Aircraft piston engine load distribution in steady state operating conditions

Abstract

The article presents the results of analysis of operational parameters of piston engine CA 912 ULT which is a propulsion system of ultralight gyroplane Tercel produced by Aviation Artur Trendak. Research was conducted under normal operating conditions of the autogyro and data was collected from 15 independent tests including a total of 14 flight hours conducted during training flights. Engine and flight parameters were recorded at 9 Hz during each flight using on-board Fligh Data Recorded system. Collective results were presented to show the statistical analyses of the individual parameters by determining the mean values, standard deviations and histograms of the distribution of these parameters. The analyses included engine speed, charge pressure, air temperature, oil temperature and exhaust temperature. Histograms of operating points defined by both engine speed and manifold air pressure were also determined. Analyses were carried out to determine the contribution of steady-state and transient engine operation. It was also shown that the dynamics of engine work in real operating conditions is small. Detailed analyses were conducted for steady-state conditions. The value of the engine load index was determined and its statistical analyses were carried out. It was shown that the engine operating points are concentrated mainly in the range of idle and power above 50% of nominal power. The most frequent range is 50% to 80% of nominal power.