AIRCRAFT PROPELLER

SUBMITTED SUBMITTED
TO - BY –
GAGAN ABDULLAH
VARSHNEY RAGHIB

22 NOV 2018
 AKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all , I would like to express my gradititude to
almighty god to enabling me to complete this report on
“AIRCRAFT PROPELLER”.
Successfully completion of any type of making report
requires helps from a number of persons. I have also
taken help from different people for the preparation of
this report. Now there is a little effort to show my
deep gratitude to that helpful person.
I convey my cincere gratitude to my professor of
mechanical department “ Mr. GAGAN VARSHANEY”
.Without his kind direction and proper guidance this study
would have been a little success.
I would also like to thank my colleagues of my college to
give a clear idea about Aircraft Propeller.
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
HISTORY
THEORY AND DESIGN OF
AIRCRAFT PROPELLER
PARTS OF PROPELLER
TYPES OF PROPELLER
FIXED TYPE PROPELLER
TEST CLUB PROPELLER
GROUND ADJUSTABLE
PROPELLER
CONTROLLABLE PITCH
PROPELLER
CONSTANT SPEED
PROPELLER
 INTRODUCTION

An aircraft propeller, or airscrew, converts rotary motion

from an engine or other power source, into a swirling
slipstream which pushes the propeller forwards or backwards.

It comprises a rotating power-driven hub, to which are

attached several radial airfoil-section blades such that the
whole assembly rotates about a longitudinal axis.

The blade pitch may be fixed, manually variable to a few set

positions, or of the automatically-variable "constant-speed"
type.

The propeller attaches to the power source's driveshaft either

directly or through reduction gearing.

Propellers are only suitable for use at subsonic airspeeds

mostly below about 480 mph (772 km/h; 417 kn), as above this
speed the blade tip speed approaches the speed of sound and
local supersonic flow causes high drag, noise and propeller
structural problems.
AIRCRAFT PROPELLERS
 HISTORY
William Bland sent designs for his "Atmotic Airship" to
the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851, where a
model was displayed. This was an elongated balloon with
a steam engine driving twin propellers suspended
underneath. Alphonse Pénaud developed coaxial rotor
model helicopter toys in 1870, also powered by rubber
bands. In 1872 Dupuy de Lome launched a large
navigable balloon, which was driven by a large propeller
turned by eight men. Hiram Maxim built a craft that
weighed 3.5 tons, with a 110-foot (34-meter) wingspan
that was powered by two 360-horsepower (270-
kW) steam enginesdriving two propellers. In 1894, his
machine was tested with overhead rails to prevent it
from rising. The test showed that it had enough lift to
take off. One of Pénaud's toys, given as a gift by their
father, inspired the Wright brothers to pursue the
dream of flight. The twisted airfoil (aerofoil) shape of an
aircraft propeller was pioneered by the Wright
Brothers.
THEORY AND DESIGN OF
AIRCRAFT PROPELLER
 The efficiency of the propeller is influenced by the angle of
attack (α). This is defined as α = Φ - θ, where θ is the helix
angle (the angle between the resultant relative velocity and the
blade rotation direction) and Φ is the blade pitch angle.

Very small pitch and helix angles give a good performance

against resistance but provide little thrust, while larger angles
have the opposite effect. The best helix angle is when the blade
is acting as a wing producing much more lift than drag.

 However, 'lift-and-drag' is only one way to express the

aerodynamic force on the blades. To explain aircraft and engine
performance the same force is expressed slightly differently in
terms of thrust and torque since the required output of the
propeller is thrust. Thrust and torque are the basis of the
definition for the efficiency of the propeller as shown below.
The advance ratio of a propeller is similar to the angle of attack
of a wing.

Propellers are similar in aerofoil section to a low-drag wing

and as such are poor in operation when at other than their
optimum angle of attack. Therefore, most propellers use
a variable pitch mechanism to alter the blades' pitch angle as
engine speed and aircraft velocity are changed.
A further consideration is the number and the shape
of the blades used. Increasing the aspect ratio of the
blades reduces drag but the amount of thrust
produced depends on blade area, so using high-aspect
blades can result in an excessive propeller diameter

 A further balance is that using a smaller number of

blades reduces interference effects between the
blades, but to have sufficient blade area to transmit
the available power within a set diameter means a
compromise is needed.

