Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research Volume 8 Number 3 JAAER Spring 1999 Article 7 Spring 1999 The Aircraft Engine: An Historical Perspective of Engine Development through World War I Bryan Sanbongi Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.erau.edu/jaaer Scholarly Commons Citation Sanbongi, B. (1999). The Aircraft Engine: An Historical Perspective of Engine Development through World War I. Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 8(3). Retrieved from https://commons.erau.edu/jaaer/vol8/iss3/7 This Forum is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Sanbongi: The Aircraft Engine: An Historical Perspective of Engine Developm The Aircraft Engine: An Historical Perspective FORUM THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE: ANHISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF ENGINE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH WORLD WAR/ Bryan Sanbongi As the quest for manned, heavier-than-air flight progressed into the latter half of the 19th century, man still did not possess sufficient scientific understanding of all the principles that would permit the successful accomplishment of what many still considered to be a fanciful pursuit and a waste of time. As a functional directional control system for aircraft had not yet been developed, little more than partially controlled glides or "powered hops", rather than fully controlled sustained flight, were even realized. Although gliders had been scientifically designed and tested with limited success since the beginning of the century, it became apparent that a sufficient source of motive power would be required for the sustained, powered flight of man. However, engines ofthe day were still crude and inefficient, and were just being developed and refined into devices that could do useful work. Some of the earliest aircraft designs of the day exhibited a range of potential for successfully accomplishing controlled, powered flight and incorporated sometimes novel and often primitive engine designs to develop propulsion. As early as 1808, Englishman Sir George Cayley designed American James Watt designed and built steam engines that and experimented with a calorific engine which burned were practical in their use to propel wheeled land vehicles as gunpowder as the fuel (Berliner, pp. 12-15). The gaseous early as the 1780s (Davies, p. 18). Typical steam engines of products of combustion drove a piston within a cylinder that the mid 1800s were essentially refined versions of Watt's converted the reciprocating piston's motion to mechanical simple external combustion steam boilers, including designs work, possibly rowing Cayley's "aerial oar". Had this such as those developed by Englishmen William Samuel prototypical engine proved successful, Cayley might have Henson and John Stringfellow (Berliner, pp. 17-22; used one in an attempt to propel a variation of his early Jordanoff, p. 8). Energy was converted into useful work by helicopter designs or his Boy Carrier aircraft. In 1857 Felix generating steam in a boiler typically fueled by rendered oils. du Temple of France successfully flew a clockwork (wound The expansion of the steam inside a cylinder-piston spring) powered model having thevezy modem characteristics arrangement converted the reciprocating piston to shaft of monowing construction, rear empennage, tricycle gear, and rotation, which, in tum, drove a propeller (or multiple with the propeller located in the nose (Berliner, pp. 20-22). propellers) directly or through a drivetrain. In addition, this In preparing his full scale monoplane in 1874, du Temple's type of engine required separate reservoirs for water and fuel, search for the ideal powerplant caused him to reject the making these types of engines excessively heavy and grossly available steam engines (too heavy) and gasoline engines (too underpowered for the aircraft designs of the day. unreliable) of the day. Instead, he used a "hot air engine" Stringfellow's 1848 model experiments employed a miniature which was reported to operate in a manner similar to that of steam engine that weighed 9 lbs., including the two propellers a steam engine; unfortunately, the underpowered engine was and gearing. In his full scale experiments which began in not able to propel the aircraft beyond a "powered hop". 