Gas turbine

A gas turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a flow of combustion gas. It has an upstream compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between. (Gas turbine may also refer to just the turbine element.)

Gas turbines in vehicles

Gas turbines are used on ships, locomotives, helicopters, and in the M1 Abrams and T-80 tanks. A number of experiments have been conducted with gas turbine powered automobiles.

Related Topics:
Ship - Locomotive - Helicopter - M1 Abrams - T-80 - Tank - Automobile

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In 1950, designer F. R. Bell and Chief Engineer Maurice Wilks from British car manufacturers Rover unveiled the first car powered with a gas turbine engine. The two-seater JET1 had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail. During tests, the car reached top speeds of 140 km/h, at a turbine speed of 50,000 rpm. The car ran on petrol, paraffin or diesel oil, but fuel consumption problems proved insurmountable for a production car. It is currently on display at the London Science Museum. Rover and the BRM Formula One team joined forces to produce a gas turbine powered coupe, which entered the 1963 24 hours of Le Mans, driven by Graham Hill and Richie Ginther. It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h). American car manufacturer Chrysler demonstrated several prototype gas turbine-powered cars from the early 1950s through the early 1980s. A history of Chrysler turbine cars. In 1993 General Motors introduced the first commercial gas turbine powered hybrid vehicle—as a limited production run of the EV-1. A Williams International 40 kW turbine drove an alternator which powered the battery-electric powertrain. The turbine design included a recuperator.

Related Topics:
Rover - Petrol - Paraffin - Diesel - Science Museum - Formula One - 24 hours of Le Mans - Graham Hill - Chrysler - 1993 - General Motors - Hybrid vehicle - EV-1 - Williams International - Recuperator

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Gas turbines do offer a high-powered engine in a very small and light package, but there remain unchanged three main reasons why small turbines have not succeeded in an automotive application. Firstly, small turbines are fundamentally less fuel-efficient than small piston engines. Secondly, this problem is exacerbated by the requirement for automotive engines to run efficiently at idle and low throttle openings; turbines are notably inefficient at this. Finally, turbines have historically been more expensive to produce than piston engines, though this is partly because piston engines have been mass-produced in huge quantities for decades, while small turbines are rarities. It is also worth noting that a key advantage of jets and turboprops for aeroplane propulsion - their superior performance at high altitude compared to piston engines, particularly naturally-aspirated ones - is irrelevant in automobile applications. Their power-to-weight advantage is far less important. Their use in hybrids reduces the second problem. Capstone currently lists on their website a version of their turbines designed for installation in hybrid vehicles.

Related Topics:
Turboprop - Naturally-aspirated

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Their use in military tanks has been more successful. As well as their production use in the T-80 and Abrams, in the 1950's an FV214 Conqueror tank Heavy Tank was experimentally fitted with a Parsons 650 hp gas-turbine.

Related Topics:
Tank - Conqueror tank - Parsons

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Production gas turbine motorcycle first appeared in MTT Turbine SUPERBIKE in 2000. This high-priced machine is produced in miniscule numbers.

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Naval use

Gas turbines are used in many naval vessels, where they are valued for their high power-to-weight ratio and their ships' resulting acceleration and ability to get underway quickly. The first gas-turbine-powered naval vessel was the Royal Navy's Motor Gun Boat MGB 2009 (formerly MGB 509) converted in 1947. The first large, gas-turbine powered ships, were the Royal Navy's Type 81 (Tribal class) frigates, the first of which (HMS Ashanti) was commissioned in 1961.

Related Topics:
Royal Navy - Type 81 (Tribal class) - Frigate - HMS ''Ashanti'' - 1961

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The first U.S. gas-turbine powered ships were the U.S. Coast Guard's Hamilton-class High Endurance Cutters the first of which (USCGC Hamilton) commissioned in 1967. Since then, they have powered the U.S. Navy's Perry-class frigates, Spruance-class and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers. USS Makin Island, a modified Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, is to be the Navy's first amphib powered by gas turbines.

Related Topics:
U.S. Coast Guard - ''Hamilton''-class - High Endurance Cutters - USCGC ''Hamilton'' - 1967 - U.S. Navy - ''Perry''-class frigates - ''Spruance''-class - ''Arleigh Burke''-class - Destroyer - ''Ticonderoga''-class guided missile cruisers - USS ''Makin Island'' - ''Wasp''-class amphibious assault ship - Amphib

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