NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

FOR AERONAUTICS

REPORT 1375

A WINDTUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE

AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A FULL SCALE
SUPERSONIC-TYPE THREE-BLADE PROPELLER AT
MACH NUIUBERS TO 0.96

By ALBERT J. EVANS and GEORGE LINER

1958

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 -.
I

REPORT 1375

A WIND-TUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE

AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A FULL-SCALE
SUPERSONIC-TYPE THREE-BLADE PROPELLER AT
MACH NUMBERS TO 0.96

By ALBERT J. EVANS and GEORGE LINER

Langley Aeronautical Laboratory

Langley Field, Va.
 National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
HeadquarteTs, 1512 H Street NW., Washington 25, D. O.
Oreated by act of Oongress approved March 3, 1915, for the sup ervision and direction of the scientific study
of the problems of flight (U. S. Oode, title 50, sec. 151). Its membership was increased from 12 to 15 by act
approved March 2, 1929, and to 17 by act approved May 25, 1948. The members are appointed by the President,
and serve as such without compensation.

JAMES H. DOOLITTLE, Sc. D., Vice President, Shell Oil Company, Chairman

LEONARD CARMICHAEL, PH. D. , Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, Vice Chairman

ALLEN V. ASTIN, PH. D., Director, National Bureau of Standards.
PRESTON R. BASSETT, D . Sc.
DETLEV W. BRONK, PH. D ., President, Rockefeller Institute for
Medical R e earch.
FREDERICK C. CRAWFORD, Sc. D., Chairman of the Board.
Thompson Products, Inc.
WILLIAM V. DAVIS, JR., Vice Admiral, United States Navy,
D eputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air).
PAUL D . FOOTE, Ph. D ., Assistant ecretary of Defense, R e-
search and Engineering.
WELLINGTON T. HINES, Rear Admiral, United States Navy,
Assistant Chief for Procurement, Bureau of Aeronautics.
JEROME C. HUNSAKER, Sc. D., Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
CHARLES J. MCCARTHY, S. B., Chairman of the Board, Chance
Vought Aircraft, Inc.
DONALD L. PUTT, Lieutenant General, United States Air Force.
Deputy Chief of Staff (Development).
JAMES T . PYLE, A. B ., Administrator of Civil Aeronautics.
FRANCIS W. REICHELDERFER, Sc. D., Chief, United States
Weather Bureau.
EDWARD V. RICKENBACKER, Sc. D., Chairman of the Board,
Eastern Air Lines, Inc.
LOUIS S. ROTHSCHILD. PH. B., Under Secretary of Commerce
for Transportation.
THOMAS D. WHITE, General, United tates Air Force, Chief of
Staff.

HUGH L. DRYDEN, PH. D., Director JOHN F. VICTORY, LL. D., Executive Secretary

JOHN W. CROWLEY, JR., B. S., Associate Director for Research EDWARD H . CHAMBERLIN, Executive Officer

HENRY J. E. REID, D. Eng., Director, Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, Va.

SMITH J. DEFRANCE, D. Eng., Director, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, Moffett Field, Calif.

EDWARD R . SHARP, Sc. D., Director, Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio

WALTER C. WILLIAMS, B. S., Chief. High-Speed Flight Station, Edwards, Calif.

n
 REPORT 1375

A WIND-TUNNEL INVESTIGATION OF THE AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A

FULL-SCALE SUPERSONIC-TYPE THREE-BLADE PROPELLER AT
MACH NUMBERS TO 0.96 t
By AIJBER1' J. EVA NS and GEO R GE LI NER

SUMMARY thrust and power coefficients against propeller advance

An investigation oj the chamcte7'i tics oj a jult- cale super- r atio for a range of forward Mach numbers from 0.20 to 0.96 .
sonic-type propeller has been made in the Langley 16100t An aU'stream calibration of the Langley 16-foot transonic
tran onic tunnel with the 6000-horsepowe7' propeller dynamom- tunnel with the 6000-horsepower propeller dynamometer
eter. The tests covered a range oj blade angles Jrom 20.2 to installed in the test section is also included her ein.
60.2 atJorward Mach number up to 0.96 . SYMBOLS
The results showed that envelope efficiency at an advance
ratio oj 2.8 decreased jrom 86 percent to 72 percent when the A propeller-disk area, sq ft
jorward Mach number was increased jrom 0.70 to 0.96. A b blade width (chord ), ft
comparison oj the experi mental re ults with calculated results . p
howed that maximum propeller efficiency can be calculated power coeffi Clen t, pn 3D 5
with good accuracy by u ing ordinary ub onic trip the07'y
when the blade-section peeds are supersonic. The investiga- thru t coefficien t, ~D4
pn
tion also howed javorable power-ab orption propertie oj the Cl section lift coefficien t
supersonic-type propeller at high speeds. D propeller diamet er , ft
h blade-section maximum thickn ess, ft
INTRODUCTION
. V
The lack of aU'foil data and adequate theory at transonic J a d vance ratIo, n D
fligh t speeds makes the d esign and performance prediction
of au'craft propellers uncertain for high-subsonic- peed au'- M forward Mach number
craft. It is therefore necessary that the aerodynamic char- M vrop forward Mach numb er wi th propeller installed
acteristics of propellers designed to operate at transonic and operating
speeds be determined experiInentally . The experiInen tal forward Mach number with no propeller on
dynamometer
r esul ts not only are necessary to determin e the characteristics
of specific propellers but also to justify the assump tions that helical tip Mach number, M
are nece sary with r e pect to airfoil data and propeller
theory in th e transonic speed range. n propeller rotational speed, rps
Two facili ties of the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory of p power , ft-Ib/sec
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, namely,
the 6000-horsepower propeller dynamometer and the Langley
power disk-loadin g coeffi cien t, q~V
16-foot transonic tunnel, have mad e it possible to conduct q dy namic pressure, ! p V 2
full-scale propeller tests at tra nsonic speeds. The tests R propeller tip radiu s, it
of thi investigation are th e fu' t fu ll-scale propeller tests r radiu to a blade element, ft
to be made in th e transonic peed range and in a slo tted T thrust , lb
wind-tunnel test section. Th e inve tigation included mea - V forward velo city, fps
urements of t hrust and torqu e of the propeller , wake-pressure x fraction of propeller tip radiu s, T/R
surveys to determin e the blade thrust loadings, dynamic {3 blade angle
blade twi t mea urements, I-P vibratory- tress meaSUl'e- {30.75R blade angle a t O.75R, deg
ments, and a determination of the effects of propeller '1 effi ciency
thr ust on the tunnel-airspeed calibration. The aerody namic '1maz maximum effi ciency
data are presented in the form of plots of effi ciency and p air density, slugs/cu ft
tSu persedes recen tly declassified N ACA Research Memoran dum L53FOI by Albert J . E vans and George Liner, 1953.
2 REPOR'f 1375- NA'l'IONAL ADVISORY COMMI'fTEE FOR AERO AUTI CS

APPARATUS and photograph showing the arrangement of the dynamom- ,

LANGLEY I6-FOOT TR ANSO Ie TU NEL
The iDvestigation was mad e in the Langley 16-foot tran-
sonic tunnel. Th e test section i octagonal in cross section
with longitudinal slots permitting in terference-free testing
with the propeller dynamometer install ed to the top speed
of the tunnel as limi ted by the maximum power. Additional
details of the wind tunn el are give n in reference 1.
THE 6000-HORSEPOWER PROPELLER DYNAMOMETER
The 6000-hor epower propeller dy namometer i de cri bed
in reference 2. The two 3000-hol'sepower units of the dy-
namometer were coupl ed in tandem, and the propeller was
mounted on the forward end for the present tests. I n
order to obtain a radially uniform axial flow field in the
propeller plane, a long (2 .4D) cylindrical fairing extend ed
from a point upstr eam of the minimum area ection of the
tunn el to the propeller spin ner. Th e boundary-l ayer thick-
ne s in the propeller plan e caused by the cylindrical fairin g
was computed to be mall enou gh in magn itude to produce
no noticeable effect on the operating propeller. A sketch
eter a nd the cylindrical fairing in the tunnel are hown in 1
figures 1 and 2, r espectively.
A variable-frequency power upply allow continuous
speed control of the dynamometer . The rotational speed
i set manually with the aid of an aircraft tachometer and
measured to within X rpm on a Stroboconn, wh ich matches
rotational fr equ ency with the known fr equ ency of a tuning
fork.
Highly refined pressure gages convert pneumatic pre ures
from the tl1Tu t and torque cap ules in to direct readings of
tIuust and torque. Simultan eou Iy, spinner-jun cture pres-
sures arc mea ured on a micromanometer to correct thru t
reading for effect of air-pressure difference on the ends of
the rotating pinn er.
Th e pinn er diameter was 32 inches, the same as Lhe for-
ward cylindrical fairing and the dynamometer case . The
propeller blade airfoil ections extended inboard to the
pinner sm-face.
P R OPELLER
Th tluee-blade propeller used for this investigation had
a diameter of 9.75 feet. Th e blades were made from solid

Tunnel wall

Air flow
,......
l---r
9 .75'
32" l

I---- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- ---
--. -
'-----~\~----~-~--~~~----~---~---~------
- - - - _ _+ - - 1_ _ _ _ _ _- . - _

1/2" plate
Triadic support ...

Tunnel wa ll,

1.0

~
.8
Q;
.D
E
:J r ~LlLl LlLlLl LlLl Ll LlLlLl LlLlLl LlLlLl =, 66 'S
C
.!:: LlLlLl LlLlLl
u
0
.6
:2
"0
(; -~ I uu o OO U' I~ -~. U U 000 000 000
3
tf .4 , N 000 000 I VVV (V 0 000 000 000

.2

0
100 110 120 130 140 150 160
Tunnel sta tion, ft

FIGURE I.- Sketch of propell er dynamom eter and Mach number distribu tion in the Langley 16-foot tran onic tunne l with dynamometer but
without propeller. Flagged symbols indicate dynamometer body m ea urement wherea sym bols without flags rep resent t unn el-wa ll meas ure-
ment.
 AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AS PERSONIC-TYPE THREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MA CH NUMBER 0.96 3

L -75371
FIG RE 2.- Prop eller mounLcd on t he 6000-horsepo\\" r d y na mometer in t he La nglcy 16-foot t ranson ic t unn e l test
section (tunn el open, vic\\" looking dO Il' nstream).

