Technical Training Course for Avionics and

Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Degree

Programs

Module 15
Licence Category B1

Gas Turbine Engine

15.2 Performance
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Copyright Notice
© Copyright. All worldwide rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any other means whatsoever: i.e. photocopy, electronic,
mechanical recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Anadolu Üniversitesi.

Knowledge Levels — Category A, B1, B2, B3 and C Aircraft Maintenance

Licence
Basic knowledge for categories A, B1, B2 and B3 are indicated by the allocation of knowledge levels indicators (1, 2 or 3)
against each applicable subject. Category C applicants must meet either the category B1 or the category B2 basic knowledge
levels.
The knowledge level indicators are defined as follows:

LEVEL 1
• A familiarization with the principal elements of the subject.
Objectives:
• The applicant should be familiar with the basic elements of the subject.
• The applicant should be able to give a simple description of the whole subject, using common words and
examples.
• The applicant should be able to use typical terms.

LEVEL 2
• A general knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject.
• An ability to apply that knowledge.
Objectives:
• The applicant should be able to understand the theoretical fundamentals of the subject.
• The applicant should be able to give a general description of the subject using, as appropriate, typical examples.
• The applicant should be able to use mathematical formulae in conjunction with physical laws describing the
subject.
• The applicant should be able to read and understand sketches, drawings and schematics describing the subject.
• The applicant should be able to apply his knowledge in a practical manner using detailed procedures.

LEVEL 3
• A detailed knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject.
• A capacity to combine and apply the separate elements of knowledge in a logical and comprehensive manner.
Objectives:
• The applicant should know the theory of the subject and interrelationships with other subjects.
• The applicant should be able to give a detailed description of the subject using theoretical fundamentals and
specific examples.
• The applicant should understand and be able to use mathematical formulae related to the subject.
• The applicant should be able to read, understand and prepare sketches, simple drawings and schematics
describing the subject.
• The applicant should be able to apply his knowledge in a practical manner using manufacturer's instructions.
• The applicant should be able to interpret results from various sources and measurements and apply corrective
action where appropriate.

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Table of Contents

Module 15.2 - Performance _____________________________________________________________9

Thrust ____________________________________________________________________________9
Momentum Thrust ________________________________________________________________9
Choked Nozzle Thrust or Pressure Thrust _____________________________________________10
Net Thrust ______________________________________________________________________10
Gross Thrust ____________________________________________________________________10
Gas Turbine Working Cycle and Airflow _______________________________________________11
Thrust Distribution _______________________________________________________________12
Power Measurement in Turboprop Aircraft _____________________________________________13
Shaft Horsepower ________________________________________________________________13
Brake Horsepower _______________________________________________________________13
Equivalent Shaft Horsepower _______________________________________________________13
Efficiency ________________________________________________________________________15
Propulsive Efficiency ______________________________________________________________15
Propulsive Efficiency Graphs _______________________________________________________15
Thermal Efficiency _______________________________________________________________17
Overall Efficiency ________________________________________________________________17
Engine Compression Ratio _________________________________________________________18
Specific Fuel Consumption _________________________________________________________19
Thrust Factors _____________________________________________________________________20
The International Standard Atmosphere ______________________________________________20
Variation of Thrust with Altitude, Temperature and Airspeed _____________________________21
Engine Ratings ____________________________________________________________________25
Flat Rating ______________________________________________________________________25
Engine Power Ratings _____________________________________________________________25

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Module 15.2 Enabling Objectives and Certification Statement

Certification Statement
These Study Notes comply with the syllabus of EASA Regulation (EC) No.2042/2003 Annex III (Part-66)
Appendix I, as amended by Regulation (EC) No.1149/2011, and the associated Knowledge Levels as
specified below:
Licence
Part-66
Objective Category
Reference
B1
Engine Performance 15.2 2
Gross thrust, net thrust, choked nozzle thrust, thrust
distribution, resultant thrust, thrust horsepower, equivalent
shaft horsepower, specific fuel consumption;
Engine efficiencies;
By-pass ratio and engine pressure ratio;
Pressure, temperature and velocity of the gas flow;
Engine ratings, static thrust, influence of speed, altitude and
hot climate, flat rating, limitations.

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Module 15.2 - Performance

Thrust

Consider a basic gas turbine moving through the atmosphere with an inlet velocity of V a and an exit
velocity of V j . Mass flow of air through the engine is .

