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Why do jet engines have a tail cone behind them?
4 Answers

Krishna Kumar Subramanian, 40+ years in a major airline Engineering Department, dealing with B707s to
B777s
Answered Sep 26, 2017 · Author has 3.4k answers and 3.8m answer views
The construction of the entire exhaust system: the exhaust case, the exhaust cone (or tail cone), and their geometry,
is governed by the principles of gas dynamics and by the need to meet regulations, particularly, noise regulations.
Energy remaining in the exhaust gases after they leave the turbine can be utilized to produce thrust. In fact, in the
early jet engines, this was the ONLY way to produce thrust.
To do this; components in the exhaust system must straighten and acceleratethe stream of gases.
Having spent all that money, time, and effort in designing the rest of the engine, the exhaust is the culmination: will
the engine produce the absolute maximum thrust possible?
Only a nozzle designed with the known principles of hot gas dynamics will give you the maximum possible thrust.
After the gases leave the turbine, they flow through a duct formed between the exhaust cone and the exhaust, or
tail, pipe. Depending on the aircraft design the exhaust can be: divergent, convergent or convergent-divergent.

▲Convergent Exhaust Duct. A convergent exhaust duct is formed between the exhaust cone and
the exhaust pipe. The exhaust cone is the fixed conical faking centred in the exhaust stream
immediately aft of the last-stage turbine wheel.

▲A convergent-divergent Exhaust Duct, showing the “choked” nozzle, causes an increase in

thrust by increased acceleration of the exhaust gases.The gases leave the turbine section and
enter the convergent portion of the nozzle at a subsonic speed. Their speed increases as the duct
gets smaller until they reach the speed of sound at the narrowest point where a shock wave
forms and prevents further acceleration. The gases leave the narrowest point at the speed of
sound, and as the duct area increases, they accelerate to a higher supersonic speed. The benefits
of a CD nozzle increase as the flight Mach number of the aircraft increases.

Most engines have an exhaust collector with struts between the forward end of the exhaust cone
and the tail pipe to support the rear turbine bearing and straighten the gas flow. As gases flow
through the convergent duct between the exhaust cone and the exhaust pipe, they are accelerated
and leave the exhaust nozzle at the highest practical velocity.

▲Construction details of the exhaust collector and discharge system

And that velocity was responsible for the terrific noise of the early jet engines.

The opening at the end of the tail pipe is called the exhaust nozzle, or jet nozzle. Its outlet area is
critical because it determines the velocity of the gases as they leave the engine.

The nozzles on most turbojet and early low-bypass turbofan engines have an area that usually
causes them to operate in a choked condition. By the time the gases reach the end of the tail
pipe, they have accelerated to the speed of sound and can accelerate no further. The remaining
energy that would otherwise be converted into velocity is now converted into a pressure
differential across the nozzle. This differential produces a small increase in thrust. This condition
soon turns uneconomical in terms of fuel consumption. Also temperatures within the engine
would elevate significantly.

Modern high bypass turbofan engine exhaust nozzles work in unchoked condition
only.

▲The complex tail cone shape of the first of the big, high-bypass engines: the Pratt and Whitney
JT9D on the first Boeing 747. This “coke-bottle” shape was dictated by aerodynamic
performance and noise considerations.

Higher hot exhaust airflow speed is not desirable, considering that nowadays environment
pollution and noise reduction have become very important aspects in engine design. Gas
parameters at turbine section outlet and flow diameter are tuned in a way that at outlet
diameter core exhaust gas path pressure is reduced to ambient and maximum speed
of the hot gases is never higher than the speed of sound. Sound speed of hot exhaust
gases is higher than that of ambient air sound speed because of temperature difference. This
phenomenon allows aircraft with unchoked exhausts to fly at speeds up to mach 1.5 (transonic).

Turbofan engines extract much more energy from the exhaust gases to drive the fan, and their
exhaust gas velocities are lower than those of a turbojet engine of comparable power. For these
reasons, turbofan engines do not produce enough noise to require noise suppressors at the hot
gas exhaust end. (Some engines are now beginning to have noise suppressors at the fan exit.)
 ▲ Engineering achievement: noise suppression by design! (EPNdB is a measure of noise.)

4.2k Views · View 27 Upvoters · Answer requested by Sashank Tripathi

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Anas Maaz, Airline pilot.

Answered Mar 16, 2016 · Author has 1.2k answers and 7.6m answer views
The air that leave the turbines can reach speeds in excess of 1300 ft/s. If the air enters the jet pipe
at these speeds, a great deal of turbulence is created. This turbulence reduces the amount of
thrust the engine produces. By fitting an Exhaust cone (what is shown in the picture) we are
able to make the exhaust air passage divergent. This reduces the flow velocity, greatly increasing
the thrust due to the Smoothening of air flow.

That is the primary mission of the exhaust cone. The secondary mission is to prevent exhaust air
from flowing across the last stage turbine blades. The heated exhaust air decrease the durability
of these blades, if exposed to it on a continuous basis.

Exhaust cone also houses the rear turbine bearing with the help of struts. These struts are
streamlined into fairings. The fairings further settle out the air flow.

Exhaust cone fairings

10.5k Views · View 77 Upvoters

Pranav Singanapalli
Answered Mar 16, 2016 · Upvoted by Krishna Kumar Subramanian, 40+ years in a major airline Engineering
Department, dealing with B707s to B777s
I wouldn't call it a spike, although it looks like one. A tail cone is a better way to describe it.