6415 steel and had symmetrical 16-seJ'ies airfoil sections. are hown in figlJl'e 3. The propeller wa design ed to oper-
The blade-thickn ess ratio varied from 0.06 at the spinn er ate at a rotation al peed of 2600 rpm at a forward Mach
to 0.02 at the tip , and the chord was con tant for th e length numb er of 0.95 at 35,000 fee t altitude, con e ponding to an
of the exposed blade. Blad e-form characteri tic curves advance ratio of 2.2.
4 R E P ORT 13 7 5- ATIO AL ADVISOR Y COMMIT 'l'EE F OR AE R ONAUTICS

Developed plan form

\ .. Upper-rake posit ion

J
1\ ,I; }< v ' l

. 18 - , - r' , - _. 70

\
~.1 6 - I 66
-Q
1\
- - --\- - - -- -
eN
0"

I \
62
'0
.~ .1 2 .' \ " biD
58",
'"o
'0 '"
'0

:0 .10 I 54 cQ
11o ~
'\
:::".0 8 I "\ ..{3
-<:: I "\
0"
\ "\
e0 6
~
\ "'-
Plenum cha mber su rrounding
the t est sec t ion

'"
~.04

'"
-g.02
--- -
"'" I'--- I.hl b
i--::-
l- e-
"-
'-..,
i"--
42

38
Toto 1- pressure tubes
Static - pr essure tubes

iIi FIG U RE4.- Scctional vie\\" (looking down t ream) of dynamometer

o .2 .3 .4 .5
Froc t ion of tip radius,
FIGURE 3.- Blade"form characteristics.
W AKE-SU R VEY R AK ES
Th e wake-survey rake were constru cted so that the
orifices of the to tal-pre ure and static-pre m e probe were
2 feet ahead of the leading edge of t be rake strut which was
an 8-percen L-t hick circular-arc airfoil of con tan t 2-foo t chord .
The ge nC'ral arran gement of the dynamometer with the
wakC'-su)'vey rakes mou n ted wi th the orifice located 17
inches behi.nd the propeller cen ter line i shown in figures
2 a nd 4. B ecau e of the difficulty of te ting the propeller
at high fo rward Mach numb ers, a is explained sub equ entl)r,
the rake wcre set in the upper position for all te ts except
for rotational speed of 1600 rpm .
TESTS
MosL of th e tests wer e made at co n tant value of forward
'M ach numb er, and a range of advance ratio was covered b
vary in g the propeller rotational specd. One group of te ts
wa made with the propeller operating at a rotational speed
of ] 600 rpm to cover a complete range of blade angles at
low forward :M ach number. For these tests, the advan ce
ratio \Va varied by varying the tunn el a ir peed . During
the group of test at 1600 rpm, the tunnel ail' peed was
lowered un til flu tter \Va a udible at each blade a ngle tested
a nd, although no data were recorded at flu tter, the value
of forward NIach number at which flu tter occurred wa
determined.
I n many cases the range of th e test was limi ted by the
max imum dynamometer rotational speed and the available
dy namometer power . These limitations did no t permit the
and surv ey rakes moun ted in t he t est section . tation 127.
.6 .7 .8 .9
x
testing of the propeller at it de ign condition of operation
a nd al 0 did not permit te ting at low value of advance
ratio at the high er Mach numb ers.
CALIBRATION S
TUNNEL AIRSP EED
The tunnel airstream was calibrated wi h the dynamom-
eter installed in the te t s tation with no propeller . Th e
Mach number at which the propeller te t were r un was
et by a lV1ach numb er indica tor that wa r eferenced to
taLic pressure in the plenum chamber urrounding the test
ection . Th e r elationship between the 11ach n umb er at
the propeller plane (without propeller) and the Mach number
determined from the plenum static pre SUl'e was establ i hed
in the same manner a in r efer ence l. Evidence that pro-
peller operation ha no ignifican t eff ect on tunnel wall
pre sures is discu sed in a ubseq uen t section of th is repor t,
A plot of the longitudinal Mach number di tribution a
measured by static-pressure orifice neal' the ce nter lin e of
one of the tunnel-wali flats and along the dynamometer body
is hownin :figurel. At low speed (A1= 0.60) , thelongitudi-
nal i\[ach numb er distribution i uniform throughout the
tun nel te t cction. At the higher value of Mach number,
howevcr, a n acceleration of the tunnel air tl'eam is indi cated
in the region of the dynamometer upport tl'uts. Thi
accelera t ion , which is due to the partial blockage effect of
the suppor t truts, is accompanied by a deceleration of the
airstream ahead of the str uts in the region of tbe propeller
plane, The velocity gradien t through the propeller plane
is mali, however , excep t at the high t value of N1ach
numb er shown.
A compari on of the 1'e ul ts obtained from the orifices on
 AERODYNAMIC CHARACT~RISTI CS OF A SUPE RSONIC-TYPE 'l'HREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH NUMBER 0.96
the Lunn el wall with tho e obtained from the dynamometer
1 ody orifice showed a n egligible radial Mach number d if-
ren ce acro s the propeller plane ( ee fig. 1), the difference
Mach numb er being of the order of 0.005 at a tream
tIach numb er of 0.95. R es ults from static probes of the
vake-survey rakes in he lower posit ion ind icaLed a marked
ifference from the result hown in figuTe ]. The urvey
'ake indicated a gradually varyino- radial },fach number
listl'ibution wh ich amounted to a differe nce in Mach number
f about 0.05 from the dynamometer to the tunnel wall at
the highest value of :\Iach number. However , tbe te t
made at Lhe con tant rotational peed of 1600 rpm were
th e only tests mad e wi th t,h e wake-survey rakes ill the lower
posi tion. The tream t[ach number for the te t at 1600
rpm did noL exceed a val ue of about 0.70 , and the nonuniform
rad ial di LribuLion up Lo M=0.70 is negligible.
It i believed that with the urv ey rake in the lower
po ition a partial stream blockage wa ' caused by the proxim-
iLy of the wake rake struts 1,0 the dynamometer support
lruL which caused the inboard static probe to r ecord a low
velocity. hown in figur e 4, the dynamometer body
-orifice wer e in tbe upper part of the te t section , ouL of the
area of inAuen e of the struts, and the 1'e ults did not indicate
th low velo itie indicated by the rake probe. In the plan e
of the operating propeller, the nonuniformity of the axial
veloci ty di tr ibution with the rakes in the lower po j tion
wa further indicated by evere 1-P vibratory stresse at
a ~rach number of 0.70 whi ch became wor e a the Mach
number was increased. III order to overcome these lif-
ii.culties, it wa nece ary to move Lhe wake-sur vey rakes
to the upper position (:a.g. 4) . Tnfortu nat ely, no tunnel
calibration wa made without the propeller with the wake-
Ul'vey rake in the upper po ilion, alLhough alleviaLion of
the blockage eff ect wa indicated by lhe ab ence of the l-P
v ibration on the operating propeller eve n to the maximum
speed of the tunnel.
With the wake- urvey rake in the upper po ition, the
radial :M ach number distribution wa ther efore presumed
to agrce wiLh he r es ul t indicated by figure 1. From the
foregoing onsiderations, it has been concluded that the
propeller data presen Led in the pre en t report do not include
any detrimental effect that may b e considered to arise from
propeller operation in a nonun iform ail' tream and that the
value of t1' am Nlach numb er obtained from the tunn el-
wall orifice are thc value experienced by the operating
propeller.
DY ' AMOMETE R CALIBR ATIO
, tatic calibration of th e thru t a,nd torque m eter were
made in a manner imilar to that for the 2000-horsepowcr
propeller dynamometer de crib ed in reference 3. Th e cali-
brations were straight line when the indicated load wcre
plotted again t the appliecl load and the slopcs of the lin e
weI' determined by the method of least quare.
Th e probable error in the thru t cale r ead ing wa 5.6
pounds, which amounted to a maximum elTor of about 0.6
pOl'cent in the important operating range of the propeller .
5
The probable error in the total Lorque readings was 4.9
foot-pound , which was a maximum error of about 0.3 per-
cent in the range of propeller operation for peak efficiency.
REDUCTIO N OF DATA
TH R UST
P ropeller thru L as used herein i defined a the shaft
ten ion proehl ed by the aerodynam ic force acting on the
propeller bladcs from the pinner to the blade tips.
Th e aerodynam ic force 011 the roLaling pinn er were de-
term ined by runn in g the tunnel and the dynamometer over
a r a nge of airspeed and rotational speed wi th no propeller
in taIled and record ing the readings of the Lhru t cales.
Th e d lffel'ence in pres me b tween the upstream face and
t.he downstream face of the rotating spinner was r ccorded
simul taneou ly with the thru treading. The variation
of thru t with thc spinner-jun ture pre m e diff rence wa
on e traight line for all combination of tunnel ail' peed
a ll el dynamometer rotational speed. With this relation
determ ined, the . p inner-jun cture pre sure difference wa
mea u red for test points with the propeller operating and
the corre ponding value of thru t Wit subtracted from the
indicated cale readings a a Lare thrust. Propeller thmst
i , therefore, the indicated thru 1, of the propeller minu th e
pinner tare thrust cr eated by the differencc in pinn er-
junctme pre me between the up tream and down tream
faces of the pinner, the pinner skin-friction drag being less
than the accuracy of the thru t readings.
TO R QUE
Torqu e tarc readings were obtaine 1 s imulLan eou ly with
the thru t tare readings during the Lare run. The torqu e
tare forces varied with tunnel airspeed and to a slight exte nt
with dynamometer rotational peed. The variation with
rotational speed amounted to about 5 foot-pound for the
range of rota tio nal peeds pre en ted Jl erein. Th e variation
of torque with tunnel air p eed, however, was a straio-ht-
lin variation which amounted to about 55 foot-pound at
a val ue of ?-.fach number of 1.0. InherenL v ibration of thc
dynamomcter with the wind t unn el was bell ved Lo cau e
Lhe variation of torque with tunnel ail' peed.
The torque tare force for all rolational peed were
plotted aga in t a fun ction of tunnel airspeed and a Jaired
lin e wa drawn through the point. This procedure neg-
lected the small variation of torque with rotational speed
so that there \Va an HOI' of 2.5 foot-pounds. Propeller
torque wa the indicated torque reading millu the torque
tare reading.
WI ND - TU EL WALL CORRECTIO
A theory was presented in reference 4 for the olid blockage
inierfere nce eflect in circular wind tunnel with wall lotted
in lhe direction of flow. The theory indica.Led the po ibility
of obtain ing zero blockage interference at high subsonic
~1ach numbers , and to t on a model tunnel reported in th e
arne reference onfu'med the theorelical result. Pre ure
meas urement on a body of revolution in Lhe Langley 16-
foo t tran on ic tunnel are compared with mea mement
6 REPORT 137 5- NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERO AU'fICS

