Gas Turbine Engines

Simply stated, jet propulsion can be described as the force which is generated in the opposite direction to
the flow of gas or liquid under pressure which is escaping through an opening or hole.

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE GAS TURBINE ENGINE

The principle of the Gas Turbine Engine is basically the same as that of the piston engine/ propeller
combination, they both propel a mass of air backwards.

For every force acting on a body, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The jet reaction does not result from the pressure of the jet on the atmosphere, in all instances the
resultant reaction or thrust exerted on the engine is proportional to the mass or weight of air expelled by
the engine and the velocity change imparted to it.

THE WORKING CYCLE OF THE GAS TURBINE ENGINE

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The induction, compression, combustion, power and exhaust of the Otto cycle is matched by induction,
compression, combustion and exhaust in the Brayton cycle.

In the gas turbine engine however, combustion theoretically occurs at a constant pressure, whereas in
the piston engine it occurs at a constant volume. Power is developed in the Turbine of the engine.

Other differences concern the continuous manner in which these processes occur in the gas turbine
engine as opposed to the intermittent procedure occurring in the piston engine.

The gas turbine engine has a greater power/weight ratio than the piston engine.

THE TEMPERATURE LIMIT OF THE ENGINE

The turbo-jet is a heat engine, the higher the temperature attained in combustion the greater the expansion
of the gases and hence the greater efficiency of the engine. There is however a limit to the amount of heat
that can be released into the turbine from combustion. This limit is imposed by the materials from
which we manufacture the nozzle guide vanes and the turbine blades.

APPLICATION OF THE GAS LAWS IN THE GAS TURBINE ENGINE

Combined Gas Law states that:

The product of the pressure and the volume of a quantity of gas divided by its absolute temperature is a
constant

Simply stated, this means that the product of the pressure and volume of the air throughout each stage of
the working cycle is proportional to the absolute temperature of the air at that stage.

During compression, work is done to increase the pressure and decrease the volume of the air. There is a
corresponding rise in its temperature. Higher compression ratios give higher thermal efficiency and low
specific fuel consumption. Changes in outside air temperature will affect the density of the air. A
decrease in temperature will increase air density and the compressor will have to work harder on
the air; this will be indicated by a drop in engine RPM, if not_compensated by the fuel control unit.

During combustion, the addition of fuel to burn with the air increases the temperature and there is a
corresponding rise in its volume at an almost constant pressure.

During expansion, when some of the energy in the gas stream is being converted to mechanical energy
by the turbine, there is a decrease in the pressure and temperature of the gas with a corresponding increase
in its volume.

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PROPULSIVE EFFICIENCY

 The highest propulsive efficiency at low airspeeds is offered by the turbo-propeller engine
combination. However, above about 350 miles per hour, the propeller's efficiency does drop off
quite rapidly due to the disturbance of the airflow at the tips of the blades.

 The propulsive efficiency of the pure turbo-jet appears quite poor at the lower airspeeds.

 By pass engines, which includes the ducted fan or turbo-fan engine, has a propulsive efficiency
which fits neatly between that of the turbo-prop and the pure turbo-jet. By dealing with
comparatively larger mass airflows at lower jet velocities the by-pass engine attains a propulsive
efficiency which exceeds that of both the turbo-prop and the pure turbo-jet at the speeds normally
associated with jet transport aircraft.

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SINGLE SPOOL JET ENGINE

TWIN SPOOL JET ENGINE

TURBO PROP ENGINE

TURBO FAN ENGINE

BI-PASS

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AIR INLET

The air inlet is usually divergent in a subsonic intake and this divergence allows a reduction of velocity
and an increase of pressure at the compressor face as the airspeed increases.

In Supersonic intake, the supersonic diffuser gradually decreases in area from front to rear which
has the effect of reducing the air velocity down to below Mach 1. Below supersonic speeds the intake
amp must be able to recover pressure as in a subsonic intake but above supersonic speeds the intake
must be capable of reducing the velocity of the airflow below sonic velocity and control shock wave
formation.

COMPRESSOR

It converts kinetic energy into pressure (potential) energy

There are basically two types of compressor in use in engines :

(1) Axial flow Compressor

(2) Centrifugal Compressor

In both cases the compressors are driven by a turbine which is coupled to it by a shaft.

CENTRIFUGAL FLOW COMPRESSOR

Two essential components of Centrifugal compressor are

'Impeller' and 'Diffuser'.

Impeller. The turbine rotates the impeller of the

compressor at high speed. Air is introduced continuously
into the eye (center) of the impeller by rotating guide
vanes and centrifugal force
causes it to flow outwards towards the tip.

