Description of an Operating Closed Cycle: Helium Gas Turbine

In May of 1960 La Fleur Enterprises, later to become The La Fleur Corporation, undertook the design of a closed-cycle gas turbine utilizing helium as a working fluid. The useful output of this machine was to be in the form of a stream of helium bled from the last stage of the compressor. This stream was to be used in a low-temperature refrigeration cycle (not described in this paper) and would be returned to the compressor inlet at approximately ambient temperature and at compressor-inlet pressure. The design of this machine was completed by the end of 1960 and construction was initiated immediately. The unit was completed and initial tests were made in the Spring of 1962. This paper covers the design philosophy as it affected the conceptual and preliminary design phases of the project and describes briefly the design of the various components. Photographs of these components and a flow schematic are included.

Experience With Mobile Gas Turbines

The Comision Federal de Electricidad of Mexico in 1954 ordered two mobile gas-turbine sets; an additional identical set was ordered in 1955. The first two units went into service in 1955 and the third in 1956. Therefore, all three units have been operated for more than 6 years. This paper reviews briefly the operation data and the difficulties and problems involved. Finally, a few remarks are made in relation to future use of similar units.

Aircraft Turbine Power: Supporting the Prima Donna

A discussion of recent experience with several models of gas-turbine power plants used in scheduled air-carrier operation: The causes of in-flight shutdowns and unscheduled removals; the programs to monitor performance and maintain reliability; and major problems facing the operators today.

Gas-Turbine Peaking Power Plants and Future Outlook

The considerations justifying peaking power plants have been discussed in numerous publications, some of which are referenced in the Appendix. With the acceptance of the gas turbine by various utilities as a suitable prime mover for use in peaking service, a relatively inexpensive machine became available in reasonably large blocks of power. The most recent concept in peaking service is equipment for peak shaving. This is that facet of a utility operation of shaving the peak off the top of a load duration curve. This involves equipment that can be installed at a very nominal investment per kilowatt and maintained at a minimum cost; for example, a remote unattended unit with low standby cost and an overhaul period of 5 years or more. This is readily obtainable with a normal operating period of 500 to 1000 hr per year in peak shaving service.

What to do About Gas-Turbine Noise

A brief review is made of the various applications for the gas turbine. A discussion is presented which indicates the cause of the intake and exhaust noise. Equations are given which will allow calculations of the noise for a large range of gas-turbine-engine sizes. Other acoustical data are presented which provide the design engineer with a method to evaluate specific gas-turbine noise problems. General information is given on the selection of silencers and enclosures for reduction of noise to appropriate design goals. A typical example of a gas-turbine noise problem is detailed.

Gas-Turbine Application in U. S. Coast Guard Vessels

This paper is a summarization of the application of gas turbines for Coast Guard shipboard use. Included are discussions of turbine applications in present use and their results, vessels presently being built which will employ gas turbines, and possible future applications of gas turbines both for main and auxiliary power aboard Coast Guard vessels. Comparisons of gas turbines with other power sources as to weight, space, fuel consumption and economy are included for the presently known applications.

Noise Control of a Jet Engine Converted to a Fixed-Plant Installation

This paper describes the step-by-step procedure involved in solving a noise-control problem associated with the use of a J47 turbojet as a fixed-plant turbine-generator. Noise-reduction requirements for the turbine exhaust and intake are computed to satisfy both a hearing-loss criterion and a speech communication criterion. An impervious enclosure or a resilient wrapping, a lined 90-deg bend, the directive nature of one of the sources, and a muffler of acoustic baffles are utilized in solving the problem.

Secondary-Flow Phenomena in Stator and Rotor-Blade Rows and Their Effect on Turbine Performance

Investigations made at the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory (now the NASA Lewis Research Center) on secondary-flow phenomena in stator and rotor-blade rows are interpreted, with the aid of low-speed flow visualization experiments, in order to establish sources and patterns of secondary flows there. Two stator configurations were designed to modify the stator-exit loss patterns and were investigated in conjunction with a transonic rotor to determine the effect on overall turbine performance of either reducing or eliminating stator-blade wakes and secondary-flow loss accumulations.

The Gas Turbine-Air-Cleaner Dilemma

The person confronted with the selection of a gas-turbine air cleaner is faced with a dilemma because the data available to guide his selection are inconsistent and not complete. The need for air cleaners has been established. The level of air-cleaner efficiency required to protect the gas turbine from the effects of dust ingestion has not. This paper reviews the data available and relates it to Donaldson Company experience. Air-cleaner specifications and how they are influenced by gas-turbine needs and experience are discussed. Today’s gas-turbine air cleaners and what they will do are reviewed. The paper concludes that it is essential to determine the level of air-cleaner protection required by the various gas turbines and suggests programs to determine it through laboratory and field tests. Further work in air-cleaner and gas-turbine design is suggested to obtain an optimum gas-turbine air cleaner and to obtain long-life gas turbines.

A Proposed Gas-Turbine Propulsion Plant for Great Lakes Ore Carriers

The present status of overage ships in the Great Lakes bulk carrying fleet, the problems of economic replacement, and the requirements for main propulsion and auxiliary machinery are delineated. With established requirements, the paper develops a gas-turbine machinery plant and compares it to the steam plant used in recent construction. The operating and environmental conditions existing on the Great Lakes are presented as influencing factors in the final plant selection. The study concludes that there is an existing need for new construction to replace obsolete vessels and that the gas-turbine plant will be lower in initial and operating costs when compared with the steam plant, for this application.