if the next blade tracks through the same point (touches the block/ pointer)