Review of Titanium Application in Gas Turbine Engines

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Elrod
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
Advanced Materials ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Engine Design ◽  
Basic Studies ◽  
Burn Rate

With the continuing desire to make engines with a high thrust to weight advantage, titanium is the metal of choice for the gas turbine engine. The use of titanium in the engine must be considered with reasonable care. The metal has been known to combust under certain conditions. The Air Force conducted a number of studies to evaluate the use of titanium in the engine and in other environments. As a result of the studies the effects the environment, the alloying, the thickness and burn rate were among the conditions evaluated. Also the studies were conducted to determine the self-sustained combustibility of titanium and its alloys in the various situations that were established for the evaluations. The studies considered fifty-four different titanium alloys, which included a sample of most of the current materials, some of the advanced materials and a number of unusual alloys. This effort resulted in the identification of easy to burn, harder to burn and very difficult to burn alloys. With this information we can now look at issues related to where certain alloys would benefit the compressor the most. For example, Ti 6Al4V would most likely be used in the fan section of the compressor, due to the thickness of the blade, the low pressure in that section and the gap above the blade. The compressor has a number of issues that can be partially resolved with the use of titanium in a manner that is consistent with safe procedures. This report will examine these issues and present some considerations that should be considered when applying titanium to the gas turbine engine. This paper will look into the turbine engine and examine those areas where the potential for compressor fires are likely and make suggestions on ways to limit the potential for catastrophic damage and in the long run make the engine more resilient in the future. This paper will examine the problems that have followed the engine development with titanium as one of the major players in the selection process. We will describe some of the technology which makes the use of titanium safer. Titanium will be with the engine technology for some time and the goal of most design and research studies should be to make that time as safe and reliable as possible. This paper will show how research can provide the valuable link from basic studies to engine design.

A New Concept of High-Performance Marine Reversing Reduction Gears

1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-577
Author(s):  
D. J. Folenta
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Power Transmission ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Mechanical Efficiency ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Epicyclic Gear ◽  
Gear Technology

This paper presents a brief description and several illustrations of a new concept of marine reversing gears that utilize high-performance differentially driven epicyclic gear arrangements. This new marine power transmission has the potential to offer high reliability, simplicity, light weight, high mechanical efficiency, compactness, and technological compatibility with aircraft derivative marine gas turbine engines. Further, this new reversing gear minimizes the danger of driving the free turbine in reverse as might be the case with conventional parallel shaft reversing gear arrangements. To illustrate the weight reduction potential, a modern naval ship propulsion system utilizing an aircraft derivative gas turbine engine as the prime mover in conjunction with a conventional parallel shaft reversing gear can be compared to the subject reversing gear differential. A typical 18,642 kW (25,000 hp) marine gas turbine engine might weigh approximately 5000 kg (11,000 lb) and a conventional marine technology parallel shaft reversing gear might weigh on the order of 90,000 to 136,000 kg (200,000 to 300,000 lb). Using gear technology derived from the aircraft industry, a functionally similar differentially driven marine reversing gear might weigh approximately 13,600 kg (30,000 lb).