made on an identical body by the free-fall technique in included in figure 6 to 14. The curves indicate that data
r efer ence 5. The r e ult of r efer ence 5 showed that the obtained in th e positive range of operation can be extrapo
tunnel-wall interfer ence effect wer e neo-ligible up to and lated to mall negative value wi th good accuracy.
including 'M ach numb er 1.0 . The plot of thrust coeffici ent and efficiency in figure 1,
In order to check th e wall effec t of a slotted tes t ection for f30.75R=54.7 wa obtained from wake- ill'vey pre ur -
on an operating propeller, pre sure mea urement were data, since the tln'ust data obtain ed for thi particular te
made along a r egion of th e wind-tunllel wall extending from were beli eved to be elToneous becau e of difficultie whic
1.3 feet ah ead to 4.2 feet behind the propeller plane. The wer e encoun tered in the operation of the tlwu t cap ule.
r esult of th e pre sure measurements are presented in figuro In orne case the data have been extrapolated to define
5 a the var iation with tunn el station of the ratio of th e the efficiency peaks better. The extrapolated portions of
Mach number with the propeller operating to th e :vl:ach the curves arc hown in the fiO'ure a a da hed line. The
number obtain ed from calibration tes t without a propellel'. valu e of peak effici ency obtain ed by extrapolation arc
The haded area between the two cm ve include r epre- con idel'ed to be within the e>"'P erimental accuracy of the
entative data ob tained tln'ouo-hou t the entire Mach number data.
and propeller-thru t-co effi cient ranges covered in th e in- Di con tinuitie in some of the Mach number curve hown
vestigation . The scatter of points in the enclosed area of in figures 6 to 14 are attributed to change in air temp eratUl'fI
figure 5 is within th e accuracy of th e tunn el- peed measure- which occurred from day to day.
ment. The Mach numb er with the propeller operating THE EFFECT OF ADVANCE RATIO ON ENVELOPE EFFICI ENCY
was within abou t l.0 per cent of the value obtain ed
withou t th e propeller , and the tunnel l.ongitudinal {ach Figure 15 show the variation of envelope efficiency wiLh
numb er gradient with the propeller operating wa s entially advan ce ratio for everal value of forward 11ach number .
the same us hat obtain ed wi thou t the propeller (fig . 1). Th e most no tabl e fea t ure of the Cill've in figure 15 i hat
The variation of thru t coeffi cien t from a negative value the los in efficiency with an increase in advance ratio is
to a rela tively high po itive valu e did no t appreciably affect mall for any of the lIach numb er . Al though the design
th e Mach numb er ratio . ince it i eviden t that th e oper at- value of advance ratio (2.2) could not b reached at the
ing propeller had no ignifican t eff ect on the tunn el wall higher Mach numbers, th e trend of the curves indicate that
pressures, i t ha b een concluded that no wind-tunn el wall a sup er onic propeller design ed for an advanc ratio of 2.2
correc tion is n ce sary for the r a no-es of Mach numb er and will experience a los in envelope efficiency of only abouL
Lhrust coeffi cient over ed in th e present Le Ls . 1 pm'cen when operated a t an advan ce ratio of 3.2. A
advan ce ratio i increased above 3.2 the drop in envelope
ACCURA C Y efficiency i more rapid. The curves in fig m e 15 ugge t
In the significant ran ge of propeller operation th e data the po ibili ty that a super oni c propeller could be design ed
are accurate to 1.3 perce n t ba cd on the accuracy of the for advance ratios as high as 3.4. At th e e higher advance
tatic calibrations. How ever, the accuracy of th e faired ratios th e rotational peed would be mu ch lower, and the
curv e is believed to be within l.0 percent. stru ctural problem cau ed by large centrifugal force would
be less evere; th erefor e, thinner blade ection might be
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION u cd. Although there is an incr-ea e in the tend ency to
PRESENTATION OF BASIC RESULTS flutter, tb e u e of t hinn er blad e ection would be a definite
advan tage becau e of their high er lift-drag ratio at high
Th e aerody nami c data ob tain ed durin g t he te t are pre-
M:ach number . However the use of a lower rotational
ented in figm es 6 to 14 a fair ed curv e of Lhrust coefficient ,
peed would lower the power-ab orp tion proper tie of th e
power coefficient, propeller' efficien cy, air tream ::'-.lach num-
propeller with a given diameter , ince the power varie a
ber, and helical tip Mach number plo t ted against propeller
the cub e of the ro tational speed. Obviou ly, the selection
advan ce r a tio. The data tes t poin ts are in cluded on th e
of the proper advan ce ratio for a sup ersonic propeller involve
plo ts of thru st and power coeffici ents.
a compromise between aerodynamic and tructural require-
11a ny of the te ts were extend ed into the nega tive thru t
men t.
and power rnnge of opera tion and the data hav e been
COMPARISO OF CALC LATED AND EXPERI ME TAL VAL ES OF
ENVELOPE EFFICI ENCY

I t wa no t possible to test th e pre en t propell er at the

1.0 I It~r=nmmn;t;:;;:t::;:r,;Jn7t7l:m7t;mk:+--j
design operati ng condi tion since the maximum rotational
Mprop 1.00 t-----t'if-j-fjff7'f1f:fflW,f.Nf-h'IHhtJ'HHt'fl:ff-t'IHft17'-H,j----/ peed of Lhe dy namometer (2300 rpm) did not permit opera-
Mnoprop
tion at an ad vance ratio of 2.2 aL a forward 1I1ach number of
0.95. Ll'ip-theory calculations, however , hav e been macIe
.98 L----:c12:::S:---'----:-1:2::6:---'---.,.1c!:
27=--..l-- 1-!,.
28,,---L-- 1-!,.
29 - =---L--I-30
!,.-=---L----1
131 for th e efficiency of the propeller by using the method de-
Tunnel station, ft scribed in reference 3 and the re ult are plotted in figill'e 15.
F IGURE 5.- E ffect of prope ller operatio n on t he tu nn el-wa ll mea ure- The airfoil data, whi ch were cro -plotted and extrapolated
m en t for t he range of { ach number s and thrll st coe ffici ents ob- for u e with the blade-thickn es ratios of t he tc t propeller,
taineel in t he te ts. wer e obtained for the ca.leulations from reference 6.
 - - - - -- - -- - - - - --
I
l
AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUPERSO Ie- TY PE T H REE - BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH NUMBER 0 . 96 7
.2 0
-<Flutter boundary
V l- I I I
v III
1600 rpm
. 18 1\ l" ~
I"Q IQ I'Q 1\
1\ I
1,\ 1\
. 16
\ 1\ 1,\ \
1\
.~
1\ \ ~ r<. 1\
\ 1\
. 14 b f\
"\ 11 I I:> 1\ \
1\ 1\ ~ R
. 12 I 1\ I\, 1\ 1\
1\ -" C
11;>
\ \
\ 1\
. 10 i \ \ 1\
i\ \ 19 A
\ 1\
I i \ ,\ \},

.0 8
I}" \ r\ \
\
\ 1"\ 1\
I '"\ \"
c.
'u
;.::
.06 Ib
Q II:>
\

Qj
10 Q IQ \
o
(J
I)" \
.04 I \
'"\ \ 1\ ).,
I}"
Iq
1\ 1\ Iq . \ ~
.02
f3 O.75R = 20 .2 t-I- 2 5.2,-, ~ - 30.2~ ,....1- 35.zo'o 4 0 20 \
. c 45.4.;0 50 .8 ~

\ 1\ I"
o 0 \ \
\ "
-0 \
'\
-.02
I'?
b
\ \
\
" 1\
\
\ 1\
'I' III
- .0 4 l.1 \ 11
"\ 1\ 1\
10 q ,
I\., .\

-.06 \
"\
~
I' \
- .0 8

(0) "\
.2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1. 8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
Advance rat io, J

(a) Thru t coefficien t.

FW U R E 6.- Characte ristics of propeller . Ro tational peed , 1600 rpm ; M < 0.67.

On the basis of the nearly con tant calculated valu e of section were operating in a transonic speed range, where a
efficiency between an advance ratio of 2.20 and 2. 6, the mall elTor of Macb number or angle of attack might r esul
exp erim ental curve for a M ac h number of 0.96 is faired to in a large error in drag. The agreement at the lower ad-
J = 2.2 as shown in figure 15 . This extrapolation of the vance ratio hows that, when thc blade section speeds are
experimental curve indicates an efficiency of the test pro - supersonic, maxim um prop eller efficiency can be calculated
p eller for M = 0.96 , J = 2.20 of about 73 percent. There i with good accmacy by u ing ordinary sub onic trip theory
remarkably clo e agreem cnt shown between the calculated and the airfoil da,ta eompiled in r ference 6. The calcula-
valu e of efficiency for tbis propeller and the experimental tions of thru t and torque coefficients , however, were about
data in figure 15. In the wor t case (J =3 .7 ) the difference 20 pcrcen t below thc exp erimen tal values. Thi r es uIt
b tween the caleulated efficiency a nd experimental efficiency indicates that t he lift-drag ratios u ed in the calculation
is 0.025 , whereas at J = 2.86 the difference is 0.008 . For were satisfactory b ll t the values of both lift an d drag wer e
the calcul ations at J =3 .78, some of the effective blade somewhat low.
479517-59--2
8 REPORT 1375- NATIO AL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS

.56
1 --- =r ,- - ,-- '-,--
I ~
-'
III fL:-
I
I
I
1 - --,-- -\ -f- 1- ~L
1600 rpm
-f- I- 1-1-1-
.52 I I \
f--
r ,-
- I -r-f- I -f- I I
I I
.48
I
--, -f- r-' -,- - 0
I
I I
, -- -
I
-l-
T -~
.44 I I f- - -
I
I I ./ ~
-l-
I
I
r-I-
./ \ I ; ~
-I-
\ f-

.40 I
I
I V T ~ 1--
1\ i
I
I ~
=1 - ~
-f--

I .1 I
I -/- ~ -1- -l ! . I ,--
1_\c
.36 -' -'- .. .-l / - -r ! J
I I- ib 1 1 I 1
I
I
I
/
/
11
\ ' I
+-h\ I I
I I
I
9.
.32 I
I
I

Flutter boundary .. I\.

I
I r\ r- 'It-- ~ II t I" H- --!.
.l
I !/ \ [q' .-
i 1 r\ f- -t, i
I
IV- T q
.28
I
I
f- f- +- 117~ r- f-'- Q 1-'
,
r- ~
~
I
I
I
!
f r- 1---

i ~ - )- --
I X I
I}
C
I
I I / .\ 1- H-- \ - I---
r '- il I-
I
I
-r:; ~ ~\ 1H h~\ - t XI -1 r
I
'"
~~
.24
I I 1 1- i- -

~
I
L lGt: - \ I I
I
1\
Q
0
1\ r-f--t- L
.- -+ I I II

0;
~
.20
I
_I
I
I
/
'\.
j. l- -~ t- I - f- \
H-HI
.\
I
I

I
0
(L

I
L "]\
...'. I -- -, ,\ f- I r f- ~ +H r - 1
:- 1-
I I

. 16 I
r-t -- ~ I
.1 , \ r- ~
"\ I
)., I
c
- ~ f-r- -L
f
I I I I I \.. I

1 0. I I I 1'( II
0... I 1\ I , I I l..
.12
I \ I b I

I <'\~ I\. , -'- J I 1\

.08
/3 O.7SR = 20.2~~ H-- 25.2[>. 30.2 3520
. t{
\
I I O
14 .2 "l r r-
.1
45.4 I 50.8
I~
I 'Q -'I I
I '\ '-\ I I}, I II I
I ~
Q "\ I "\ I 1'1 I

.04 I Q. \ II
I I I 1- R \ I }, "? I\,
I I \ \
I I 13- \ I
I
0
I I b \. L\.
I I I I "1 \ \ _\
I I I I 1'1{ \ 1\
I I I I
6,
\ a.
,b
- .04 I I
I I I I'" 1\ 1\
l}, .h
I I I I 1\. 1
- .08 ! :J...! 1\
I i I I
Ib
I I I I I I
(b) i I
!
I
I !
I
I
.2 .4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
Advance ratio, J

(b) Power coeffici ent.