Increasing the number of blades also decreases the

amount of work each blade is required to perform,
limiting the local Mach number – a significant
performance limit on propellers. The performance of a
propeller suffers when transonic flow first appears on
the tips of the blades

As the relative air speed at any section of a propeller

is a vector sum of the aircraft speed and the
tangential speed due to rotation, the flow over the
blade tip will reach transonic speed well before the
aircraft does.
When the airflow over the tip of the blade reaches
its critical speed, drag and torque resistance increase
rapidly and shock waves form creating a sharp
increase in noise. Aircraft with conventional
propellers, therefore, do not usually fly faster than
Mach 0.6. There have been propeller aircraft which
attained up to the Mach 0.8 range, but the low
propeller efficiency at this speed makes such
applications rare.

The maximum relative velocity is kept as low as

possible by careful control of pitch to allow the blades
to have large helix angles; thin blade sections are used
and the blades are swept back in a scimitar shape
(Scimitar propeller); a large number of blades are
used to reduce work per blade and so circulation
strength; contra-rotation is used.

 The propellers designed are more efficient than

turbo-fans and their cruising speed (Mach 0.7–0.85)
is suitable for airliners, but the noise generated is
tremendous.
 PARTS OF
PROPELLERS
 FORCE ACTING ON
PROPELLER
Forces acting on the blades of an aircraft propeller
include the following. Some of these forces can be
arranged to counteract each other, reducing the overall
mechanical stresses imposed.
Thrust Thrust loads on the blades, in
reaction to the force pushing the air backwards, act to
bendings
bend the blades forward. Blades are therefore often raked
forwards, such that the outward centrifugal force of
rotation acts to bend them backwards, thus balancing out
the bending effects.

Centrifugal and
A aerodynamic
centrifugal twisting force is experienced by any asymmetrical
spinning object. In the propeller it acts to twist the blades to a
twisting
fine pitch. The aerodynamic centre of pressure is therefore
usually arranged to be slightly forward of its mechanical
centreline, creating a twisting moment towards coarse pitch and
counteracting the centrifugal moment. However in a high-speed
dive the aerodynamic force can change significantly and the
moments can become unbalanced.
 Centri
fugal The force felt by the
blades acting to pull them away from the hub
Force
when turning. It can be arranged to help
counteract the thrust bending force, as
described above.

Torque
bendin Air resistance
gacting against the blades, combined with inertial
effects causes propeller blades to bend away
from the direction of rotation.
Vibrator
y
•Many types of disturbance set up
vibratory forces in blades. These
include aerodynamic excitation as the
blades pass close to the wing and
fuselage. Piston engines introduce
torque impulses which may excite
vibratory modes of the blades and
cause fatigue failures. Torque
impulses are not present when driven
by a gas turbine engine.
 Types of
propellers
1. Fixed-Pitch Propeller
2. Test Club Propeller
3. Ground-Adjustable Propeller
4. Controllable-Pitch Propeller
5. Constant-Speed Propellers
6. Feathering Propellers
7. Reverse-Pitch Propellers
FIXED PITCH PROPELLER
As the name implies, a fixed-pitch propeller has the
blade pitch, or blade angle, built into the propeller.
[Figure 1] The blade angle cannot be changed after the
propeller is built. Generally, this type of propeller is one
piece and is constructed of wood or aluminum
alloy.Fixed-pitch propellers are designed for best
efficiency at one rotational and forward speed. They are
designed to fit a set of conditions of both airplane and
engine speeds and any change in these conditions
reduces the efficiency of both the propeller and the
engine. The fixed-pitch propeller is used on airplanes of
low power, speed, range, or altitude. Many single-engine
aircraft use fixed-pitch propellers and the advantages
to these are less expense and their simple operation.
This type of propeller does not require any control
inputs from the pilot in flight.
FIXED PITCH PROPELLER
Test Club
Propeller
A test club is used to test and break in
reciprocating engines. [Figure 2] They
are made to provide the correct
amount of load on the engine during
the test break-in period. The multi-
blade design also provides extra
cooling air flow during testing.
TEST CLUB PROPELLER
Ground-Adjustable Propeller

