Patent ID: 7565269

Claim:
A method for determining the free field thrust of a gas turbine engine by use of an enclosed gas turbine engine test facility including: attaching the gas turbine engine to a movable support means; operating the gas turbine engine at a selected engine operating point; measuring the thrust applied by the engine to the thrust cradle via the thrust measurement means (net thrust, FN); calculating the gas turbine engine intake momentum drag generated by airflow into the gas turbine engine intake (W 0 V 0 ), calculating the thrust cradle drag force generated by airflow past the moveable support means of the thrust cradle (cradle drag), calculating the base drag generated as a result of accelerating nozzle ejector airflow (∫(p-p 0 )δA eng ), wherein the calculating the base drag includes: calculating a pre-stream tube force related to turning of stream lines in the intake air path (∫(p-p 0 )δA stream ), calculating a pre-stream tube force related to a bell mouth pull-off force (∫(p-p 0 )δA bm ), determining forces (friction drag) due to forward anemometer plane (P 0 ) and nozzle static pressures (P ref ) and a nozzle exit buoyancy force (A j (P ref -P 0 )), and summing the net thrust, the gas turbine intake momentum drag, the pre-entry stream tube force related to turning of stream lines in the intake air path, the pre-entry stream tube force related to a bell mouth pull-off force, the base drag, the cradle drag, the friction drag and the nozzle exit buoyancy force according to their respective positive and negative values to determine the free field thrust of the engine at the selected engine operating point.