The tail cone serves an important aerodynamic purpose by helping to streamline the airflow of the
exhaust gasses. Right in front of the tail cone are the shafts which, as you might expect, don't deliver
any air. All the air is delivered around the outside, leaving a low pressure zone there. The low
pressure zone surrounded by high pressure exhaust gasses, would disrupt the airflow of the exhaust
gasses and reduce thrust while also introducing mechanically damaging vortices.

A simple tail cone fixes all of that.

2.2k Views · View 9 Upvoters

Saran Udayakumar, Aviation Enthusiast

Answered Mar 16, 2016 · Author has 1.1k answers and 28m answer views
The exhaust section of the gas turbine engine consists of several components.

This is called as an "Exhaust cone".

The function of the exhaust cone is to collect and direct discharge gases from the turbine wheel.
The cone eliminates turbulence in the emerging jet, thereby giving maximum velocity.
The exhaust section of the gas turbine engine consists of several components. Although the
components have individual purposes, they also have one common function: they must direct the
flow of hot gases rearward in such a manner as to prevent turbulence and, at the same time, impart
a high final or exit velocity to the gases. In performing the various functions, each of the
components affects the flow of gases in different ways. The exhaust section is located directly
behind the turbine section and ends when the gases are ejected at the rear in the form of a high-
velocity exhaust gases. The components of the exhaust section include the exhaust cone, tailpipe
(if required), and the exhaust nozzle. The exhaust cone collects the exhaust gases discharged from
the turbine section and gradually converts them into a solid flow of gases. In performing this, the
velocity of the gases is decreased slightly and the pressure increased. This is due to the diverging
passage between the outer duct and the inner cone; that is, the annular area between the two units
increases rearward. The exhaust cone assembly consists of an outer shell or duct, an inner cone,
three or four radial hollow struts or fins, and the necessary number of tie rods to aid the struts in
supporting the inner cone from the outer duct.

The outer shell or duct is usually made of stainless steel and is attached to the rear flange of the
turbine case. This element collects the exhaust gases and delivers them directly to the exhaust
nozzle. The duct must be constructed to include such features as a predetermined number of
thermocouple bosses for installing exhaust temperature thermocouples, and there must also be
insertion holes for the supporting tie rods. In some cases, tie rods are not used for supporting the
inner cone. If such is the case, the hollow struts provide the sole support of the inner cone, the
struts being spot-welded in position to the inside surface of the duct and to the inner cone,
respectively. [Figure 1] The radial struts actually have a twofold function. They not only support the
inner cone in the exhaust duct, but they also perform the important function of straightening the
swirling exhaust gases that would otherwise leave the turbine at an angle of approximately 45°.

Figure 1. Exhaust collector with welded support struts

The centrally located inner cone fits rather closely against the rear face of the turbine disk,
preventing turbulence of the gases as they leave the turbine wheel. The cone is supported by the
radial struts. In some configurations, a small hole is located in the exit tip of the cone. This hole
allows cooling air to be circulated from the aft end of the cone, where the pressure of the gases is
relatively high, into the interior of the cone and consequently against the face of the turbine wheel.
The flow of air is positive, since the air pressure at the turbine wheel is relatively low due to rotation
of the wheel; thus air circulation is assured. The gases used for cooling the turbine wheel return to
the main path of flow by passing through the clearance between the turbine disk and the inner
cone. The exhaust cone assembly is the terminating component of the basic engine. The remaining
component (the exhaust nozzle) is usually considered an airframe component.

The tailpipe is usually constructed so that it is semiflexible. On some tailpipes, a bellows

arrangement is incorporated in its construction, allowing movement in installation, maintenance,
and in thermal expansion. This eliminates stress and warping which would otherwise be present.

The heat radiation from the exhaust cone and tailpipe could damage the airframe components
surrounding these units. For this reason, some means of insulation had to be devised. There are
several suitable methods of protecting the fuselage structure; two of the most common are
insulation blankets and shrouds.
The components of the exhaust section include the exhaust cone, tailpipe (if required), and the
exhaust nozzle. The exhaust cone collects the exhaust gases discharged from the turbine section
and gradually converts them into a solid flow of gases. In performing this, the velocity of the gases
is decreased slightly and the pressure increased. This is due to the diverging passage between the
outer duct and the inner cone; that is, the annular area between the two units increases rearward.
The exhaust cone assembly consists of an outer shell or duct, an inner cone, three or four radial
hollow struts or fins, and the necessary number of tie rods to aid the struts in supporting the inner
cone from the outer duct.

Aircraft systems: Exhaust Section

Figure 2. Exhaust system insulation blanket

The insulation blanket, illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, consists of several layers of aluminum foil,
each separated by a layer of fiberglass or some other suitable material. Although these blankets
protect the fuselage from heat radiation, they are used primarily to reduce heat loss from the
exhaust system. The reduction of heat loss improves engine performance.
 Figure 3. Insulation blanket with the temperatures obtained at the various locations shown

There are two types of exhaust nozzle designs: the converging design for subsonic gas velocities
and the converging-diverging design for supersonic gas velocities.

The exhaust nozzle opening may be of either fixed or variable area. The fixed-area type is the
simpler of the two exhaust nozzles since there are no moving parts. The outlet area of the fixed
exhaust nozzle is very critical to engine performance. If the nozzle area is too large, thrust is
wasted; if the area is too small, the engine could choke or stall. A variable-area exhaust nozzle is
used when an augmenter or afterburner is used due to the increased mass of flow when the
afterburner is activated. It must increase its open area when the afterburner is selected. When the
afterburner is off, the exhaust nozzle closes to a smaller area of opening.