Comparing different piston-prop aircraft engines with combustion efficiency and exergy

Abstract

Combustion efficiency is clearly related to burning of the fuel inside the combustion chamber, and it affects engine efficiency, energetic or exergetic. It is important first to determine the amount of inefficiencies of a system, and then, describe them in relation to engine performance. The novelty of the current paper is to determine a relationship between combustion efficiency and exergy analysis in piston-prop aircraft. In this study, initially, the relationship between combustion efficiency and exergy efficiency in the piston-prop aircraft was evaluated. Afterward, these parameters were calculated under four phases of LTO (landing and takeoff) and different power rates (150, 225, 350, 1200 Hps). The maximum energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and combustion efficiency were determined as 44.86%, 53.94%, and 98.89%, respectively, in the 1200 Hp piston-prop aircraft. On the other hand, while maximum combustion efficiency was detected in the takeoff phase, maximum energy and exergy efficiencies were found in the climb-out and approach phases, respectively.