Investigation of Effects of Inlet-air Velocity Distortion on Performance of Turbojet Engine

To determine effect of nonuniform inlet-air velocities, a full scale, axial-flow turbojet engine was investigated in Lewis altitude wind tunnel at altitudes from 20,000 to 50,000 feet, 0.21 flight Mach number and corrected engine speeds from 77.3 percent of rated speed to rated speed. Total-pressure variations as large as 103 pounds per square foot in radial direction and 90 pounds per square foot in circumferential direction at 30,000 feet were obtained. With the distortions investigated, net thrust varied between 0.95 and 1.03 of the thrust with uniform inlet-air distribution. Similarly the ratio of specific fuel consumption varied from 1.00 to 1.04. Within the arrange of this investigation the effects of nonuniform inlet velocity were not serious for the engine investigated.