The divergent shape of the vanes the pressure of the air

increases as it flows outwards, and velocity also increases.
Diffuser. The air leaves the tip of the impeller and passes into the diffuser section, a system of stationary
divergent ducts designed to convert the kinetic energy (velocity) into potential energy (pressure).

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1. Approximately 50% of the pressure rise across the compressor occurs in the impeller and the
other 50% in the diffuser section.

2. The compression ratio of a single stage centrifugal compressor would be in the region of 4:1
That means that the outlet pressure of the compressor stage would be approximately four times
greater than the inlet pressure.

3. To increase the compression ratios using centrifugal compressors two of them would have to used
in series with each other.

4. It has not been feasible to use more than two centrifugal compressor stages together, excessive
impeller tip speeds and extreme centrifugal loading prohibit efficient operation of a third stage.

5. Engine compression ratios of greater than 15 : 1 are not considered possible using centrifugal
compressors.

THE AXIAL FLOW COMPRESSOR

Two essential components of Axial flow compressor are 'Rotor' and 'Stator'.

A stage consists of one row of rotor blades, fastened to discs on a rotor drum, followed by a row of stator
blades, which are fastened to the compressor outer casing.

The rotor stages can be seen as doing the same job as the impeller in a centrifugal compressor, while
the stator stages can be compared to the diffuser in a centrifugal compressor.

Rotor. In the rotor, which is turned continuously at high speed by the turbine, mechanical energy is added
and converted into both kinetic (velocity) energy and potential (pressure) energy.

Stator. Within the stator, the pressure is increased by the conversion of the kinetic energy into pressure
energy.

The pressure rise across each stage is quite small, the ratio being
about 1.1 or 1.2

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AIRFLOW CONTROL

Increasing the compression ratio of a compressor makes it progressively more difficult to ensure that it
operates efficiently over the whole of its speed range.

This is caused by the fact that the compression ratio of the engine falls as the speed of rotation of the
compressor falls. Therefore, as the engine slows down, the volume which the air takes up gets greater and
greater, because it is not being compressed so much.

An axial flow compressor becomes inefficient and prone to stall/surge at low rpm, low airspeed and high
angle of operation particularly air higher altitudes.

COMPRESSOR STALL

The angle of attack of a compressor blade is the result of the axial velocity of the air passing across it and
the rotational speed of the blade.

These two velocities combine to form a vector which gives the actual angle of attack of the airflow over
the blade.

A compressor stall can be described as an imbalance between these two velocities which can occur
through various reasons.

Any of the conditions can cause compressor stall to commence, and as soon as it does there is a partial
breakdown of airflow through the engine.

The indications of compressor stall are an increase in the vibration level of the engine and an
increase in the Exhaust Gas Temperature E.G.T.).

The increase in E.G.T. is caused by the fact that there is less air going to the combustion chambers.

Compressor stall is then a progressive phenomenon, it could initially in theory occur at just one blade,
worsening to encompass the whole of one stage, and then, if nothing is done to prevent it, affect the whole
engine.

COMPRESSOR SURGE

The progressive deterioration of the situation of unsteady airflow will eventually cause a complete
breakdown of airflow through the engine called a surge.

Apart from the loud noise that usually accompanies a surge, there is a large rise in the E.G.T. and
the resulting loss of thrust may cause the aircraft to yaw.

If surge does occur, the throttle of the affected engine must be closed slowly.

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PREVENTION OF STALL AND SURGE

Methods of ensuring that this does not happen have to be fitted to the engine, the following is a list of
some of those methods;

 Variable Inlet Guide Vanes (V.I.G.V.s)

 Variable Stator Vanes.

 Compressor Bleeds.

 Multi-spool Compressors.

 Active Clearance Control.

VARIABLE INLET GUIDE VANES. The vanes are fitted just in front of the first rotor stage to obtain
the optimum angle of attack over the rotor blades. They can be automatically pivoted around their own
axis to vary the path of the airflow going into the compressor.

COMPRESSOR BLEEDS. This excess volume causes choking in the rear of the compressor and a
decrease in the mass flow. This in turn causes a decrease in the velocity of the air in the front of the
compressor and increases the tendency to stall. A compressor bleed valve is introduced into the
intermediate stages of the compressor, it can be opened at low RPM or during engine acceleration to
allow some of the excess volume of air to escape.

MULTI-SPOOL COMPRESSORS.

Early axial flow engines were developed by adding more compressor stages on one shaft to obtain higher
and higher compression ratios.