Case Closed: The Completion of the United States Navy 501-K34 Gas Turbine Engine RADCON Program (2011 - 2019)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Patterson ◽  
Kevin Fauvell ◽  
Dennis Russom ◽  
Willie A. Durosseau ◽  
Phyllis Petronello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
United States Navy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
United States Government ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The United States Navy (USN) 501-K Series Radiological Controls (RADCON) Program was launched in late 2011, in response to the extensive damage caused by participation in Operation Tomodachi. The purpose of this operation was to provide humanitarian relief aid to Japan following a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that struck 231 miles northeast of Tokyo, on the afternoon of March 11, 2011. The earthquake caused a tsunami with 30 foot waves that damaged several nuclear reactors in the area. It was the fourth largest earthquake on record (since 1900) and the largest to hit Japan. On March 12, 2011, the United States Government launched Operation Tomodachi. In all, a total of 24,000 troops, 189 aircraft, 24 naval ships, supported this relief effort, at a cost in excess of $90.0 million. The U.S. Navy provided material support, personnel movement, search and rescue missions and damage surveys. During the operation, 11 gas turbine powered U.S. warships operated within the radioactive plume. As a result, numerous gas turbine engines ingested radiological contaminants and needed to be decontaminated, cleaned, repaired and returned to the Fleet. During the past eight years, the USN has been very proactive and vigilant with their RADCON efforts, and as of the end of calendar year 2019, have successfully completed the 501-K Series portion of the RADCON program. This paper will update an earlier ASME paper that was written on this subject (GT2015-42057) and will summarize the U.S. Navy’s 501-K Series RADCON effort. Included in this discussion will be a summary of the background of Operation Tomodachi, including a discussion of the affected hulls and related gas turbine equipment. In addition, a discussion of the radiological contamination caused by the disaster will be covered and the resultant effect to and the response by the Marine Gas Turbine Program. Furthermore, the authors will discuss what the USN did to remediate the RADCON situation, what means were employed to select a vendor and to set up a RADCON cleaning facility in the United States. And finally, the authors will discuss the dispensation of the 501-K Series RADCON assets that were not returned to service, which include the 501-K17 gas turbine engine, as well as the 250-KS4 gas turbine engine starter. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the results and lessons learned of the program and discuss how the USN was able to process all of their 501-K34 RADCON affected gas turbine engines and return them back to the Fleet in a timely manner.

scholarly journals The effect of heat recovery on the optimal values of helicopter turboshaft engine parameters

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
H. H. Omar ◽  
V. S. Kuz'michev ◽  
A. O. Zagrebelnyi ◽  
V. A. Grigoriev
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Heat Recovery ◽  
Thermodynamic Cycle ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Working Process ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Recuperative Heat Exchanger

Recent studies related to fuel economy in air transport conducted in our country and abroad show that the use of recuperative heat exchangers in aviation gas turbine engines can significantly, by up to 20...30%, reduce fuel consumption. Until recently, the use of cycles with heat recovery in aircraft gas turbine engines was restrained by a significant increase in the mass of the power plant due to the installation of a heat exchanger. Currently, there is a technological opportunity to create compact, light, high-efficiency heat exchangers for use on aircraft without compromising their performance. An important target in the design of engines with heat recovery is to select the parameters of the working process that provide maximum efficiency of the aircraft system. The article focused on setting of the optimization problem and the choice of rational parameters of the thermodynamic cycle parameters of a gas turbine engine with a recuperative heat exchanger. On the basis of the developed method of multi-criteria optimization the optimization of thermodynamic cycle parameters of a helicopter gas turbine engine with a ANSAT recuperative heat exchanger was carried out by means of numerical simulations according to such criteria as the total weight of the engine and fuel required for the flight, the specific fuel consumption of the aircraft for a ton- kilometer of the payload. The results of the optimization are presented in the article. The calculation of engine efficiency indicators was carried out on the basis of modeling the flight cycle of the helicopter, taking into account its aerodynamic characteristics. The developed mathematical model for calculating the mass of a compact heat exchanger, designed to solve optimization problems at the stage of conceptual design of the engine and simulation of the transport helicopter flight cycle is presented. The developed methods and models are implemented in the ASTRA program. It is shown that optimal parameters of the working process of a gas turbine engine with a free turbine and a recuperative heat exchanger depend significantly on the heat exchanger effectiveness. The possibility of increasing the efficiency of the engine due to heat regeneration is also shown.

The Potential Impact of Future Fuels on Small Gas Turbine Engines

1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Saintsbury ◽  
P. Sampath
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Operating Experience ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
The Future ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Whitney Aircraft

The impact of potential aviation gas turbine fuels available in the near to midterm, is reviewed with particular reference to the small aviation gas turbine engine. The future course of gas turbine combustion R&D, and the probable need for compromise in fuels and engine technology, is also discussed. Operating experience to date on Pratt & Whitney Aircraft of Canada PT6 engines, with fuels not currently considered of aviation quality, is reported.