1868, Stringfellow used a larger steam engine based on the Ultimately, success in these early efforts was not to be, successful model engines. In 1869, the French Michaux resulting in other inventors and experimenters continuing the brothers attached a steam engine to a bicycle, creating their quest for manned flight utilizing other engine designs to :frrst powered motorcycle (Davies, p. 23). In 1879, Russian develop the required power. naval officer and engineer Alexander F. Mozhaiski journeyed JAAER, Spring 1999 Page7 Published by Scholarly Commons, 1999 1 Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, Vol. 8, No. 3 [1999], Art. 7 The Aircraft Engine: An Historical Perspective to America and then to England where he eventually found through the beginning of the 20th century, the demand for two suitable steam engines of I 0 and 20 horsepower (HP) for gasoline would not outstrip production. Thus, gasoline, a fuel his flight experiments (Berliner, pp. 23-25). It would not be having very high specific energy content, was available in until July 1884 when Mozhaiski successfully flew his steam relatively plentiful supply in America. powered full scale aircraft design to accomplish a "powered Secondly, practical versions of two stroke and four stroke hop" and not truly powered flight as had been claimed by the engines had finally been invented and were being Russian government French inventor Clement Ader also experimented with by would-be aviators as the turn of the conducted flight experiments in October 1890 in his steam centmy approached. In two stroke engines, each revolution of powered Eole aircraft, and even claimed to be the first man to the crankshaft produces one complete power cycle. Exhaust have successfully flown a heavier-than-air craft (Angelucci. is scavenged out of the cylinder during the piston's downward pp. 14-15). His later efforts, also funded by the French War power stroke, shortly followed by intake of fresh fuel-air Ministry, resulted in the October 1897 flight of the Avion ill, mixture. As the piston hits and then passes bottom dead center a bat-winged aircraft powered by two 20 HP steam engines. (BDC), it begins its upward travel, creating the compression Although victory was announced once more, various witness stroke, where the fuel-air charge is compressed. At or near top accounts of the event tended to discount its actual success, dead center (TDC) ignition occurs, causing the expanding again discrediting Ader. Samuel Pierpoint Langley's model gases to push against the piston (and thereby generating Aerodrome experiments in the 1890s used small steam power). The cycle then starts over again. A crude version of engines. His highly successful flights of the model Aerodrome the two stroke engine was initially designed in 1801 and No. 5 in May 18% utilized a I HP steam engine (Jordanoff, patented in 1804 by Frenchman Phillipe Lebon p. 8; Berliner, p. 53; Angelucci. p. 15). His later efforts in d'Hmnberstein. In his design, fuel and air was to be ignited in manned flight with his full scale Aerodrome, however, used the cylinder at atmospheric pressure, a design which most a gasoline powered engine. It became apparent over time after likely would have resulted in relatively low power output; the many attempts by nmnerous inventors that steam powered unfortunately, d'Humberstein was assassinated before he engines were far too heavy and produced insufficient power could build his engine. It was not until 1854 when Italian for aircraft; an alternative source of power would have to be inventors Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci patented a found. Although steam engine development and production somewhat more useful two stroke engine. In their design, the for aircraft engine applications would continue into the next ignited fuel-air mixture pushed against a free piston within a centmy, the development of the far more powerful and lower cylinder which transferred motion to another piston, rotating weight gasoline-powered internal combustion engine in the a shaft (Northey et al, V. 10, pp. 1181-1182; Northey et al, late 1'1" centmy would soon render the steam engine obsolete V.l4, pp. 1599-1601). Frenchman Etienne Lenoir, fascinated in aviation. by inventing useful devices, began work in 1850 on a new Two important events of the 19th century helped change the type of engine that electrically ignited lighting gas (typically direction of engine technology development used in aviation used for street lamps) with atmospheric-pressure air, thereby and other modes of transportation. First, the now famous producing 1he expanding gases that could be harnessed for the Pennsylvania oil fields were struck by Edwin Drake in 1859, generation ofpower. This engine was completed in 1858, and making available seemingly unending quantities of crude oil patented in 1860. One such engine was fitted to a cart, :from which gasoline and other useful petroleum-based fuels creating the first direct predecessor, albeit a very crude could be made (Northey et al, V. 14, pp. 1673-1678). The iteration, of the automobile (Northey et a1, V. 10, p. 1181). science ofdistilling crude oil into different petroleum products Power output for these early Lenoir two stroke engines were (gasoline, naptha, kerosene, fuel oils, etc.) was becoming a 1 HP from a 6liter (366 cu. in.) displacement engine, and 2 better-understood and controlled industrial process. This HP from an 18 liter (1098 cu. in.) displacement engine. process was initially derived from the distillation of oils from Lenoir claimed his engines would work on a variety of fuels coal, a practice necessitated by decimation of the world's including liquid hydrocarbon.