]< WURE 6.- Co ntinued .
 - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -' - ' - - ----------- - -- - ,- - -- - --

AERODYNAMI C CH ARACTERIS'l' ICS OF A SUPERSON I C-T YPE THREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH N UMBER 0, 96 9

- o~
J
~ ~

1\ 1\
[\ \

f- f-- E V e-
I
\

~ -
10

f- f -
e- / 1\
f- f -
0
0 \
~
\
1\
\ 1\
I 1\
\
\
II
\
~ ~I - \ \
\1\
\ ~ -
<;t

/ \ \ 1\ \
\ N
N
{ \
\ 1\
I
\ 1\
1\ \, \
f\. N
i--- L.- - 0<;t _

v
v '\
~\
\ ~ "Ci
I \ '""0
..." :::
1,\ :>.. Q
\ 1\ 0-

,
C)

:;:: r::l r::l

0
1\ \ N
ICi \D ,.,eu '"
'<3 0
k: r<J !fl I
~ <0

1\
/
'" '" f"\ 1\ <to
'U
<1.
~

~
S
0
i'1

....

,
f\.
~ f-t-
1"\

N
~ -
f'::.<

V I f'-,
{ "'- II
\ "- \

'" :><
(
~

I "- \
N
ICi
N
-

i'-- \
\
~
. . . . f><
f'.,
b..
1\
.
N
0
N
-
I( ........ \ <t
t'-... ~ \ III

6-
""" f'. 'I'--..
I"--
co.

f'-.. I'-- 1
r--.. \
........ 1'--..
j--...

2
-
~ o
u. '~:lua ):lljJ 3
10 REPORT 13 7 5-NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERO AUTICS

.22

M =0.60
.20

\
\
.1 8
\,
\

.16 \
\ \
rt;>
\ 1\ \
b \ f\
.14

\
1\ -'"
.1 2 6
~
\ \
\ \
.10
\: \
L\
~ \ ~
\
.08
\ \ ~
\
1\ \
l'b ~ <
'\ 1\
1\
\, \ \
.04
\
\ "-.
'<{ 1\
.0 2 '\ '\
1\ 1\
'\ 1\ \
0
f30 .75R =50.8 54.7 0 602 0
\
. \
o \
\ \
\ '"\
~ 1\
- .0 2
\ \ \
1\
\ ~
\
- .04
\ \
\ \

q \
- .0 6

1\
\,
-.0 8

(0)

- .1 02.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6
Advance ratio, J

(a) 'fhru t coefficient.

F ICURE 7.- Cha ractc>r i. tics of propeller. Forward Mach number 0.60 .
 AERODYNAMIC CHARA CTERIS'fI CS OF A SUPERSO I C- 'l'YPE 'l' HREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH NUMBER 0.96 11

.8

M =0 .60
.7

'\
\
.6
~ R,
P \
1\ 1\
\
.5 1\ \
\ ['\..
'I: \ \
1\ I~
q \
.4
l'i i".. \
\;
\ i\ \
c
.~ .3
\
"" 1 "\ \
~ 1\
"q ~
j 1\ \
.2
~ \ 1\
y, 1\ c\
\ '\
I
I) " \
\ \
1\ \
1\ \ \
o
\ 1\
I~ \
q "\ 'b,
.80 75R =50.8 \ 54.7 0
\ 60.2 I-- I--
. \ 1\
I

\ \
(b) ,'..
~
2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6
Advance ratio, J

(b) Power coefficient .

F I GU RE 7.- Continued.
 - - - - - - - - - - - - -_ . _-- - --.~-- ----

12 REPORT 1375- NATIO AL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERO AU TICS

+ + +-
I.U
'W-
I I I
I -L -L -l-
I I - - . - --
~ r-
~+
1 1 1

+1
I
~ -L L
~ I I
- 1--;-
I
-I ~ I I- M = 0.60
I I I I I 1
.9 I
I I \

- ~- - r - - 1--,--
r i 11 I f-+- C-- -

.8
[
~
I -
"" \/
,.....,V ~
\ I :
I
/"
- r--,.
~
I / 1\ -
I
., ~+ "'-
r-r- 1
I
'----.....- I
I I
\ I
'"
I

'----
t ~ '- 1 -
r: r--!- I
1 \

i+ H
I 1
.7 1.4
I
I \
'--- -
I
I ~ I I -
\-r I
I

- ~- - I f- .. l - - - --1_
r I
~
\
.6
\ 1. 2
I \ I
.L
1 I
-I --1_ ~- I I- r 1-1-
Y- 1
I
I -LI - -
1\
,,-
,;;
u l-
I I I
I \ .8E
c
Q .5
I \ 1.0 E
W ----
1 - . - t:--: -..... ~ '"-- L -+- -L -
:r 1
- \ .c
:
I--- I- u
I \ o
l-
- r-- f-l- 2
I

J+ ,L W
I

.4
- -
'--r1 -- -
I =--+- M, - I

.8
'~ ~ I-- ,-1- t ., 1 'I ,-1 l-
t t I

~
+ :-L1+
I
+-
r t - r-l - M
i - . - I--- - -l- I
.3 I .6
'I
~
I

+- Ll t _I
I
I ,
f3 0.75R =50.8
I
1-
t- - I
-
I

54.7
~
H 1
J
1
1
~
I

60.2
.2
I
I I I I I I I I
\ .4
I I I I
I \ I
1 I - - --L I
_I
1 I I 1 I i I .2
I I 1 J I
I I I I
Ie )
I 1 I
I 1 I o
2 .6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3. 8 4.0 4.2 4.4
Advance rat io, J

(c) E ffi ciency.

F I GU R E 7.- Concluded .
 AERODYr AMIC CHARAC'rERIS'rIC' OF A SUPERSO Ie- TYPE THREE-BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH UMBER 0.96 13

.20
[q

.IS
1\ M0.70
\
[I)
.16
\

.14
[6
_\
I;>

.12 \ [0
\ '\
0
\ 1\
.10
PI \ \
'-\
\
1\ i\
1 't
.oS '\
'\ t
\
I)., ').,
~- .06 \ I\, a
J. \ [\
:g
., ~
o
u
_ .04 cI. \ 1\ \
on \ ~ \
f-'"
['Q
~ \. I~

.02
1\ '\ \ r\
),
\0 \0
5Q8" \
'-\
{30.75R .45.4 "\ 54.7 \ 60.2 ,\
o \" [ \
1\

-.02
".I. \
\

Q 1"-
-.04
1\ 1\
\

-.06 1\ \
\
\
-.oS \.

(a)

2.0 22 2.4 2.6 2B 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 38 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.8
Advance rat i o, J

(a) Thru t coeffi cient.

FIGURE .-Characteristics of propeller. Forward Mach number 0 .70.
14 REPORT 1375- NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERO AUTICS

.8

.7
"\
M = 0.70.
.6 "\ _\
i\ ~
\
~
.5
f--'- '\ \
)., \.
.4
R \ \
\ . '\
'9
PI
\
\
'\ '\
, '\ \ 1''0
I\V !q ?
\ 1\
1\
.1 1: IS
1,\
t '\ _\
f3 0 .75R =45.40 r., 50.801; 54.7 0 60..20 \
o I-

1'0
-.1
'\
I\: ~
-.2
1\

(b)

1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 40 4.2 4:4 4.6 4B
Advance folio, J

(b) Power coefficient.

FI GUR E . -Continu ed .
 -- - - -- -- - - - -~-----

AERODYNAMIC CHARAC'l'ERIS'rICS OF A SUPERSONIC-TYPE ~I'HREE-BLADE PROPELLER TO MA H NUMBER 0.96 15

I.O ..---r---r-..-r-,--,.---,--,--,-r--r---r-,--r---r-"---'-'---'--'-"---j T T~ r . r r T
I I Tl---+---+r---1

H-+--I-+--+-t--H1:-+}+f-
.9 ~-~
; -+~~~~
1->--1
I--~+--+-,~--~-+,-~~~~~~-r1~~-7I-r~~r+-r~7-~~~+-~~
-l-++~ ~ ~+- Hi=t-i ~~ +--!----;--+ 1 M=0.70
I
-I---

I
r-
1--+-+---+--1--+1-\-\-t---1--t--t--t-t-
I
I
-+ f_ -l-~---:;!--.J----1
<C4--__t_-+-t----'LI- 'PJ\
-l--t--I--- r-+,~-f--
-1-----
I~1=I I~
1
.8 ~~,=:=~~~I---4--
I\I------+
l -t-_--r-I--!-~--r-
~--'-----,r\\---+-~+--+--1W 1-+-i[--+--+I-t--f--;--1--l--+tl----"-.\-+~---',ttf---l---:--:-+-+--++---1--1
---+f_-~~-j--'---+

.7
H-i --i--t-+-+---1--+-+--l----1rl-l---i-+-+
I
\\t--f--+----I-~+---+--+---"-+\+--+1
I I --'- -- 1
-+-+--+--+-+-f-I-+----
--+---r-
-r- ----f f---,\"i.- t-t-+--t-+-f-
-j:f-l
\\r I--I-if--+-t-----1

:==~I~~~---++_-+-I--_--M-
-t-tt+-;-+-'---'I---,--t--+---'-+---I-- ~ _~ ~-+I------+--+-f--'-f---++-'--+
.6 - ~ I ! - , --; I- -r--f- I- I "-- -+ +-t---+--+-+--+-+-f- 1.2

-;-"'r-- - - - I ! r--+- 1 f-r--

-+--,---+-+--1-
t- \
i-t-t--+ 11-t--l1--+---1
~- 1 ~ r-~ .- -1--1-- 1.0
I .+--t-i-+---t---t--t- -+-+--+--+-11-+-+-__1
I
I
r-I-- - +H---t-~

! ; I j
4 ~--+-+-__t_+-r-~--+--t--I--t-+-~~_+-~_+_~+_~I--t-~~~~-~+-+---f---j-+-r--l-r,rl-+--lf--+-+-H+-+~ 8
t-I---r
. J I

~_+-+-_+_+_+---~_+_r--j--+-+--rl_+~--lf-._+---rl-+-~.-~_+-+--j- ~ +-~~-+-r~-t-+-~-+-+~-+--1
r- +---~I__+_+_t__t_+-~f--+_+-t---+--+-+_t--l__+_+_t__+_+_+___~_+__1 '"
.D
E
I
.3 1--- j -t -/---t--t-- - , - -- r- i-t---t--t -t-t--t- -t--I--l---l----l 6
:0
c:
T

I I ..c;
u
o
1-- -- - -r-- :2
r 1

,----- - f _ l...-.1f--+-++---j

(c) r--+-t---t--+-r----H---j-T i l l
~SO--~~2~
.2--~~2~4--~~2~.6~~~2~.8J-~~3~O-~~3~2~--~3.~4--+---~36~--+---lC-~3B~~--lC-470~~~74.~2~LW~4R
Advance r~tIO. J

(c) Efficie ncy.

FI G HB .- oncluclecl.

479 517- 59- ;>'

--~--.~ - - -- '-'-'-' --~-" ------

]6 REPORT I 375- 'NA'I'IONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERO Au'riCS

.18
\
M=O.74
.16
\ \
1\ 11,
\ \,
~
.14
~
\ 1\ \
~
.12
l'b \ &
\ \
/\
1\ 1 Ll
.10 ~ \ \
\
1\ ~
I~ I~
.08
\ \ 1\
\
'\
1,\
1\ \ \
c ~
~
;g .06
1,\ 1\
Q;
o
u 1\ \ '\
1\ \
f?
.04 \ 1\
.~

_\
1\ /\
\ R \
.02
b \
\ \
f--
;\
0
f30.75R=50.8 \ ....4.7
\
60.2
\ I--

Il l~
\ \
-.02 ~

1\ \
q
\
-,04
11 1\
.i
'1
1-(0)
I
2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4
Advance ratio, J

(a) Thru L coefficienL.