Analysis of Indirectly Fired Gas Turbine Power Systems

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Donald Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Gas Turbines ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Engine Design ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
System Configurations

This paper describes the results of modelling the performance of several indirectly fired gas turbine (IFGT) power generation system configurations based on four gas turbine class sizes, namely 5 kW, 50 kW, 5 MW and 100 MW. These class sizes were selected to cover a wide range of installations in residential, commercial, industrial and large utility power generation installations. Because the IFGT configurations modelled consist of a gas turbine engine, one or two recuperators and a furnace; for comparison purpose this study also included simulations of simple cycle and recuperated gas turbine engines. Part-load, synchronous-speed simulations were carried out with generic compressor and turbine maps scaled for each engine design point conditions. The turbine inlet temperature (TIT) was varied from the design specification to a practical value for a metallic high-temperature heat exchanger in an IFGT system. As expected, the results showed that the reduced TIT can have dramatic impact on the power output and thermal efficiency when compared to that in conventional gas turbines. However, the simulations also indicated that several configurations can lead to higher performance, even with the reduced TIT. Although the focus of the study is on evaluation of thermodynamic performance, the implications of varying configurations on cost and durability are also discussed.

Application of Nonparametric Methods to Rainflow Stress Density Estimation of Gas Turbine Engine Usage

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Enright ◽  
R. C. McClung ◽  
S. J. Hudak ◽  
H. R. Millwater
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Density Estimation ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Nonparametric Methods ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Turbine Engines ◽  
Density Estimator ◽  
Gas Turbine Engines ◽  
Turbine Engine

The risk of fracture associated with high energy rotating components in aircraft gas turbine engines can be sensitive to small changes in applied stress values which are often difficult to measure and predict. Although a parametric approach is often used to characterize random variables, it is difficult to apply to multimodal densities. Nonparametric methods provide a direct fit to the data, and can be used to estimate the multimodal densities often associated with rainflow stress data. In this paper, a comparison of parametric and nonparametric methods is presented for density estimation of rainflow stress profiles associated with military aircraft gas turbine engine usages. A nonparametric adaptive kernel density estimator algorithm is illustrated for standard parametric probability density functions and for rainflow stress pairs associated with F-16/F100 engine usages. The kernel estimates are compared to parametric estimates, including a hybrid approach based on separate treatment of maximum stress pairs. The results provide some insight regarding the strengths and weaknesses of parametric and nonparametric density estimation methods for gas turbine engines, and can be used to develop improved stress estimates for probabilistic life predictions.

Integrating Systems Engineering Into the USAF Academy Capstone Gas Turbine Engine Course

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
August J. Rolling ◽  
Aaron R. Byerley ◽  
Charles F. Wisniewski
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Aircraft Engine ◽  
Gas Turbine Engine ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Technical Management ◽  
Engine Design ◽  
Aeronautical Engineering ◽  
The Many

This paper is intended to serve as a template for incorporating technical management majors into a traditional engineering design course. In 2002, the Secretary of the Air Force encouraged the USAF Academy to initiate a new interdisciplinary academic major related to systems engineering. This direction was given in an effort to help meet the Air Force’s growing need for “systems” minded officers to manage the development and acquisition of its ever more complex weapons systems. The curriculum for the new systems engineering management (SEM) major is related to the “engineering of large, complex systems and the integration of the many subsystems that comprise the larger system” and differs in the level of technical content from the traditional engineering major. The program allows emphasis in specific cadet-selected engineering tracks with additional course work in human systems, operations research, and program management. Specifically, this paper documents how individual SEM majors have been integrated into aeronautical engineering design teams within a senior level capstone course to complete the preliminary design of a gas turbine engine. As the Aeronautical engineering (AE) cadets performed the detailed engine design, the SEM cadets were responsible for tracking performance, cost, schedule, and technical risk. Internal and external student assessments indicate that this integration has been successful at exposing both the AE majors and the SEM majors to the benefits of “systems thinking” by giving all the opportunity to employ SE tools in the context of a realistic aircraft engine design project.

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