adjustable propeller operates as a fixed-pitch

propeller. The pitch, or blade angle, can be
changed only when the propeller is not turning.
This is done by loosening the clamping
mechanism that holds the blades in place. After
the clamping mechanism has been tightened, the
pitch of the blades cannot be changed in flight to
meet variable flight requirements. The ground-
adjustable propeller is not often used on
present-day airplanes.
Controllable-
Pitch
Propeller
The controllable-pitch propeller permits a change of blade pitch,
or angle, while the propeller is rotating. This allows the propeller
to assume a blade angle that gives the best performance for
particular flight conditions. The number of pitch positions may be
limited, as with a two-position controllable propeller, or the pitch
may be adjusted to any angle between the minimum and
maximum pitch settings of a given propeller. The use of
controllable-pitch propellers also makes it possible to attain the
desired engine rpm for a particular flight condition.
This type of propeller is not to be confused with a constant-speed
propeller. With the controllable-pitch type, the blade angle can be
changed in flight, but the pilot must change the propeller blade
angle directly. The blade angle will not change again until the pilot
changes it. The use of a governor is the next step in the evolution
of propeller development, making way for constant-speed
propellers with governor systems. An example of a two-position
propeller is a Hamilton Standard counterweight two-position
propeller. These types of propeller are not in wide use today.
Constant-
Speed
Propellers
The controllable-pitch propeller permits a change of blade pitch,
or angle, while the propeller is rotating. This allows the propeller
to assume a blade angle that gives the best performance for
particular flight conditions. The number of pitch positions may be
limited, as with a two-position controllable propeller, or the pitch
may be adjusted to any angle between the minimum and
maximum pitch settings of a given propeller. The use of
controllable-pitch propellers also makes it possible to attain the
desired engine rpm for a particular flight condition.

This type of propeller is not to be confused with a constant-speed

propeller. With the controllable-pitch type, the blade angle can be
changed in flight, but the pilot must change the propeller blade
angle directly. The blade angle will not change again until the pilot
changes it. The use of a governor is the next step in the evolution
of propeller development, making way for constant-speed
propellers with governor systems. An example of a two-position
propeller is a Hamilton Standard counterweight two-position
propeller. These types of propeller are not in wide use today.
Constant-
Speed
•Propellers
The propeller has a natural tendency to slow down as
the aircraft climbs and to speed up as the aircraft
dives because the load on the engine varies. To
provide an efficient propeller, the speed is kept as
constant as possible. By using propeller governors to
increase or decrease propeller pitch, the engine
speed is held constant. When the airplane goes into a
climb, the blade angle of the propeller decreases just
enough to prevent the engine speed from decreasing.
The engine can maintain its power output if the
throttle setting is not changed. When the airplane goes
into a dive, the blade angle increases sufficiently to
prevent overspeeding and, with the same throttle
setting, the power output remains unchanged. If the
throttle setting is changed instead of changing the
speed of the airplane by climbing or diving, the blade
angle increases or decreases as required to maintain
a constant engine rpm. The power output (not the
rpm) changes in accordance with changes in the
throttle setting. The governor-controlled, constant-
speed propeller changes the blade angle
automatically, keeping engine rpm constant.
CONSTANT SPEED PROPELLER
Feathering
Propellers
• Feathering propellers must be used on multi-
engine aircraft to reduce propeller drag to a
minimum under one or more engine failure
conditions. A feathering propeller is a constant-
speed propeller used on multi-engine aircraft
that has a mechanism to change the pitch to an
angle of approximately 90°. A propeller is
usually feathered when the engine fails to
develop power to turn the propeller. By rotating
the propeller blade angle parallel to the line of
flight, the drag on the aircraft is greatly
reduced. With the blades parallel to the
airstream, the propeller stops turning and
minimum windmilling, if any, occurs. The blades
are held in feather by aerodynamic forces.
Reverse-
Pitch
Propellers
• Additional refinements, such as reverse-pitch propellers
(mainly used on turbo props), are included in some propellers
to improve their operational characteristics. Almost all
reverse-pitch propellers are of the feathering type. A reverse-
pitch propeller is a controllable propeller in which the blade
angles can be changed to a negative value during operation.

• The purpose of the reversible pitch feature is to produce a

negative blade angle that produces thrust opposite the normal
forward direction. Normally, when the landing gear is in contact
with the runway after landing, the propellers blades can be
moved to negative pitch (reversed), which creates thrust
opposite of the aircraft direction and slows the aircraft. As the
propeller blades move into negative pitch, engine power is
applied to increase the negative thrust. This aerodynamically
brakes the aircraft and reduces ground roll after landing.
Reversing the propellers also reduces aircraft speed quickly on
the runway just after touchdown and minimizes aircraft brake
wear.
.

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