FI(1lJnr-: \).- 'haracLeri Lics of propell er. Forward M ach number 0.74 .

. -,.- - - - - ---
 AERODY rAMIC H ARACTE RIS'II CS OF A SUPERSO I C- 'rYPE T HREE-BLADE PROPELLER '1'0 MACH NUMBER 0.96 17

.8 --
1'1
\
M=O.74
.7
l'b
b
\

.6
'\
~
\ " \
0
_\
\
.5
~ q -
1\
\, \
\ \ \
.4
\
~ ~ \
\ \ 1\
ccu 1\ 1\ \
Tj

~ .3
'\ \ 1\
o
<.) I~
\e
Q
\ "\ I
~.

.2
\ \ \
\
I~ \ 1\
\ \
.1
1\ \ 1\
l3o.175R= 50.8 0 ~ 54 .7 60)
. \
\
~ 1\ \ 1
1\ 0\
o \ \ I
~ \ J
I
~
- .1
_\q -f- I- ~
1

L~
1

- .2
2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6
Advance ra I i 0, J

(b) Powc r coefficicnt.

FrGUJm 9.- Con t inu ed.
 ._---- - - - - -" - ' - -- _._ ._ -- -.----- - -- - -

1) REPORT J 3 7 5-1 A'f'IONAL ADVI ORY OMMITTEE IcOR AEHO I AU'I'I CS

1.0 r I

1
,
1 I j 1
~ , ,
I
,- 1 I
1 ,, I 1 I
.J
:J_- I ...
I

-- -
I
- -
-

-
t
- --
~ j
I
,

.. -
I

.-
M = 0.74
I I j

I
~
-L-
.9 - ~
I
-
I
f- - -
I
~

---'- I - ~
I-- L
I
--
HI
-
r
-
i
I
L
/ ~;
- .{L
i
/'
V
~ -

D,
r-\ -
- t - -"

+- ~ ~r
-
...

~
~-
1 I

+
I

l
I

~
:
~
.8
~.
f-

- f-.. - 1--'
--1 \- I
\
\ I I I
I
I
\
1\ I t- f-----:

.7 I - - - [-J -
.. -
t
\
f-

I
- - -
,\
I
I
.-
I ~
I I
\ 1- \!-- ~
Lt--- I 4
I

.~
I
"t""- . - . -- f----c-- l--r . - -t- ~- - -'- ~

f-t-- \~
I

-- -:- - .....
I
I- f-- I -
.6 ..
-----
.. ~~- -I l"- . -
1-1- -
- ' - f--
~ '--
I
..,
1-+\ f - f-- f--

f-- f---
I.2

L- I .. .~ r-----r-.
I---t----
.....
I - .....1 L
~ 1 e- . J
I -
-

-
f-..
f-..
-
..
- I--

T - -i--

I
------ r---r--
I
I

1M,
.. -t-~
I

t
I

T
I ~ f -
T
t -
R'
~ .0
. .. - .
- - I I

- -- - " \--- -j-

I I I I-- \ = I-

.4 - . 1
- -- -1 I
I

I
I
f
I I
I
8

t-H-
M
- f- .. .. - .. .. - - ..
t -J ~ ....,. + .. I
T
;

- - --'- J.. "I J.. I .cg

.3 - " - .. - ;j . - .. -
! .. - - -
I
--'I
+-H- I
I .6
~

-
-
.. --
.. .. -
..
I

,
1
I
j
I L
.. '1
..L
..
I
j L - I I I
,
-,
J
I
f---

1
~

iTR
.2 - , ..
- - - (30.75R= 50.8" II j
54 .1'
- t + ~

I 60.2~
.4

. 1 _-
~

I
~ .. . . t .. - I-- - ....,.
.. 1 j
I
. t - -
,
- --
.. . . .. .. , . . . .. - f-. .2
I I 1
.. .. .. .. .. + -, ~ .. ~ .. .. 1" . : f ~ f-- ~
I
T
I
(c) r I
-
II I 1
I
L ~
I

I I o
2.6 2.8 3.0. 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4
Advance ratiO, J

ec) Efficiency.
F IG RE !J .- Co ll cluclecl .

- - - - - - - - --
 AERODYNAMI C CHARAC1'ERIS'rI CS OF A SUPERSONIC- TYPE THREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MA CH NUMBER 0.96 19

.16
\

1\ M= 0 .80
~ \
.14
Ih
I~ b
\ \
.12 ~
\ q
\
}, 1\
.1 0
\ \ '\
\
1,\ \
\ 1\
.0 8 \ 1\
~
\ \ \
C
\
~ \
.!!! 1\
~ \ \
Q)
.0 6 U'
0
u \ 1\
tii
::J
1:
d \ \
I-- \
.04
1\
b 1\ \
\ -\
1\
.02 1\ \
\ rI ~

\ \ 1\
60.2
o
I\, 1,\
- !~
f30.75R-50 .8 \
54 .7\

\
-.02 10\
~ \
(0) Ih
\

2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6
Advance rat io, J

(a) Thru st coefficien t.

FIGmm lO.-Characteristics of propeller. Forward Mach numb er 0.80.

H9517- 59- 4

- -- - - ~ --- ~-
~--""-- - - ----- -~ -- - "- - - - - -- - - -

20 REPORT 137;)- KA'I'IONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS

.8 I
I

M=0.80
.7
...:i.

"0- I

.6
\
1\
1\ '\
\, r'?
.5 ~
~
1\
1\
.4
1\
I~ \
h 'I 1\
~
C
.!!1
u
1\ \
~
., .3 IQ \
8 \ \
1\ 1\
\ 1\
I~ \
.2
'q l\
I\> \
Iq \
I 1\ '\
I~ \ ~
\ 1\ \
/30.75R : 50.8 !\
54.7~ 60 .2
o I \ 1\
1'0 ~"
\ \
~"
I
I

(b)

. 22.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 .0 4 .2 4.4 4 .6

Advance ratio. J

(b) P a we r coefficient.
FIGU R E 1O.-Co ntinued .

- - ._--- -- -- -- _._ - --
 AERO DYNAMI C CHARACTERIS'rICS OF A SU PERSONIC-TY PE 'I'HREE-BLADE PROPELLER TO MA CH NUMB E R 0.90 21

1.0

M= 0.80
.9

- r- r----.
.8 """ V ""-. \
\ / 1'\ ~
\ 1\
\ \\
.7
\ '\ 1.4
\

'\
...... t---
.6 t-- r- 1.2

I""
r- ;--
- r- r-- f-
M/
Q)
.D
~ - ,\ E
I .0 ~
~.5 i - ~
:~ u
o
1:5 :2

.4 M .8

.3 .6

.2 .4

/30 . 75 R = 50.8 54.7 60.2 '

I I 2

(cl

3.8 4.2
o
2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 4.0 4.4 4.6
Advance rot ia, J

(c) Effic ie nc y.
FI G RE lO .-Co ncluded .
 R EPORT 13 7 5 -NATIO AL ADVISORY COMMIT'rEE F OR AERO AU'l'I CS
./ 4

M =0.84

.12

\ \
.10
\ \' -Extrapolated
I

~ I
\ \
\
i \
.08 '\
\ \
\
1
\ 1\

\ \
r-- ~
\ 1\ L

\ \
\ \
'\

\ \
\ \
~
.02
1\ 1\
1\
\ I

0
1\

i3a.75R =50.8 t- - 54 ~!\

:\ .

V\
\ i
1\
-.02
\
~
(0)

2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6

Advance rat io, J
(a) Thru t coeffi cient.
F IGURE ll .-C ha racteristic of prop eller. Forward Mach nu mber 0.84 .

- -- -- - - - --- - - - -
AEROD YNDMIC CHA RA CTE RISTICS OF A SUP E RS ONI C- TYP E T H REE- BLA DE P R O PEL LER TO MACH NUMBER 0.90 23
.7

.6
M= 0.84

.5

[\ \
.4
\ " E xtrapolated

\ 1\

r\\ \
--

.3
1\
'\
~o..
\ \
r\ 1\
\ \
2 1\ 1\
\ \
-1\ 1\
\ ~
'\
I
},
~ _\
(
/b o

f3 0 .75R =50.81
1\
0
\ 54.7 \
\
0

~.
'\

(b)

.2
2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6
Advance ratio, J
(b) P ower coeffi cient.
F lGC R E 11.-Contin uC'c1 .
 ~ - - -- - - - - -- - - -- - -------

24 REPORT l 3 75- rATIONAL ADVISORY COMMl'l"J'EE FOI'!. AERONAU'JICS

.9

t-- M =0.84

.8
- --."
~ Ex trapatated)
..........
f""
~ \

.7
1\
~\
--
r\ t-- r--- 1-- -,

I. 4
1\
j
--- r--- r-- r-- \
1
.6
I:--- I - M, \ I. 2
- 1--r--
J\ rJ - 1--l -

.5 I.o

w
M
.4 .8

-- r----'
3 .6

2 .4

(30.75R =50. 8 54 .7

.1 .2

(e) I
0
2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4
o
3.6
Advance ratio, J
(c) Efficiency.
F IG RE I I.-Concluded.

l
 AERODYNAMI C CHARAC'l'ERlSTI CS OF AS PERSONIC-TYPE ' I'HREE-BLADE PROPELLER '1'0 MA H NUMBER .96 25

.18 , -,- ,- '-'-

.16
I \ -
M : 0.89
\

.14
Iq \
\
f--- f- - - I--- i - I- f- f-- r--- f- ~ -
1\ - --
.12 ~ \
v
1\
.--Ex tra polated
1\ 1\ t--
\ i
1'1 I
.10 1\
'I
I\> 1
I
\
\' \ ,
\
i\'
\> I \
.08 I~ I

....
\..)
b
-
- \ --'- - !--- - ~
L 1\ - -1-- 1- - .-

c., \ !q \\
'u
;;=
Q; .06
0
u
I~ ,
-\ !-- . - -
i
-j- t- \
v; \ I 0\ -- -
~P
(
2 I J
.c - I-- t-
I-
1\
, t- 1\
.04 I
\ I I j,
t--- 1\ L

1 ~ Ll
1\ I .1\
.02
\q
!
\
\
I t- H- I
-
-j-

b
f--

, I I
1-
C \
o L\ 1. \
.B 0.75 R =50 .80\ I I 54.7~\ I 60.2" \
- - - f--

II I
I _
- ~ \
~
-.02 ,
\
" \
f-- ' - - f-
\
!-- -f--- I-- --
.)..
-.04 ,
f-- f-- - I-- '- -
. _ ' - - I-

(0)

2.6
- '-
2.8 3D
'--'--
3.2
'---: '--L..
3.4
L l-L
3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4
_1_
4.6
Advance rat io, J

(a) Thru t coefficient.

FIGunE 12.- CbaracLcri tic of propeller. Forward Mach number O. 9.

