QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS

DEN-306 AIRCRAFT PROPULSION
DEN427/DENM022 ADVANCED GAS TURBINES

LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
AERO LAB BALCANY

Nozzle Thrust

Objective :

To study the thrust produced by a convergent nozzle operating under both subsonic
and choked conditions. (See Lectures 6 and 7).


Apparatus and Instrumentation :

Compressed air is delivered from the laboratory supply, via a shut-off valve, to a
pressure regulating valve, and one of these valves can be used to control the pressure
in the whole of the apparatus up to the inlet chamber of the nozzle, where it is
measured by a pressure transducer. After the regulating valve, the volumetric flow
rate of the air is measured by a rotameter.

The air is fed to the nozzle through a pivoted arm and the small chamber, the bottom
of which rests on the pan of some electronic scales. The nozzle has a rounded inlet
from the much larger diameter of the chamber to one of about 5.8 mm, and it then
tapers over a length of 50mm down to the outlet to atmosphere, which is 3.0 mm in
diameter. The bore of the nozzle is not perfectly smooth.


Procedure:

1) Progressively open whichever valve is regulating, recording the indicated flow
through the rotameter, the pressure at the nozzle inlet and the weight on the scales, for
about a dozen flow rates, repeating as necessary to assess reproducibility. In practice,
it will be necessary to check frequently that the weight indicated for zero flow has not
altered. This means ensuring that the extent to which the pressure measuring tube is
supported does not alter, and 'resetting' the read-out, lifting and replacing the feed
arm.

2) Record the ambient temperature and pressure.

3) Shut off the supply valve.

Calculation of Results :

1) Convert the pressure reading to N/m
2
, and add the ambient pressure to obtain the
absolute inlet stagnation pressure P
0
and its ratio to the ambient. The stagnation
temperature T
0
is just the ambient temperature, because the heat of compression has
been lost.


2) Convert the volumetric flow rates, which are read in litres/min at Normal
Temperature and Pressure (N.T.P, 288 K and 1.013 bar), to m
3
/s by making the
obvious change of
units and then dividing by

0
0
T P
T P
NTP
NTP
.

This is necessary because the rotameter actually measures the dynamic
head, which is proportional to (volumetric flow rate)
2
x density. Convert volumetric
flow rates,
V
, to mass flow rates,
m , by multiplying by the density,
0 0
RT P
, where
the gas constant R=287 J /kg /K.


3) Subtract the zero-flow weights from the readings with flow and convert these
measurements of thrust to N, using g=9.81 m/s
2
.

4) Calculate the nominal nozzle exhaust area, A
t
.


Analysis :
1) Calculate the value of
0
0
P A
T m
Q
t

= for each of the conditions and plot it against the

pressure ratio. At what pressure ratio is there an indication that the flow is choked?
Do these values correspond with theory for a fluid with 4 . 1 = , to within the
experimental error? (Assess the independent errors in the constituent parameters and
combine them.)

2) Deduce the Mach number at the exhaust plane for each of the conditions, and plot
it as a function of the pressure ratio.

3) Plot the non-dimensional thrust, F/A
t
/P
a
, against the pressure ratio and compare it
with the theoretical curves for a choked nozzle and for an isentropic expansion.
Again, assess the errors.

Report :
Describe, in your own words, the apparatus and the procedure you followed [1 mark],
and the way in which the results were calculated [2 marks]. Also, quote the relevant
theory [2 marks]. Discuss the trends in your results and the possible reasons for the
discrepancy between them and the theory, particularly in relation to the uncertainties
in your data, and the extent to which the theory is applicable [4 marks]. The overall
layout of the report is important [1 mark].

EA, FM (CJ L) 2014