Module 15 – Gas Turbine Engine

A turbine is any kind of spinning device that uses the action of a fluid (air, wind, water, steam and helium) to produce work. Windmills and hydroelectric dams have used turbine action for decades to turn the core of an electrical generator to produce power for both industrial and residential consumption.

The history of the gas turbine as a viable energy conversion device began with Frank Whittle’s patent award on the jet engine in 1930 and his static test of a jet engine in 1937. Shortly after, in 1939, Hans von Ohain led a German demonstration of jet-engine-powered flight, and the Brown Boveri company introduced a 4-MW gas-turbine-driven electrical power system in Neuchatel, Switzerland. In England, the 1930s’ invention and development of the aircraft gas turbine by Frank Whittle resulted in a similar British flight in 1941.

The success of the gas turbine in replacing the reciprocating engine as a power plant for high-speed aircraft is well known. The development of the gas turbine was less rapid as a stationary power plant in competition with steam for the generation of electricity and with the spark-ignition and diesel engines in transportation and stationary applications. Applications of gas turbines are now growing at a rapid pace as research and development produces performance and reliability increases and economic benefits.

This module introduce you to the gas turbine engine fundamentals, operation, types, fuel and lubrication requirments, starting and ignition systems, as well as the instalation, monitoring, storage and preservation.