Figure 2.1: Inlet velocity (V a ), outlet velocity (V j ), and inlet mass flow rate ( )

Momentum Thrust

From Newton’s Second Law

Force = Mass x Acceleration

But Thrust is a Force

Therefore Thrust = Mass x Acceleration

= mass (V j - V a )
t

= mass (V j – V a )
t

= mass flow ( ) x (V j - V a )

Units are Newtons or lbf

This type of thrust is known as Momentum Thrust

Module 15.2 Performance

Momentum Thrust = x (Vj - Va)
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Choked Nozzle Thrust or Pressure Thrust
If the air speed at the exit nozzle reaches Mach 1 the speed of sound a shock wave will form and the
nozzle is said to be choked. As a result the pressure in the jet pipe (P j ) will increase and when it gets
above 1.4:1 compared to ambient pressure (P a ) then significant pressure thrust begins to be produced.

Engines designed for commercial passenger aircraft have the exit nozzle designed so that the nozzle is
only just at Mach 1 hence pressure thrust is negligible for these types. To fully exploit pressure thrust
and the choked nozzle concept a convergent /divergent nozzle is required. For military applications and
rockets with convergent/divergent exit nozzles pressure thrust becomes more significant

Pressure Thrust = Aj (Pj - Pa)

Total thrust = Momentum Thrust + Pressure Thrust.

Net Thrust
Net thrust takes into account the term V a in the momentum thrust formula therefore net thrust varies
with airspeed.

Gross Thrust
When the aircraft is stationary on the ground the value of Va is zero

Therefore Gross thrust = Vj + pressure thrust

Gross thrust is that thrust developed when the engine is stationary on the ground or on the test bed

Gross Thrust is sometimes known as Static Thrust

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Gas Turbine Working Cycle and Airflow

Figure 2.2: Pressure, temperature and velocity distributions through a turbo-jet engine

As the air is induced into the compressor the pressure and temperature rise. Note that velocity which
you would expect to decrease remains almost constant due to the convergent annulus formed by the
compressor casing and the compressor rotor.

Fuel is added to the combustion chamber and ignited. Flame temperature rapidly increases to a level far
greater than the melting point of the turbines, so the remainder of the air is added to the combustor
and the temperature reduces as the air reaches the turbines.

Note that the pressure through the combustor remains almost constant. (See the Constant Pressure
cycle diagram in section 15.1) . Velocity of the gases increases as the gases pass through the convergent
nozzles of the turbine and pressure decreases
If the pressure is above atmospheric as it leaves the jet pipe then pressure thrust will be generated in
addition to the momentum thrust.

It is worth noting at this point that the Speed of Sound (and its associated shock waves) rises as
temperature rises. At ISA conditions Speed of Sound = 315 m/s. Due to the high temperatures the hot
section of the engine will not suffer shock effects until the exit nozzle is reached. The nozzle being sized
to just choke the nozzle to enable maximum momentum thrust to be obtained with little or no pressure
thrust.

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Thrust Distribution

Figure 2.3: Forward loads and rearward loads on a turbo-jet engine

At the start of the cycle, air is induced into the engine and is compressed. The rearward accelerations
through the compressor stages and the resultant pressure rise produces a large reactive force in a
forward direction. On the next stage of its journey the air passes through the diffuser where it exerts a
small reactive force, also in a forward direction.

From the diffuser the air passes into the combustion chamber where it is heated, and in the consequent
expansion and acceleration of the gas large forward forces are exerted on the chamber walls.

When the expanding gases leave the combustion chambers and flow through the nozzle guide vanes
they are accelerated and deflected on to the blades of the turbine. Due to the acceleration and
deflection, together with the subsequent straightening of the gas flow as it enters the jet pipe,
considerable ‘drag’ results; thus the vanes and blades are subjected to large rearward forces, the
magnitude of which may be seen on the diagram. As the gas flow passes through the exhaust system,
small forward forces may act on the inner cone or bullet, but generally only rearward forces are pro-
duced and these are due to the ‘drag’ of the gas flow at the propelling nozzle.

It will be seen that during the passage of the air through the engine, changes in its velocity and pressure
occur.
Where the conversion is to velocity energy, ‘drag’ loads or rearward forces are produced; where the
conversion is to pressure energy, forward forces are produced.

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Power Measurement in Turboprop Aircraft

Shaft Horsepower
As in reciprocating engines the gas generator of a turbo-prop engine is used to drive a propeller. It is the
propeller that develops the thrust that drives the airframe.

To measure the power that is developed one needs to devise a system that can monitor the turning
force on the propeller shaft.

If an engine produces torque (T) at N revs/min

Power = 2πNT

The Imperial Unit of Power is Horsepower.

Horsepower = 2πNT
33000

Horsepower developed by an engine output shaft is known as shaft horsepower.

