MadSci Network: Engineering |
I had to dig out some references for this one. Unfortunately, one can't use a simple expression to convert the horsepower of an engine to the thrust it generates. One has to understand the inner characteristics of the engine as well. For instance, if we assume a laminar and incompressible flow-constant air density and a straight, "non-bumpy", flow-then you just have to know the pressure at the back/exit and front of the engine and the velocity of the flow at the front and the back/exit of the engine. Thrust equation Thrust = flow-rate or the ammount of air ingested and spit out the back of the engine per second. Thrust=Power of the engine devided by the work done on the air within the engine. If you know how much work the engines performs to pull the air, and if you know the power generated by the engine, then you can easily find out how much thrust the engine is capable of producing. Any hydro-dynamics text book or reference should be able to illustrate this further. Remember though that this simple equation assumes the best conditions. Thank you for the question, good hunting! Ken
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