RCAIDE.Library.Methods.Powertrain.Propulsors.Constant_Speed_Internal_Combustion_Engine.design_constant_speed_internal_combustion_engine

design_constant_speed_internal_combustion_engine#

design_constant_speed_internal_combustion_engine(ICE_CS, number_of_stations=20)[source]#

Sizes the propeller of a propeller-driven constant speed internal combustion engine and computes sea level static performance.

Parameters:

  • ICE_CS (RCAIDE.Library.Components.Propulsors.Constant_Speed_Internal_Combustion_Engine) –

    Constant speed internal combustion engine propulsor component with the following attributes:
    • tagstr

      Identifier for the propulsor

    • propellerData

      Propeller component to be designed

  • number_of_stations (int, optional) – Number of radial stations for propeller blade discretization Default: 20

Returns:

Results are stored in the ICE_CS object:
  • sealevel_static_thrustfloat

    Sea level static thrust [N]

  • sealevel_static_powerfloat

    Sea level static power [W]

Return type:

None

Notes

This function performs two main tasks:

  1. Designs the propeller using the design_propeller function with the specified number of stations

  2. Computes the sea level static performance (thrust and power) of the engine-propeller combination at full throttle

The sea level static performance is calculated by:

  • Setting up atmospheric conditions at sea level

  • Creating a low-speed operating state (1% of sea level speed of sound)

  • Setting the throttle to maximum (1.0)

  • Computing the performance at these conditions

Unlike variable speed internal combustion engines, the constant speed variant maintains a fixed RPM and varies the propeller blade pitch to control thrust. This is common in generator applications and some aircraft engines where constant speed operation is beneficial for efficiency or noise reasons.

Major Assumptions

  • US Standard Atmosphere 1976 is used for atmospheric properties

  • Sea level static conditions are approximated with a very low velocity (1% of speed of sound)

  • Full throttle (throttle = 1.0) is used for sea level static performance

See also

RCAIDE.Library.Methods.Powertrain.Converters.Rotor.design_propeller, RCAIDE.Library.Methods.Powertrain.setup_operating_conditions