The compressor is split, initially into two, and subsequently into three sections, each section being driven
through a shaft by its own turbine. The speed of rotation of each successive compressor increases, the HP
compressor rotating faster than the LP.

This made it increasingly difficult to retain operational flexibility in terms of engine speed.

Compressor blade angles are arranged to give peak performance around maximum rpm, when the axial
velocity of the airflow and the rotational speed of the blade produce the optimum angle of attack of the
airflow over the blade.

Any reduction of engine rpm changes the symmetry of the vector diagram relating it to the axial velocity,
and the angle of attack no longer retains its optimum value, stall became an ever present problem at lower
engine speeds.

The whole unit, compressor, shaft and turbine, forms a spool.

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 COMBUSTION CHAMBER

An industrial gas turbine is an internal

combustion engine that uses a continuous combustion process. The combustor is fed high pressure air
from the compression system, adds fuel, ignites, and burns the mixture. The hot compressed air generated
in the combustion chamber passes into the turbine where it expands.

Different types of combustors exist, mainly:

• Can type: Can combustors are self-contained cylindrical combustion

chambers. Each "can" have its own fuel injector, liner, interconnectors,
casing. Each "can" get an air source from individual opening.

In most applications, multiple cans are arranged around the central axis
of the engine, and their shared exhaust is fed to the turbine(s).

Can type combustors are easy to maintain, as only a single can needs to be removed, rather than
the whole combustion section. Most modern gas turbine engines (particularly for aircraft
applications) do not use can combustors, as they often weigh more than alternatives.

• Annular type: Most commonly used type of combustor is the fully

annular combustor. Annular combustors do away with the separate
combustion zones and simply have a continuous liner and casing in
a ring (the annulus).

The advantage of annular combustors, is uniform combustion, shorter

size, and less surface area. Additionally, annular combustors tend to have
very uniform exit temperatures.

The annular design is also simpler. An engine that uses an annular combustor is the CFM
International. Almost all of the modern gas turbine engines use annular combustors; likewise,
most combustor research and development focus on improving this type.

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• Cannular type: Like the can type combustor, can annular
combustors have discrete combustion zones contained in
separate liners with their own fuel injectors. Unlike the can
combustor, all the combustion zones share a common air casing.

Once the fire is lit in one or two cans, it can easily spread to and ignite the
others. This type of combustor is also lighter than the can type.

The annular system has several advantages over the two other systems, they are :-

For the same power output, the length of the annular chamber is only 75.

There are no flame propagation problems.

Compared to a tubo-annular system, the air casing area is less, consequently less cooling air is
required.
There is a much better pressure distribution of the gases impinging on the turbine so it has a more
even load placed upon it.

The Turbine Assembly

Hot gases leaving the combustor expand through the turbine.

The main purpose of the turbine in the turbojet engine is to

A. drive the compressor.

B. reduce the temperature of the exhaust gas.
C. increase the velocity of the exhaust gases.

The turbine extracts energy from the hot gases that flow through it, and converts it into mechanical
energy which it uses to drive the compressor and gearboxes.

The compressor added energy to the air by increasing its pressure. In the turbine that energy is extracted
by reducing the pressure of the gases flowing through it. This drop-in pressure occurs both as it is
converted to velocity in the nozzle guide vanes, and also as it is converted into mechanical energy in the
turbine blades

The turbine stage therefore consists of two elements, one row of stationary nozzle guide vanes and one
row of rotating turbine blades. The complete turbine assembly comprises one or more turbine stages on
one shaft.

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Nozzle Guide Vanes (NGVs)

The stator blades of a turbine.

They are convex and shaped like airfoils.

e They direct the airflow onto the turbine blades while at the same Turbine nozzle time converting
pressure energy into kinetic energy.

Gases coming from the combustion chamber pass through the

nozzle guide vanes, where because of their convergent shape
they accelerate. On passing through the NVGs, gases are given
a "spin" or a "swirl" in the direction of the rotation of the
turbine rotor blades. The latter absorb this energy causing
the turbine to rotate at a high speed.

Turbine Blades

The turbine blades themselves can be:

 Impulse type, like a water wheel.

 Reaction type, which rotate as a reaction to the lift they create.

 A mixture of the two called impulse / reaction.

IMPULSE TURBINE

REACTION TURBINE

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TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT

The maximum temperature that the turbine assembly can withstand limits the thrust or power available.
Exceeding the maximum temperature will cause irreparable damage to the engine, therefore monitoring
the turbine temperature is imperative.

The temperature is measured by thermocouples placed in the gas flow somewhere in the turbine
assembly, typically after the high or low-pressure turbine and termed Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT).