Brake Horsepower
To measure shaft horsepower it is usual to use a brake dynamometer. Hence, Shaft Horsepower is
sometimes known as Brake Horsepower. Numerically it is the same.

Equivalent Shaft Horsepower

The turboprop engine uses the majority of gas power to drive the turbines, with the free or power
turbine driving the propeller shaft. There is always a residue of gas power exiting the exhaust however.
As long as the exhaust is directed parallel to the thrust line of the engine then this exhaust will add to
the thrust the propeller is producing. The total thrust production of the engine is therefore the Shaft
Horsepower plus exhaust or jet thrust. It is called equivalent shaft horsepower.

ESHP = SHP + Jet Thrust

If the aircraft is in flight then the efficiency of the propeller must be taken into account.

ESHP = SHP x prop-eff. + Jet Thrust

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Efficiency
Propulsive Efficiency
Propulsive efficiency is concerned with the efficiency of the engine to drive the aircraft in flight.

If P eff = propulsive efficiency

V a = Aircraft speed
V j = Exhaust Velocity

Then P eff = 2V a
Vj +Va

Consideration of the formula reveals that:

If V a = V j then the efficiency will be 100%. But if V a = V j there is no difference in velocity through the
engine and hence there can be no thrust. Therefore 100% efficiency is impossible. Also note there would
be no energy used to drive the compressors if 100% of energy was used for propelling the aircraft.

If the aircraft is stationary on the ground then V a = 0. In this case efficiency would be 0. This shows that
propulsive efficiency is concerned with propelling the aircraft through the sky, not just producing thrust.

Propulsive Efficiency Graphs

The graph reveals how propeller-driven aircraft gain their efficiency first at low airspeeds because the
controllable pitch propeller is capable of moving large mass airflows. The curves all peak out as soon as
more fuel energy is introduced to create an exhaust velocity increase. Work then comes out in the form
of increase aircraft speed.

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 Figure 2.4: Propulsive Efficiency Graphs

The propeller aircraft (either piston or turbine driver peaks out slightly above 85%, after which the
propeller loses efficiency. That is, its exhaust wake velocity continues to increase from added fuel
energy, but aircraft speed does not increase proportionally. Note that after reaching approximately 375
mph, propulsive efficiency starts to decrease. Aerodynamic drag and tip shock stall are involved here
and by 500 mph efficiency decreases to 65%.

The ultra-high bypass turbofan curve peaks at approximately 560 mph (Mach 0.85), after which the fan
suffers the same losses in drag and tip speed as the propeller. In order to go to 700 mph (aircraft speed),
the exhaust velocity will have to be increased to an uneconomical level.

The high bypass turbofan is the most widely use engine today in both large and small aircraft. Its
propulsive efficiency curve peaks out slightly lower than the UHB engine but at approximately the same
airspeed.

Subsonic aircraft with low and medium bypass turbofans all operate in the 500 to 600 mph range. Note
that the curve shows a lower efficiency value than a high bypass engine in that range. Because of this,
high bypass engines are rapidly replacing low and medium bypass engines in many aircraft.

The supersonic low bypass turbofan and turbojet have a theoretical propulsive efficiency peak limit in
the 2,000 to 3,000 mph range. Their narrow, low-drag profile allows this range. Any additional energy
added (in the form of fuel) to increase speed further would raise the internal engine temperatures to
unacceptable levels.

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Thermal Efficiency
Thermal efficiency is the ratio of net work produced by the engine to the fuel energy input. As with
propulsive efficiency it cannot be measured in the cockpit but can be calculated by utilizing a fuel flow
indication

Thermal Efficiency = Net Power Output of the engine

Energy value of Fuel consumed

Overall Efficiency
It is necessary to combine both of the above efficiencies when looking for a powerplant to suit a
particular application.

Overall Efficiency = Propulsive Eff. x Thermal Eff.

For example if P eff = 70% and Thermal Eff. = 40% then

Overall efficiency = 70% x 40% = 28%.
Thermal Efficiency Curves

Figure 2.5: Propulsive, thermal and overall efficiencies, variation with speed

Propulsive efficiency increases as airspeed approaches exhaust velocity values.

Thermal efficiency decreases due to added fuel needs at higher airspeeds.

Overall efficiency increases as airspeed increases because propulsive efficiency increases more than
thermal efficiency decreases.

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Engine Compression Ratio

Engine Compression Ratio in a gas turbine is defined as the ratio between Compressor Outlet Pressure
to Compressor Inlet Pressure.

The higher the compression ratio of the engine, the greater the power that can be produced.

