Propulsion in Aeronautic

02/05/2025

Kaidi rania
 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

o Introduction
o Piston Engine (moteur a piston)
o Gas turbine engine (moteur turbine a gas)

• Turbojet and turbofan (turboreacteur)

• Turboprop (turbopropulseur)
• Turboshaft (turbomoteur)
o Ramjet (statoreacteur)
o Scramjet (superstatoreacteur)
o Rocket engine (moteur a fusée)
o Conclustion
 Introduction

o Aeronautical propulsion is a key field of engineering that enables aircraft to generate the
thrust needed to move through the air or space.

o It is based on the fundamental principle of action and reaction, formulated by Isaac

Newton in his third law: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.“

o From the first propeller engines to advanced jet and rocket propulsion systems,
technologies have evolved to meet the needs for speed, and autonomy of airplanes and
spacecraft.
2-Piston Engine (moteur a piston):

An aircraft piston engine is an internal combustion engine that uses one or more reciprocating
pistons to convert pressure into a rotational motion. The aircraft piston engine operates on the
same principles as the engines found in most automobiles. However, modifications, such as dual
ignition systems, to improve redundancy and safety, and air cooling to reduce weight, have been
incorporated into engines designed for aviation use. Turbochargers and, less
commonly, superchargers can be added to piston engines to improve performance. Aircraft
piston engines are most commonly fueled with AVGAS An engine is called a four-stroke (or
four-cycle) engine because the transformation of the chemical energy of the fuel mixture into
mechanical energy occurs in two piston back-and-forth movements: intake, compression,
Ignition, exhaust.
3-Gas turbine engine (moteur turbine a gas)

A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The
main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas
generator or core) and are in the direction of flow:

 a rotating gas compressor

 a combustor

 a compressor-driving turbine.

Types of gas turbine

engine

1- Turbojet 2- Turboprop 3- Turboshaft

3-1 Turbojet and turbofan (turboreacteur)

The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a
gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide
vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine (that drives the compressor). The
compressed air from the compressor is heated by burning fuel in the combustion chamber and
then allowed to expand through the turbine. The turbine exhaust is then expanded in the
propelling nozzle where it is accelerated to high speed to provide thrust.

o Turbofan is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft propulsion. The
word "turbofan" is a combination of references to the preceding generation engine
technology of the turbojet and the additional fan stage.

o Modern turbofans have either a large single-stage fan or a smaller fan with several stages. An
early configuration combined a low-pressure turbine and fan in a single rear-mounted unit.
3-2 Turboprop (turbopropulseur)

 A turboprop is a gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller .it consists of an intake,
reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle.

 Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel is then added to the
compressed air in the combustor, where the fuel-air mixture then combusts. The hot
combustion gases expand through the turbine stages, generating power at the point of
exhaust. Some of the power generated by the turbine is used to drive the compressor and
electric generator. The gases are then exhausted from the turbine. the engine's exhaust gases
do not provide enough power to create significant thrust, since almost all of the engine's
power is used to drive the propeller.

3-3 Turboshaft (turbomoteur)

 A turboshaft engine is a form of gas turbine optimized to produce shaft power rather than jet
thrust. In concept, turboshaft engines are very similar to turbojet engines, with additional
expansion of the turbine to extract thermal energy from the exhaust gases and convert it into
 output shaft power which is connected to a gearbox ( gearbox) and main rotor. They are even
more similar to turboprops, with only minor differences

 Turboshaft engines are commonly used in applications that require sustained high power
output, high reliability, small size and light weight. These include helicopters...

4-Ramjet (statoreacteur)

A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to
provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3
(2,300 mph; 3,700 km/h) and can operate up to Mach 6 (4,600 mph; 7,400 km/h).

 it does not contain rotating parts which uses the forward movement to compress the air, the
combustion is continuous and it supports very high temperatures because it does not have a
turbine

 Ramjets can be particularly appropriate in uses requiring a compact mechanism for high-
speed, such as missiles.
5-Scramjet (superstatoreacteur)

A scramjet (supersonic combustion ramjet) is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in

which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. As in ramjets, a scramjet relies on high
vehicle speed to compress the incoming air forcefully before combustion (hence ramjet), but
whereas a ramjet decelerates the air to subsonic velocities before combustion using shock cones,
a scramjet has no shock cone and slows the airflow using shockwaves produced by its ignition
source in place of a shock cone. This allows the scramjet to operate efficiently at extremely high
speeds.
6-Rocket engine (moteur a fusée)

 A rocket engine is a reaction engine that generates thrust by expelling reaction mass
rearward, following Newton's third law. It typically uses high-speed jets of hot gases from
combusted rocket propellants but can also include non-combustion variants like cold gas
thrusters and nuclear thermal rockets. Unlike conventional engines, rockets carry their own
oxidizer, allowing them to operate in a vacuum and reach extreme speeds, even exceeding
escape velocity. Rockets propel various vehicles, from missiles and artillery shells to
spacecraft. While they produce the highest thrust-to-weight ratio, they are less fuel-efficient
than other jet engines.

1. Liquid fuel tank

2. Liquid oxidizer tank
3. Pumps feed fuel and oxidizer under high pressure.
4. Combustion chamber mixes and burns the propellants.
5. Exhaust nozzle expands and accelerates the gas jet to
produce thrust.
6. Exhaust exits nozzle.
 7-CONCLUSION
Today, research is focused on more efficient and environmentally friendly propulsion systems,
such as electric engines propulsion for space exploration. The future of aeronautical propulsion
relies on a balance between performance, sustainability, and reducing environmental impact,
paving the way for a new era of aviation and space exploration.