20 REPORT L37:)- 'NAT IONAL ADVISORY COMMI'I'TEE FOR AER01\A T I C

.9
'1
\

1\
q M= 0.S9
.8 I
I 1\
1
I
\
\r,
.7
1 1 \
1
: I
\
.6
1 . \
\
Q 1\
I
\ \
.5 I 1\ ~
1 ~ \
f\
I
\ ExtroPoloted
~ \,
.4 \
\ \
1\
I r'\ ~
<l.l .3 \ \
& JO\ 1\
I
ell \ ~
1\ 1\
.2
't '\ '\
1\
'9
/3 0.75R = 50S
o
'\ 54.7
0
\ 60.2 1
I
1\ 1\
b \ \
\ ~

o f\ 1\ \
p

.1

(b)
2
. 2.4 2.6 2.S 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.S 4.0 4.2 4.4 4 .6
Advance ratio, J

(b) P o\\'cr coeffici ent.

1,' I GUHE 12.- Conti nu cd.
 AER .oDYNAMI C CH ARACTERIS'l' I CS .oF A SUPERS.oNIC-'l' YPE THREE- BLADE P R.oPELLER T.o MACH N UMBER 0 .96 27

1.0 ,
1 1
I
I I
M =0. 89
.9

.8

""":'" r-
..........
f\
.7
~ 1\
'\

\
- ..........
1.4
, ~

t\ t:--- "'" '\

, ' r- 1--1- \
, 1\ I'- I'-
h-r-
--
"~
.6 ~ , M/ 1.2
, \ \ \
: \ \ \
t-- - - Ex trapolated:,
'"
,:;
,

..
u
c
'u
.5
1\
1.0

-
W
- ~
-
"
M
\
J
4 8~
.0
E
::>
c
.c
u
o
.3 6 :::;

.2 4

{3Q75R = 50.8" 54 .r 60. 0

(c) t-- I-

2.6 2B 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 .0 4 .2 4.4

Advance rat io , J

(c) Efficiency.
F I GUR E 12.- Concluded.
2 REPOR' 1375- ATIONAL ADVI SORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS
.16

,.-
-

M = 0.93
.14 -
- r--- - - - -

-. _.
I
I
.12
.~ -~ I
Extrapolated
I ~
~
\ ~t ~
I- -+-- -
I \
- -r--- t--

.10 '- t-- ~

IT
~\ r \
T - 1-r----t 0
r -

~ \ ~ ---l-.-
I \
~ .-

.08
,
r I.\,
I I ~
1\ I \

~ I .1 ~
:e
~ ~
.... I
~ .06
C
t--
\ I
ell
'0
I
I 0
1\ --
ell
o
<.)
1 I'f> ' ! \
<J>
:>
.c .0 4 I \ I i
I
! 1\ I
I-
I i I ! I
\
!
I
\
I
I ~ 1
1\
.0 2
\
I
I
\
v'\
\ ' : ,
1
I I

\ .1 1\
I I
I \ II
I
\
0 \ ,
1,\ . 1 \ ' - f--

1 \
\ ~
,

-.0 2 I 1\
f3 0 .75 R = 54.7"\
I
60.20\ -
U\

- .0 4
1 1\
~
(a)

6
- .0 2.8 3D 32 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 42 4.4
Advance rat io, J
(a) Thrust coefficient.
FIGURg 13 .-Charactc ri tics of propeller. Forward Mac h number 0.93.
 AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTI CS OF A SUPERSONIC-'l'YPE THREE -BLADE PROPE LLER TO MACH NUMBE R 0 .96 29
.8

M = 0.93

.7

.6
'"\
1\
\
~
.5 \
1"\\ 1\
...Extrapolated
\
\
.4
1\ \
\

\ 1\
C
41
'u
~ .3
o
u
r\
\
1\
'\
1\
\
,
I
i
I
\
Itt
Q)

& i
"\0
.2
\ 0\

1
1\
,
'\ \
Ib 1\

I
\ \
c ~
\ I~
\
/3 0 .75R = 54 .7" 60.20\r--
o 1\ I
'\ 1\
I~ \
\ ~

- .1

(b)

-'~8 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4 .2 4 .4

Advance ratio, J

(b) P ower coeffi cient.

FIGUR E l 3.- Continued.
30 REPORT 1375-NATIO AL ADVISORY COMMIT'l'EE FOR AERONAUTI CS

1.0

M : 0.9 3

.9

.8

. E xt r apala ted
I
- r-. f-l' '-
-I

.7

-- - ""-

r--. r-
~
\
1\ r-- I---I---r--
I
I-- -..........
I'-....

'" 1\
.6
\ Mf
i--
1,2
t--- ..\
1\ \
: \ \

\\ 1\
>.
~ .5 \ 1.0
.~
u \
M
w I
\ _\
A
\ \ .8
\
\
G;
.0-
E
::>
.3 .6 c
I .c
u
o
II ~

.2 4

{30.75 R - 54.r 60.2

I .2

(c )

o 3.6 3.8 4.0

o
2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 42 4.4
Advance rotio, J

(c) Efficiency.
FIGUR E l3 .-Concluded.
 -~----~--

AERODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTI CS OF A SUPERSONIC-,]~YPE THREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH NUMBER 0.96 31

./4

1\ \
M=0.96

.12
1\
\ \
/ -Exl rapala l ed 1\
\
\ \ 0
1\ 1\
./0
\ \
1\ f\
\ \
1\ ~
.08
\ \
1\
\ \
\ 1
1\ - -- -
.06
\ \ J
\ \

c...
1\
'0 \
-_-Wo ke surve \
:E .0 4 \-
o
o'" \ \
\ I
\ \
\
.0 2
'\ I
- /--
\ 1\
I

\ I~
o
\
\
\
\ 1\
\
f3 0 .75R = 54 .7 i \
60.2 \
-.0 2 \

1\
\
\
-.04
II
\
(0 )

3.0 3.2 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4

Advance ralia, J

(a) Thr u t coeffici ent.

F I G URE l4.- Ch aracteristic of p ropeller . Fo rward Mach numb er 0.96.
 \
\
32 REPORT 1375- A'fIO AL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS

.8

M=0.96

.7

1\
.6 " \01\

\
\
"'\ 1\ 1\
5
"', .... Extrapolated
1'\
R

\
\
1\
\ \
c \ 1\
\ \
Q)
'u
:E
8 \... li
3 l'-... '\
\ \
\\ \

2
\ ~
~
\
\ 1\
\
\
602\
I
'\
{30.75R =54.7
1\
\
0
\
\
1\
(b)
\
.1 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 .0 4 .2 4.4
2.8 3.0
Advance ratio, J

(b) Power coefficient.

FIG1.' RE H .-Continued.
 AERODYNAMIC CHARA CTERISTICS OF A SUPERSONIC- TYPE THREE-BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH UMBER 0.96 33
1.0

r-
M =0.96

.9

.8

___ Extrapola ted

r- I - - r-- I--
.7 ~I' I.4
r- r- J--
" '\
t-- I'\
t---- t----
~
t--t--
MI "" '\

.6
1\
\ - t--- r--- r--- '\ I.2
\ [\
\ \
I="
,;.
u
~ .5
1\ \ I.o
'u
;;:: \ M \
W 'I
\
1 1\

.4 1\ 8
\ 1;;
.n
E
"
c:
.J::
U
o
::E
.3 6

.2 4

f3 0 .75R =5 4 .7 60.2

(el
o2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 .0 4.2
Advance ratio, J

(c) Effi ciency.

FI GU RE l4. -Concluded.
34 REPORT 1375-NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMIT 'l' EE FOR AERONAUTICS

.88
!
0.70
I .5U I .74
::-

-
I
.84
.80
I - ~
::::::::t;::-4 M
I

---
0.60
I I
I r--!~
---...: .74
I
I r-- .84
I
I ........... 80
,:.
u I
c
.!!!
u
~ .76
I
r-- r--
I
.,a. t-- I---
.,
.2
---....
>
--........
c - - - " , -, - - - - - r-- 0
~
w
.7 2
" -Exlrapalaled - r--- ~ ::::::::::::~ t---- r--.....
........
~ '89
1---=
.68
~ ~3
o Slrip Iheory for M =0 .96 .96
0
1 I I I

.6420 22 21\ 26 2.8 .3.2 3:4 4.0 4.2 4:4

Advance ralio, J

F I GURE 15.- Variation of envelope efficiency wi th advance ratio for various forw ard Mac h number.

EFFECT OF FORWARD MA CH MBER ON MAX1M UM EFFICIEN C Y
The variation of ma:\imum propeller effi cien cy with for-
ward :Mach number is shown in figure 16 for advance-ra tio
value of 2.8, 3.4, and 4.0. The e data how that the maxi-
mum efficiency attained during the te ts wa 6 percent
between Mach numbers of 0.60 and 0.70 at an advance
ratio of 2.. Above 111= 0.70, the effi ci e n c~- decr-ea ed
gradually to a value of 72 per c nt at the :M ach number of
0.96. At an advance r atio of 4.0, the maximum effi ciency
was 2.5 to 4.0 per ce nt Ie s t han that for J = 2. over the
Mach numb er range from 0.60 to 0.96. l
R esults of th is inve Ligation of the superso nic propeller
agree with trends shown for model propellers de igned for
higher advance ratios (ref. 7) t han 2.2. A t a constant val ue
of forward Mach number any in crease in advance ratio
deerea e rotational speed and therefore re ults in lower
values of blade-sectioll Mach Ilumber. It i t hus apparent
that a propeller operating at high advance ratio will delay
the on et of the adver e efl'ect of compressibili ty on th e
blade ection s and will operate to higb er values of forwa rd
1ach number before the blade sections r each the cri tical
peed. I t i seen in figure 16 that th e critical peed of the
test propeller wa delayed to hi gher Mach number a ad -
vance ratio wa in crea ed. A t J = 2. the point at which
the efficiency began lo decrea e rapidly was 1\11 = 0.7l a.nd
I In late r tests of this same propeller in which forward Mach number was extended to 1.0J.
the va lues of propeller efficiency a t specds ncar M ach number 0.96 were slightly different from
those presented in this report. 'The later tests indica te a contilluing decrease of effi ciency
with increasing M ach numbcr rather than the tendency for values of ef11cienc y to level ofT
in the regjon of Mach number 0.00 as indica ted in figure 16. T he actual differences in ef
Ileiency va lu es between the two sets of data are generally less than on(' percent. The resul ts
of these tests we re published in NA CA Heseareh M emorandum L56E IO entitled "Effect
of Dlade eelion Camber on Aerodynamic CharM teristics of Full-Scale Supcrsonie-'I' ype
Propellers at Mach Numbers to 1.04" by Julian D. Maynard. John M. wihart, and Harry
'1'. Norton, Jr .
progres ed to 1\11= 0.7 5 at J =3 .4 and 1\11 = 0. 0 a t J = 4.0.
Furth ermore, as t he val ue of forward Mach number i in-
crea ed in to .he upercritical peed ran ge, the pre ent pro-
peller and the model propeller of reference 7 will opera te
at a low advance ratio more effi ciently than at a hio-h ad-
vance ratio b eca use of the more advantageo u orientation
of the blade force vector .
B elow the criti cal 'Mach number, there i a notable dif-
ference betwee n the advance ratio at whi ch maximum effici-
ency i atta ined for the model propeller te ted in the inve ti-
gation of r eference 7 a nd the propeller u cd in th e pre ent
investigation . Obviou ly, the model propeller operating
at advance ratio lower than the de ign value of 3.36 will
not have all blade sections at maximum lift-drag ratio, and
a lower efficiency result . The pre en propeller will oper-
ate with efficien cy decreasing as advan ce ratio i in creased
from th e de ign value of 2.2 for the sam e r ea on.
POWER COEFFI CIENT FOR MAXIMUM EFFI C I ENCY
The variat ion of power coefficient for maximum effi ciency
wi th advance ratio i shown in figur e 17 for co n tant value
of forward "M ach number. These curves can b e u ed to
eval uate the power-absorp tion proper tie of the super onic-
type propeller de ignecl for a low advance ratio . If a con-
stan t press ure altitude and a con tant )'1a h number of 0 .96
is assumed, the propeller operating at an advance ratio of
2. would ab orb nearly twice as much power and, as hown
in figure 15, wo uld operate 3 per cent more effi ciently than
a similar propeller operating at an advan ce ratio of 3 . .
More power is absorb ed when operating at th lower advance
ratio because the power absorbed is inversely proportional
to advance ratio, although the power coeffi cient is lower at
the lower advan ce ratio . Another way to iUu rate the
 ------- - -- .--------~
--~---
)