Figure 2.6: Thermal efficiency variation with CPR

Most modern compressor and turbine efficiencies are in the high 80% range. It can be seen from the
above that a high compression ratio will produce an increased thermal efficiency.

In other words the ideal compressor efficiency (adiabatic compression) occurs when the compressor
produces the maximum pressure with the least temperature rise and the ideal turbine extracts most
work for the minimum fuel addition.

Degraded efficiency of the compressor and turbine as shown above at 60 & 70% is due to wear in
service, damage or just contamination by dirt etc.

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Specific Fuel Consumption

Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) is sometimes called ‘the engine man’s efficiency’.

SFC is defined as the ratio of fuel consumed per pound of thrust produced. SFC is inversely proportional
to efficiency. In other words the lower the SFC the higher the efficiency.

Units of SFC in a pure Jet engine are - lb/hr/lb thrust

In a Turbo Jet Engine - lb/hr/SHP

Figure 2.7: SFC and efficiency, variation with forward speed

Note that the SFC starts to increase after falling to a minimum as the aircraft goes faster. This is due to
ram effect causing an increase in mass airflow and hence an increase in fuel flow. The engine power
limiter will control the maximum fuel flow to prevent over speeding or flat rated power limits.

Ram effect is discussed in Chapter 3 - Intakes

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Thrust Factors
The International Standard Atmosphere

Figure 2.8: The International Standard Atmosphere

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Variation of Thrust with Altitude, Temperature and Airspeed
The figure below shows that thrust improves rapidly with decreasing temperature, given constant
altitude, RPM and airspeed.

Figure 2.9: Net thrust variation with outside air temperature (OAT)

This is because with decreased temperature one gets increased density, hence the air has greater mass
and from the momentum thrust formula thrust will increase.

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 Figure 2.10: Thrust decreases with altitude

The altitude effect on thrust is shown above. Thrust decreases with altitude, given constant airspeed
and RPM.

Whilst temperature is decreasing with altitude so is pressure. Since the temperature lapse rate is less
than the pressure lapse rate as altitude is decreased, the density is decreased and as a result thrust will
decrease.

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 Figure 2.11: Thrust variation with true airspeed (TAS)

The effect of airspeed on thrust depends upon Ram Effect being present.

Without ram effect thrust will decrease, with ram effect thrust will start to recover then increase as the
speed increases above about 200kts

Increase in forward speed without ram effect will cause the momentum drag term ( V a ) in the thrust
formula (V j - V a ) to increase thus reducing thrust.

In an intake designed to promote ram recovery, that is to increase pressure above existing atmospheric
pressure at the engine inlet, ram effect will provide extra compression without further work being
needed at the turbine.

In reality there is always some ram effect as the aircraft increases speed so the actual result is a
compromise between the two conditions shown above.

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Engine Ratings

Flat Rating
As OAT increase for a given maximum throttle setting the engine thrust increases to a thrust limit. This is
known as the flat rated thrust and is usually quoted at the maximum ambient temperature allowed (i.e.
42,000 lb thrust at 59°F) Above this temperature, sometimes known as the kink point or corner point
the engine will exceed the maximum exhaust gas temperature limit and will become temperature
limited.

Figure 2.12: Flat Rating Graph

Engine Power Ratings

Turbine engines, both turbojet and turbofan, are thrust rated in terms of either engine pressure ratio or
fan speed and turboshaft/turboprop engines are SHP rated in the following categories: Takeoff,
maximum continuous, maximum climb, maximum cruise, and idle. For certification purposes, the
manufacturer demonstrates to the FAA or CAA that the engine will perform at certain thrust or shaft
horsepower levels for specified time intervals and still maintain its airworthiness and service life for the
user.

These ratings can usually be found on the engine Type Certificate Data Sheets. The ratings are classified
as follows:

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Takeoff Wet Thrust/SHP
This rating represents the maximum power available while in water injection and is time limited. It is
used only during takeoff operation. Engines are trimmed to this rating.

Takeoff Dry Thrust/SHP

Limits on this rating are the same as takeoff wet but without water injection. Engines are trimmed to
this rating.

Maximum Continuous Thrust/SHP

This rating has no time limit but is to be used only during emergency situations at the discretion of the
pilot, for example, during one engine-out cruise operation.

Maximum Climb Thrust/SHP

Maximum climb power settings are not time limited and are to be used for normal climb, to cruising
altitude, or when changing altitudes. This rating is sometimes the same as maximum continuous.

Maximum Cruise Thrust/SHP

This rating is designed to be used for any time period during normal cruise at the discretion of the pilot.

Idle Speed
This power setting is not actually a power rating but, rather, the lowest usable thrust setting for either
ground or flight operation.

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