In a turboshaft engine, the inlet air velocity () refers to the speed of the incoming air at the entrance of the engine’s inlet. Turboshaft engines are commonly used in helicopters and some other rotorcraft. These engines drive a shaft that is connected to a transmission, which, in turn, powers the rotor system.
In turboshaft engines, the power extracted from the exhaust gases is used to drive a shaft that, in turn, powers various components, such as the rotor system in helicopters.
The continuity equation is based on the principle of mass conservation, and Bernoulli’s equation expresses the conservation of energy.
The continuity equation is given by:
where:
- and are the cross-sectional areas at the nozzle entrance and exit, respectively,
- and are the velocities at the nozzle entrance and exit, respectively.
which gives
where,
- A1 is the Cross-Sectional Area of Nozzle Inlet in m2
- A2 is the Cross-Sectional Area of Nozzle Exhaust in m2
- V1 is the Inlet air Velocity in m/s
- V2 is the Exhaust Air Velocity in m/s