In modern engines the thermocouple probes are fitted inside selected fixed nozzle guide vanes to enable
temperature to be sensed without the probe being battered by the high velocity gas flow.

The Exhaust System

Energy available in the gas turbine exhaust is converted into a high-speed propelling jet by the nozzle.

Propelling nozzles accelerate the available gas to subsonic, transonic, or supersonic velocities depending
on the power setting of the engine, their internal shape and the pressures at entry to, and exit from, the
nozzle.

Although the shape of the outer casing appears to be convergent at the point where the gas leaves
the turbine, the shape of the volume within the casing is in fact divergent.

The exhaust gases travel down the jet pipe to atmosphere via the convergent propelling nozzle.

The gas velocity leaving the turbine can be between 750 - 1,250 feet per second, this is somewhere
around 5 Mach. If this gas has to negotiate a long jet pipe before being ejected into the atmosphere to
provide thrust, a great deal of turbulence will be caused within the pipe, this will lower the efficiency of
the engine and reduce its thrust.

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By-Pass Ratio

The By-Pass Ratio of an engine is the ratio of the amount of air which is by-passed around the hot core
(secondary air) of the engine, to the amount of air which passes through the hot core (primary air). A low
ratio is considered to be in the region of about 1 or 2 : 1, whereas a high ratio would be around 5: 1.

LOW RATIO BY-PASS (TURBO-FAN) ENGINE

The airflow as far as the end of the low-pressure compressor is identical to that of a pure turbo-jet, but
then the airflow splits into two. An amount depending on the by-pass ratio will flow down the bypass duct
and the remainder continues into the high pressure (H.P.) compressor.

From the H.P compressor. He compressor From the H.P. compressor the air follows the path through the
combustion chambers and into the turbine before it rejoins the by-pass air in the mixer unit of the exhaust
system.

HIGH RATIO BY-PASS (TURBO-FAN) ENGINE

The air enters the intake and passes immediately into the low-pressure compressor, more commonly
called the fan. Here its pressure is raised before it splits to go either through the by-pass duct or into the
intermediate pressure compressor, the amount depending upon the by-pass ratio.

The thrust of this type of engine is almost completely dependent on the by-pass airflow which has a high
mass and relatively low velocity, hence its good propulsive efficiency. The air which passes through the
intermediate and high pressure compressors has a great deal of energy added in the combustion chambers,
but this energy is required to drive the compressors.

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The rearmost, or the low pressure turbine, is responsible for extracting virtually all of the energy that
remains in the gas stream to drive the front fan.

THRUST AUGMENTATION BY AFTERBURNING

Thrust augmentation by afterburning

(reheat) makes use of the unburnt oxygen in
the exhaust to release more heat energy by
burning more fuel between the turbine and
the propelling nozzle.

When selected an atomised fuel spray is

introduced into the jet pipe through the
burners and ignited by an igniter plug or a
hot streak of flame from the combustion chamber. Once combustion is established the gas temperature
increases and the expanding gas accelerates through the open propelling nozzle providing additional
thrust.

WATER METHANOL INJECTION

A pure water injection system does have some drawbacks, not least because the water must all be used up
on take-off if it is not to freeze in the tanks as the aircraft climbs to altitude.

It would be logical to require an injection fluid that did not freeze, thus methanol is added to the water.
This serves primarily as an anti-freeze, there is however an additional bonus achieved by using methanol.
By injecting coolant into the combustion chamber, the T.G.T. is lowered dramatically which somewhat
lowers the power availabl.

Methanol, being an alcohol fuel, burns, and adds to the temperature of the gases, raising the T.G.T. back
to its original level.

The proportion of methanol added to the water must also be carefully controlled, a ratio of 40% methanol
to 60% water (by Volume) ensures that the T.G.T. limits should never be exceeded during use of the
water methanol system.

The amount of water which is carried can be large, the Boeing 707 and the D.C.8 carry approximately
300 gallons of water injection fluid per engine which must all be used up in a three minute take off and
climb.

REVERSE THRUST

Modern aircraft braking systems, which incorporate anti-skid units and other sophisticated devices are
extremely efficient.

Thrust reversal, also called reverse thrust is the temporary diversion of an aircraft engine's thrust
so that it is directed forward, rather than backward. Reverse thrust acts against the forward travel of the
aircraft, providing deceleration.

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Reverse thrust is also available on many propeller-driven aircraft through reversing the controllable-
pitch propellers to a negative angle.

There are three basic Thrust Reversal Systems presently in use, they are:

 Clamshell Doors.
 Bucket Doors (External Doors).
 Blocker Doors

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