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The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

The Art of the Helicopter John Watkinson - Karatunov.net

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Fig. 6.37 Displays which may be seen on a coaxial helicopter tachometer. See text for details.<br />

6.31 Tip jets<br />

Engines and transmissions 247<br />

<strong>The</strong> use <strong>of</strong> thrust directly applied at <strong>the</strong> blade tips has an obvious appeal to designers<br />

because <strong>the</strong> conventional transmission is eliminated along with its weight and torque<br />

reaction. <strong>The</strong> tips <strong>of</strong> a helicopter blade move at a high subsonic speed and jet thrust<br />

matches this kind <strong>of</strong> application well. Despite those advantages, <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> tip jets<br />

remains uncommon because <strong>the</strong>y introduce o<strong>the</strong>r problems instead.<br />

Figure 6.38 introduces <strong>the</strong> various options available for tip jet drive. At (a) is <strong>the</strong><br />

tip-mounted rocket in which fuel and oxidant are supplied along <strong>the</strong> blade. <strong>The</strong>se react<br />

in <strong>the</strong> rocket motor to produce a vast increase in volume. At (b) is <strong>the</strong> ramjet and its<br />

cousin <strong>the</strong> pulse jet which take in air locally so that only fuel needs to be supplied along<br />

<strong>the</strong> blade. <strong>The</strong> tip-mounted turbojet is in <strong>the</strong> same category. At (c) is <strong>the</strong> pressure jet<br />

system in which compressed air produced in <strong>the</strong> hull is ejected at <strong>the</strong> blade tips. This is<br />

known as a cold-cycle system. At (d) in <strong>the</strong> tip-burning system fuel is piped down <strong>the</strong><br />

blade and burned in <strong>the</strong> compressed air supply to produce greater thrust. At (e) <strong>the</strong><br />

exhaust <strong>of</strong> a turbine engine is piped down <strong>the</strong> blades. This is a hot-cycle system.<br />

Figure 6.39(a) shows that <strong>the</strong> ramjet or athodyd (aero<strong>the</strong>rmodynamic duct) is a<br />

simple device in which air entering at <strong>the</strong> front is compressed by virtue <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> forward<br />

motion through <strong>the</strong> air. This dynamic pressure is enough to overcome <strong>the</strong> pressure<br />

due to combustion so that exhaust gases are ejected from <strong>the</strong> rear to produce thrust.

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