I ,88
AERODYNAMIC CHARAC'1'ERISTICS OF A SUPERSONIC-TYPE THREE- BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH UMBER 0.96 35

.84
- r----- r-- ~ ........
~

~BO
f-
- r--- :--~ ~ ~

~~
1:
f:""
>.
u

1'\ ~
c
~Q '"
f--- - - I- - ~
V .76
~
"\
E
f\
""
:J
.s
::.
><
0
.72
'\
1'\ ~ ~ t-- 28
J

............
'\ t--- 3.4

I ~~
.68 t--- 4.0
I
I
.56 .60 .64 .68 .72 .76 .80 B4 .88 .92 .96 1.00
Forward Mach number, M

FIG URE 16.- Va ri ation of m aximum propel/er effi ciency lI'i th forw a rd Mach number for cveral valu of advance ratio.

advantage of operation at low advance ratio is to compare

the diameter of propellers designed for a given power.
.64 In the forego ing example, the propeller operating at an
M
0.96 - advance ratio of 3. would have to be 40 percent greater in
./
V diameter to absorb the ame power as Lhe propeller oper-
.60 v 93 -
V ~ .89 ating at an aclvi1nce ratio of 2.8. Therefore, the supersonic-
V type propeller with low de ign advance ratio has favorabl e
.56 1/ /' V .84
V V ./
V -1 powcr-ab orption characteristic which permit the u e of
./ ./
V 1/ v" .~ maIler propeller diameters.
.52
>. / / V v ~~8 COMPA RI SON OF DA'l' A WITH CO MPRESSIBLE-FLOW
u MOMENTUM-THEORY DATA
c
:g'" .48
" / / " 0 ~
/'"" /~ ~
A compre ibl -flow momentum theory ha b ee n d eveloped
'"
Extrapolaled-y ./
/ v" in reference , orne re ults of which are reproduced in fiO"w c
/ ~
E ./
:>
E .44 / ./ 1 . Values of maximum efficiency obtain ed experimentally
.i( v/ Iv V / / V in the pre ent tests are al 0 plotted as data point in figure 1 _
~
0- .40
V ./ "v / / V Th e compressibl e momentum theory bn, ed on the as-
V ./ V
1..:J<i..
/
/ V sumption of a subsonic lipstream indicates that, as the
C
'" .36
.,-
V
./
./ /
h r propeller power disk loading is in creased beyond a certain
valu e at a con tant forward Mach number, the ideal effi i-
~
v
V ,,-
./ vvV
V eney decreases very rapidly and, jf such were t he case in
lv / V/ V
..
0
u
.32 practice, would preclud e the usc of propellers at Mach
'"
:l
lv lv ~V numbers above about 0.90. As poin ted out in reference
V
&.
.28
Iv /V" V how ever, th e propeller lipstream can attain uper onic
V
/. V V speeds when the power is in crea ed, and t he valu es of ef-
/ V V V fici ency hown in figure 1 for Lhe super ol1i c wake appear
.24
l-/ ,- / 17 to be more reasonable. Although the calculated values of
.20
'i1/ efficiency in figure 18 do not include any profile or rotational
10 es, most of the experimental data for the higher Mach
v numb ers (0 .93 and 0,96 ) are above the ubsonic-wi1ke curves.
.162.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 I t app ear, therefore, that the propeller slipstream mu t
Advance rolia, J
have attained uper oni velocities for at least a shor
FIGURE 17.- Va ri ation of power coefficient at m ax imum effi ciency distan ce behind the propeller for the te ts at M = 0.93 and
wi t h adva nce ratio. M = 0.96 .
36 REPORT 1375- NATLO TAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Fon AERONAUTI CS
\
1.0
I
1\ Incompressible .'
"'"
~
-- \
I
I ~ I--
I
.9
I "'-,
\ I
"~ .85
M
\ '\ " .95
'\.
.8 \ M
0 .84 ~ ' , .90

\
--- "- I ';Compressible
--0- 1"""- (supe rsonic woke)

.89 ~ ~I~ ~
.7 \
.93 .96
\ ~
~
'\ '-..
l=" .6
\ 1 (subsonic woke).'-- i'~t--
Compressible

"\.-l. . .
compressible
(subsonic woke)
I
I
I

t -- 1--
I

1.95
I
--- .90 -

.4

.3

.2

.1 I
0 .01 .02 .03 .04 .05 .06 .07 .08 .09 .10 .11 .12
Power-disk-Iooding coefficient. Pc

F I G UR E ] .- Va ri a ti on of maximu m effi cicncy wi th power-d isk-l oacli ng coeffi cien t for scveral forward M ach n umbcr (fro111 fi g. 13 of ref. 8).

OPERATING CHA RT S
I II order to facilitate th e use of the data included herein
for performan ce es timaLes, charts have been prepared and
ar e includ ed in figure 19. Th e charts consist of plots of
power coeffici ent against advan ce ratio with lin e of constant
efficiency uperimposed. Exce pt for t he first chart (fig .
19 (a )), whi ch presents da ta obtain ed at a rotational speed of
1600 rpm (M < 0.67), tbe charts are pre ented for th e con-
s ta nt values of forward tIach numb er at which the tes ts
were mad e. (See figs. 19 (b ) to (i).)
STALL-FL UTTER DATA
The purpose of the prese nt inve tigation was to determine
t he aerod y namic characteristics of tb e propeller tes ted, and
th e propeller was deliberately not opera ted at flu tter sin ce
violent or su tain ed flutter would have been hazardous to
t he test equipment. Flutter was detec ted , however, both
a udibly and by strain gage during th e tests a t a constant
rotational speed of 1600 rpm, durin g whi h propeller tall
conditions were encoun tered. In ome case it was pos ible
to record t he value of forward Mach numb er at flu tter
wh ereas in oth er cases th e dynamometer sp cd wa dropped
ligh tly before data wer e laken.
No analy is of th e flut ter data is pre ented , but the data
ob tained arc included ill figure 6. The values of advan ce
ratio at which flu t ter occUlTed wer e spotted on the CUl'ves
of t hrust and power coefficient and a curve drawn through
the poin t to mark the flutter boundary.
The flutter data, It r eplotted in figure 20, how the v ari-
a tion of the sec tion lift coeffi cient a nd h elical tip Mach
number at flutter with advance ratio for the x= 0.60 tation
a determin ed from wake pre ure m easurement. The
values are shown for the x= 0.60 station sin ce the maximum
value of lift coefficient along the propeller-blade radius
occW'l'ecl at approximately thi s station.
 - - - - - ---

AERo.DYNAMI C CHARA CTERIS'rI CS o.F A SU PERSo.NIC- T YPE THREE-BLADE PRo.PELLER 1'0. MACH UMBER 0.96 37
.60 --

.56
II
I \
I
.52
I \
48
II
/ 7\
l! I ~
J -; 7
.44
1/
/ 1\
II
'\
\ I / \
/ \ll I \
40.
7
/ / 1\ / I 1\
,I
\ /
1/
\ / 11 II
1 IX
.36 -
/ i\ II \
/
'/
/ / / \ ,..--- r--

~/ i7
~ .32
II
\ / /
j' \
"(}
E \ /
/
/
/
\ /
I II j 1\
'"
o
7
<)

~ .28
1\ II
I
/ \ /\ I / v/ /'
--- 1\\\
\

a. 1\ \ / / \ / / V
II /

.24
1\ V /[\ / /
\. 1/
/
It-

\ / 1;\\ / Y / /\ /
1\

20 \ \
/

V
1 / / \ / / /
V [7 \1
\
1\ /\ \( / / 1\ V / / \ V V\
.16
/
X /
V 1/ 1/ :x / K 17 .86
(
\ /
/
/
V
~
r =0.~9 1\\ / \ 1/ V V V .85~ "- t-- - L--- V ./"v rr
I
/
- 1/
1\ / / \ V 1- -
tL .....--- V V 1\
V v\
cr
.12

~
I-
.85~ f-
I.
---I\-\ L.----
r\
l--
.7 Q 75 , \
/ / I--- I--- --- -
1----
1---- 1\ -
V
'~ V \
.08
/ .84
r\-- ~
l--

1----
I-- I ~ - H - J.--
-J--
.-
t1
--
V
\V Bo./ ~2X
\ \-V- 1---- - 1\ - -- -- ~ \
/ \ 1( '1\ -r- +-S-_ __v__ \1-::: --- l\- p; ~o.7~
I- - ~
1
l-- J--
.04
~ f\:1
f-
- \:r- ~ I\=== ~ _v1---;: Psc~
I~ -1= - ~~~ r-l.3&
f-
-
~- f- . -
~ -
-- I---
I- -: !-- I -~
(a) PO.75R=
-I
20.2");~
I
I =-~ =~~ t:::::- I---
25.2 302
352\
. ~ 0. 2
!.4U 'I
45.4" ~.ei
o 1\
4 .6 .8 1.0. 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0. 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.3 3.0
A dvance rati o , J

(a) 1600 rpm ; M < 0.67 .

