THE TURBOFAN ENGINE
The turbofan engine is a propulsive mechanism to combine the high thrust of a turbojet with
the high efficiency of a propeller. Basically, a turbojet engine forms the core of the turbofan;
the core contains the diffuser, compressor, burner, turbine, and nozzle. However, in the
turbofan engine, the turbine drives not only the compressor, but also a large fan external to
the core. The fan itself is contained in a shroud that is wrapped around the core. The flow
through a turbofan engine is split into two paths. One passes through the fan and flows
externally over the core; this air is processed only by the fan, which is acting in the manner of
a sophisticated, shrouded propeller. The propulsive thrust obtained from this flow through the
fan is generated with an efficiency approaching that of a propeller. The second air path is
through the core itself. The propulsive thrust is obtained from the flow through the core is
generated with an efficiency associated with a turbojet. The overall propulsive efficiency of a
turbofan is therefore a compromise between that of a propeller and that of a turbojet.
This compromise has been
found to be quite successfulthe vast majority of jetpropelled airplanes today
are powered by turbofan
engines.
An important parameter of a turbofan engine is the bypass ratio, defined as the
mass flow passing through the fan, externally to the core divided by the mass
flow through the core itself. Everything else being equal, the higher the bypass
ratio, the higher the propulsive efficiency. For the large turbofan engines that
power airplanes such as the Boeing 747, for example, the Rolls-Royce RB211
and the Pratt & Whitney JTBD, the bypass ratios are on the order of 5. Typical
values of the thrust specific fuel consumption for these turbofan engines are 0.6
lb/(lb h) almost half that of a conventional turbojet engine.
Variations of Thrust and Specific Fuel
Consumption with
Velocity and Altitude
For high-bypass-ratio turbofans-those with bypass ratios on the order of 5 (these are the
class of turbofans that power civil transports) the performance seems to be closer to that
of a propeller than that of a turbojet in some respects. The thrust of a civil turbofan
engine has a strong variation with velocity; thrust decreases as V increases:
The equation holds for V < 130 m/s.
At higher subsonic velocities for a given, constant altitude, the decrease in thrust
with Mach number can be correlated by
Although the variation of T for a
civil turbofan is a strong
function of V, (or Ma) at lower
altitudes, at the relatively high
altitude of 11 km, T is relatively
constant for the narrow Mach
number range from 0.7 to 0.85.
This corresponds to normal
cruise Mach numbers for civil
transports such as the Boeing
747. Hence, for the analysis of
airplane performance in the
cruise range, it appears
reasonable to assume
T= constant.
The variation of T with altitude is approximated by
The variation of thrust specific fuel consumption with both altitude and Mach
number is shown in Fig. The ratio of the thrust specific fuel consumption at the
specified altitude and Mach number, to the value at zero velocity and at sea level, is
shown. The variation with velocity at a given altitude follows the relation:
where B and k are empirical constants
Figure shows why turbofans were not used
on the Concorde supersonic transport, with
its cruising Mach number of 2.2. The thrust
specific fuel consumption of a turbojet
engine is almost constant with speed in the
supersonic regime. However, for a
turbofan, ct increases markedly with an
increase in Ma. For this reason, a turbojet
is more fuel-efficient than a turbofan if the
design Mach number is 2.2. The ordinate
in Figure is expanded. Hence, the altitude
effect on ct, looks larger than it really is. To
first order, is constant with altitude.
For low-bypass-ratio turbofans-those with bypass ratios between 0 and 1-the
performance is somewhat different from that for the high-bypass-ratio case
discussed above. The performance of low-bypass-ratio turbofans is much closer to
that of a turbojet than that of a propeller. Typical generic variations of T/Tv=0 and
ct/ct versus Ma, for a military, low-bypass-ratio turbofan are
after a small initial decrease at low subsonic Mach numbers, the thrust increases
for increasing Mach number well above Mach 1. The dashed line gives the variation
of thrust specific fuel consumption versus Mach number for a military turbofan.
Note that ct, for the low-bypass-ratio turbofan gradually increases as M, increases
for subsonic and transonic speeds, and begins to rapidly increase at Mach 2 and
beyond. This is unlike the variation of ct, for a pure turbojet engine, which is
relatively constant in the low supersonic regime.
THE TURBOPROP
The turboprop is essentially a propeller driven by a gas-turbine engine, it is the
closest to the reciprocating engine/propeller combination. The inlet air is
compressed by an axial-flow compressor, mixed with fuel and burned in the
combustor, expanded through a turbine, and then exhausted through a nozzle.
Unlike the turbojet, the turbine powers not only the compressor but also the
propeller. By design, most of the available work in the flow is extracted by the
turbines, leaving little available for jet thrust. For most turboprops, only about 5% of
the total thrust is associated with the jet exhaust, and remaining 95% comes from
the propeller.
the turboprop falls in between the reciprocating engine/propeller combination and
the turbofan or turbojet. The turboprop generates more thrust than a reciprocating
engine/propeller device, but less than a turbofan or turbojet. On the other hand,
the turboprop has a specific fuel consumption higher than that of the reciprocating
engine/propeller combination, but lower than that of a turbofan or turbojet. Also,
the maximum speed of a turboprop-powered airplane is limited to that at which the
propeller efficiency becomes seriously degraded by shock wave formation on the
propeller usually around Ma=0.6 to 0.7.
the thrust generated by the turboprop is the sum of the propeller thrust Tp, and
the jet thrust Tj. For the engine in flight at velocity V, the power available from
the turboprop is
The main business end of a turboprop is the shaft coming from the engine to
which the propeller is attached via some type of gearbox mechanism. Hence
the shaft power Ps, coming from the engine is a meaningful quantity.
Because of losses associated with the propeller the power obtained from the
propeller/shaft combination is pr Ps. Hence, the net power available, which
includes the jet thrust, is
Sometimes manufacturers rate their turboprops in terms of the equivalent
shaftpower Pes which is an overall power rating that includes the effect of the
jet thrust:
Combining the two:
