Calculating Propulsive Efficiency of an Aircraft Propeller

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the propulsive efficiency of an aircraft propeller operating at 150 mph with a thrust of 300 lbf and a propeller diameter of 8 ft at an altitude of 3000 ft. The formula for propulsive efficiency is established as (thrust * velocity) / power. Participants highlight the necessity of converting units correctly, ensuring thrust is in pounds and velocity in feet per second to derive power in ft-lbs/sec. The absence of power consumption data leads to challenges in calculating a valid efficiency, as results exceeding 1 are deemed impossible.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of propulsive efficiency calculations
  • Knowledge of unit conversions (lbs to ft-lbs/sec)
  • Familiarity with thrust and velocity concepts in aerodynamics
  • Basic principles of power consumption in propulsion systems
NEXT STEPS
  • Research methods to measure power consumption in aircraft propellers
  • Learn about thrust-to-weight ratio calculations in aviation
  • Explore the impact of altitude on propeller performance
  • Investigate advanced propulsive efficiency metrics and their applications
USEFUL FOR

Aerospace engineers, aviation students, and anyone involved in aircraft performance analysis will benefit from this discussion.

HansGruber
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An aircraft is flying straight and level at a speed of 150 mph. Its propeller has a diameter of 8 ft and is generating 300 lbf of thrust at an altitude of 3000 ft. What is the propulsive efficiency of the propeller at this operating point?


no equations given, but from searching around I've found that Propulsive efficiency = (thrust *velocty)/ power


Intuitively, I've tried several ways to calculate power with the given variables, but all of my answers come out to an efficiency much greater than 1, which, of course, is impossible.
 
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You have thrust and velocity, but you don't have consumed power.

You also need to make sure your units match up. For example, thrust*velocity is a power term, and to get that into (ft-lbs/sec) your thrust needs to be in (lbs) and velocity needs to be in (ft/s). Your power term needs to be in (ft-lbs/sec) as well, then your efficiency formula works. But again, you don't have anything that will give you the power consumed.
 

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