Propulsive efficiency

In aircraft and rocket design, overall propulsive efficiency ${\displaystyle \eta }$ is the efficiency, in percent, with which the energy contained in a vehicle's propellant is converted into useful energy, to replace losses due to aerodynamic drag, gravity, and acceleration. It can also be stated as the proportion of the mechanical energy actually used to propel the aircraft. It is always less than 100% because of kinetic energy loss to the exhaust, and less-than-ideal efficiency of the propulsive mechanism, whether a propeller, a jet exhaust, or a fan. In addition, propulsive efficiency is greatly dependent on air density and airspeed.

Mathematically, it is represented as ${\displaystyle \eta =\eta _{c}\eta _{p}}$ where ${\displaystyle \eta _{c}}$ is the cycle efficiency and ${\displaystyle \eta _{p}}$ is the propulsive efficiency. The cycle efficiency, in percent, is the proportion of energy that can be derived from the energy source that is converted to mechanical energy by the engine.

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