F IGU H E 19.- 0per atin g ch a rt for t hree-blade prop ell er.
38 REPORT 1375- NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS

.7 ~--.----'--.---r---r--r---n--'--'--'--II
\
1\
\ l-- ~ -
. 6 ~-+--+---~-+--~--r-~~~~\--r--+--~--r--+--4---+--+--~--+--4--~~+~
-
~4---~~
1- - - - r;- - r- ___

/' '\ _ 1_ - --- - f-- I ","

\ ---"f- -r--.., \

<J-
c Q)
( b)
'0
~
0
Q)
0
u
.7
~

'\
Q)
3
&

.6 - ---r- \ -I- - - -c---t-- \

.1 - -

(e)

Adva nce rat io, J

(b) M = O.60.
(c) M = O.70 .
F I G U RE 19.- Con tin uccl .
AERODYNAMIC CH ARACTERIS'l' I CS OF A SUPERSO I C-TYPE T H REE - BLADE P ROPELLER T O MA CH NUMBER 0 . 9 6 39
8
1\
---- --
7
- 1 - - ,.- - --.....
"'-
...--- \ '\
\ /
/ \ / -- -
- f--- - I- ,- I- ~
"-..I
\

6
-- -- - I--
_f-- -
----...
- "- \ \ \
/ / ~\-- I I

5 / /
/ V ---- V
- - I-
~ .84
"- "- "'-
1\ 83 1\82 .81 1.80

/ 1
;/ /
./ V \ ) J\ I
I
\1; 1 Y .\- --- - ~
\ 1)= 0.85
)
vV \
I

4
...-
~ :~
,. V )
/'
\ /
/-::::V V
L
./
./ ~
-
3
\: ./

-K' ./
./
/
/ /
V~ :..-
/ c V _V - --- - -
~5 --
\
/
lA / /
-1 ~
----
---- -- \
.70

~ --
./'
~
-Y ././ V ---t -j,)(- /

----
--i

---- .----
- -- ~O
2
~I -=d/J
--- J
~ \ T~
)
,--- -
~ .----- ---
-- I ~ .50

.1 ~ V
-:r::-
:1.--
l r--- _I--
f..-- -- - I-- 1- -
1-
-
-- -'-'
I-- ~
~ .40
1\
-'S
~ I~ \
I
-::: ~J.-
(d) !30.75R = 50.80\ 5 4 .7\ 60.2~

8 - r - - - -- I - I - ~I
- r----..
~
.7
/
./

\ '" \

.6
// \ \
\\V ./
/
i\
.----:...- i--
..... \ \
Iv .------
.5 I
i.- f--1) )= 0., .82 [\ \.80

.4
.--\ f.--

--- \ '
1.,/\
-- -- ----- ---
-~
.-V
'\ ----
-- \-- __ -:0- / 1\

--- \ V
\ .7:> ~ ~
.....-
.3
1\ ---- \ --V --- ~

.2
\ ----
- - --- \
-- \
- ---- ----
---- -- ---- -- -\
A7 -:;;;
f.--
0

\ - ~
--
.- .60

.1
j -- ~\I- - I-

- -
- L----
J.....--
:.- i--
J.-- ~
\50
.40

~- :=- ~
I----

(e) {30.75R =5 0 .8 \
I--
I--
- f-- -
- l-
I-- I-- - ~ !-- I--

6 0 .2 \
\
54.70\
~.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3 .2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4 .0 4.2 4.4 4 .6
Advance ra tto , J

(d) M = O.74 .
(e) M = O.80.
FIG U RE 19. - Continued.
40 REPORT 1375-NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTI CS

.5

.4 1/
1\
\
")=0.80 V 1\
-~
f- -
-\ .79
3

~ f - - ~8 I---- I - i \

~ I-- r-25
.2
_ ~ -
r\
I - ?O
- ~-
l-- -I-

-
f\
I
~ /-
~- l--
~- F=
~
\
~
/30.7~= 50.80\ 54.70\
o
\
c
...~
(tl
~ -. I

.9

~
.6

7
1\
\
, \~\
6
l--
\ 1\ \
-!-\
5
V
..- V

")= 0.7~
\
""
7
).75
I

/ 74
l\
\
....-
\
-----
--- f.-

j\
V /
/
/
/
1/
/ 72 h

.7~
4
V // \
X7
\
.....- V ....-/
\ / .65

3
.......-
\ -~
\:
--- -- I-- \

~. I~ -------
7
V
V
/

V
/ \
r\0
f-- - 1-------
l.---
/ /
- ~

~ I----
f--
F\ J------
- ------ -
.-' ---
V 1\50
.40
2
~ r-- - f-.- I--~ -f-- - ~
- !--
... .-,............... --V\
-------
- f-

~ I---
\--

h -
i-
I- - I---
- - I- - 1\
.1

\ 1\ \
0
('ill /3
O.75/?
=50.8\
I 54r\ 6~.2~
2.4 2.6 2 .8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.6 4 .8
Advance ratio, J
(f) M = D. 4.
(g) M = D. 9.
FI GU HE 19.-Continued.

--~ --.~ - - - - - - - - - _ .- -----

 --~------ - - - -- J

AE ROD YNAMI C CH ARACTERI STICS OF A SUPE RSO JI C- TYPE 'l'HREE - BLADE PROPELLER TO MACH NUMBER 0.96 41
7

6
\
,. 71 / 70 \

5
) '7=0.72 / /
/
/
\ 68

'\ V V / : \67
V /
/ / / .65

~/ r\
V /

4
\' 1/
/ / ./ V
~V
/ V
V V
/
,/ V
./'
...- lA\ 6O

\: / ,/
,// K55

--
3
,/ ./
..-/"

~ ./
/ V" ..-/"
V ~51
V ....----
\'
------
/ i.- ...-
- - \;40
.............
.2 ~ V ...-
-'I ...-
V
...-
...- ...-
...........--
...- ...............
...-
\
I ~ ...........-
~
\
1\ 1\
(h)
c f30.75R=54 .7 0\ 60.20\
.~ 0
Q:;
o
u
7

"'1=0.69

.6
\' \
\ I
X
L \
.5

'" '\
r-..
'/
/
1/
p\67

~65
.4
\ /
""-
/'
\ /' / ,/ \ .60
\ V , //'" ...-
./
~ /
1/ \
.3

I-\; ~...... ...-...- ...........- .....-

V

~ ..- -----V---- ...........--

.50

.2 V
\: -- -
l.---

- ---- - - ----
- \.40

\
.1 \ \
\ \
(i)

2.6 2 .8 3.0
f30.75R=54.7 \

3.2 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.0

60.2
4 .2
1\ 4.4 4.6 4.8
Ar1v"n C" "! r lj tj(\ J

(h) M = O.93.
(i) M = O.96.
FIGURE 19.-Concluded.
42 REPORT 1375- A'l'IO AL ADVI SORY COMMITTEE FOR AERO AUTI CS

1.0
with the clean propeller . At values of Mach number below
'""----0 0.90, th e differences in efficiency between the propeller with
.9
--- 1'-0. gages attached and the clean propeller were n egligible .
.8
I'---I'a. CONCLUSIONS
f"- ez
i'---- T ests of a supersonic three-blad e propeller have been made
.7
on the 6000-horsepower propeller dynamometer in the
Langley 16-foot transonic tunnel over a range of blade
.6 angle at forward Mach number up to 0.96. T he r esul t
1!
~ of the in vestigation indicate the following conclusions:
1.0
"0 .5 l. In the range of the te ts the tunnel-wall interference
was found to b e negligible for propeller operation in the
.4
0!J- l-- .8 slotted test ection of tbe Langley 16-foo t tran onic tunnel.
~
OJ
2. Envelope effi ciency at an advance ratio of 2. decrea ed
3 . 6::::
.2 from 86 per cent to 72 percent when the forward Mach num-
ber wa in cr eased from 0.70 to 0.96.
2 3. Maximum propeller efficieney can be calculaLed with
good accuracy by u ing ordinary ubsonic strip theory when
I .2 the blad e-section speed are supersonic .
4. T he 10 s in envelope efficiency with in cl'ea e in advance
o ra tio is only about 1 percen t between advance ratio of 2.2
.4 .6 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
Advance rat io, J
and 3.2.
5. Th e supersonic-type propeller with a low design advance
FIGURE 20.-Variat ion with ad vance ratio of lift coefficient a nd t ip
ratio has favorable power absorption characteristic which
lVIach number at flu tter. x= 0.60; ro tat ional speed, 1600 rpm.
permit the use of maIler propeller diameters.
EFFECT OF STIU I N GAGES 0 p n OPELLER EFFICI ENCY 6. A comparison of the experimental data with compre ..
Most of the tests for this were run wi tb strain gages ible momentum theory indi.cates tha t the propeller slip -
cemented to the smface of one of t he propeller blades. Con- stream attained super on ic velocities for at least a short
sideration of the eff ect of the strain gages on the aerodynamic di tan ce behind the propeller a t forward :M acb number of
0.93 and 0.96.
characteristics leel to the repeat tests with the strain gaO'es
r emoved from the propeller; thus, the propeller was aero-
dy namically clean. Data shown in figure 21 gave indication L ANG L EY AERO NAUTI CAL L AB OR AT OR Y,
of no difference in m aximum efficiency up to a IVIach number N ATIO rA L ADVIS OR Y COMMIT'rEE FOR A E RO NA 'l'IC ,
of 0.88. Above M=0.88, the clea n blades were slightly LANGLEY FI ELD, V A., May 18, 1953 .
more effi cient (about 2 per cent at M=0.96) than the blades
with gages attached. R EFERENCE S
It should be noted that the aerodynamic characteristics
1. ,Ya rd, Vernon G., Whi tcomb, Cha rl es F. , and P ear on, M erwin D .:
pre ented ill this report at high Mach numb ers were obtained
Airflow an d P ower Character istic of t he Lang ley 16-Foot Tran-
sonic Tunn el Wi t h Slotted T est Section. ACA RM L52E01,
.84 1952.

.80
- r--. b"
2. Wood, J ohn H., and <:::wiha r t, J ohn M.: The Effect of Blade ection
Camber on t he Static Chanlcteristics of Three NAC A Prope ller .

.76 '",""- 1,\

N ACA RM L51L28, 1952.
3. Co rso n, Blake VV., Jr. , and M aynard , Jul ian D.: The Langley 2000-
Horsepower Prop eller D y namometer and T es ts at Hig h peed
of a n N ACA 10-(3)(0 )-03 T\\'o-B lade Propeller. N ACA 1'1
>.
g .72 I\.
2859, 1952. (Supe rsedes N ACA RM L7L29. )
'::::~-Clean

r
OJ blade
'u 4 . W r ight, R ay H. , and W ard , Ve rnon G. : rACA T ran on ic "\Vind-
;;::
Q; .68 "'ti-
.. -.....::::::::- Tunnel T est Sections. N ACA R ep . 1231, 1955. (S uper edes
E N ACA RM L8J06.)
::J ~ Blade with gage

SPi~ ~mb" fO"1~rl

E 5. H a llissy, J o eph M., Jr.: Pre ure Measurements on a B ody of
. .64 \-- R evolution in t he Langley 16-Foot Transoni c Tunnel and a
~
\-- Co mp arison "'lith Free-Fall D ata. NACA RM L51L07a, 1952.
.60 ~ 6. Anon .: P ropeller P erform a nce An a lysi. Aerodynam ic Character-
\-- , i tics. N ACA 16 Series Airfoi l . R ep. o. 0-2000, Curti s-
, I I I I I I Wright Co rp. , P ropeller Div . (Caldwe ll, N. J .), D ec. 2, 1948.
.5 6 ~ 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Blade radial station inches
7. D elano, J ames E ., a nd Carmel, M lvin M.: Inve t igation of t he
NACA 4-l0)(03)-045 and N A A 4-l0)(0 )- 045 Two-Blade
.5 ~60 .64 .68 .72 .76 .80 .84 .88 .92 .96 100
Propellers at F orwa rd Mach umbers to 0.925. ACA RM
L9L06a, 1950.
Forward Mach number, M
8. Delano, J ame. B ., an d Crigler, Jo h n L .: Compressible Flow Solu-
FIGURE 21.- Effect of st rain gages on max imum efficiency . t ions for the Actuator Disk. NACA RM L53A07, 1953.
U. s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFfiCE : 1959

- -- - - ---- --- -- ---- - - -- - - - - - - ----- -- . __._- - - - - -