The Co-Turboshaft: A Novel Gas Turbine Powerplant for Heavy Equipment
A major advantage of the two-shaft gas turbine as a prime mover is the steep torque-speed characteristic, so that the stall torque is typically twice the design torque. The co-turboshaft engine has a torque-speed curve which can be more than twice as steep as the conventional engine, so that only a rudimentary transmission would be required for normal operations. The co-turboshaft gas turbine engine has a co-rotating compressor case which is geared, together with the free power turbine, to the output shaft. As load increases and output shaft speed decreases, the effective gas generator speed increases, with no increase in rotor speed, and the power output rises. The engine has a torque-speed curve with up to four times the slope of a conventional free shaft turbine engine torque curve. This paper reviews results of testing a compressor with a co-rotating casing, and presents the results of simulating a typical engine using a hybrid computer to predict engine steady state performance. Effects of different design choices of compressor casing speed ratio are shown on engine torque, power and turbine inlet temperature characteristics. Control strategies for some possible applications, such as off-road vehicles and construction equipment, are discussed in relation to their likely duty cycles.