Type

Jet engine

typical axial-flow gas turbine turbojet, the J85, sectioned for

display. Flow is left to right, multistage compressor on left, combustion chambers center, two-
stage turbine on right
Airbreathing jet engines are gas turbines optimized to produce thrust from the exhaust
gases, or from ducted fans connected to the gas turbines.[40] Jet engines that produce
thrust from the direct impulse of exhaust gases are often called turbojets. While still in
service with many militaries and civilian operators, turbojets have mostly been phased
out in favor of the turbofan engine due to the turbojet's low fuel efficiency, and high
noise.[26] Those that generate thrust with the addition of a ducted fan are
called turbofans or (rarely) fan-jets. These engines produce nearly 80% of their thrust by
the ducted fan, which can be seen from the front of the engine. They come in two
types, low-bypass turbofan and high bypass, the difference being the amount of air
moved by the fan, called "bypass air". These engines offer the benefit of more thrust
without extra fuel consumption.[26][27]

Gas turbines are also used in many liquid-fuel rockets, where gas turbines are used to
power a turbopump to permit the use of lightweight, low-pressure tanks, reducing the
empty weight of the rocket.

Turboprop engines
[edit]
A turboprop engine is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction
gear to translate high turbine section operating speed (often in the 10s of thousands)
into low thousands necessary for efficient propeller operation. The benefit of using the
turboprop engine is to take advantage of the turbine engines high power-to-weight
ratio to drive a propeller, thus allowing a more powerful, but also smaller engine to be
used.[27] Turboprop engines are used on a wide range of business aircraft such as
the Pilatus PC-12, commuter aircraft such as the Beechcraft 1900, and small cargo
aircraft such as the Cessna 208 Caravan or De Havilland Canada Dash 8, and large
aircraft (typically military) such as the Airbus A400M transport, Lockheed AC-130 and
the 60-year-old Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber. While military turboprop engines can
vary, in the civilian market there are two primary engines to be found: the Pratt &
Whitney Canada PT6, a free-turbine turboshaft engine, and the Honeywell TPE331,
a fixed turbine engine (formerly designated as the Garrett AiResearch 331).

Aeroderivative gas turbines

[edit]

An LM6000 in an electrical power plant application

Aeroderivative gas turbines are generally based on existing aircraft gas turbine engines
and are smaller and lighter than industrial gas turbines.[41]

Aeroderivatives are used in electrical power generation due to their ability to be shut
down and handle load changes more quickly than industrial machines.[42] They are also
used in the marine industry to reduce weight. Common types include the General
Electric LM2500, General Electric LM6000, and aeroderivative versions of the Pratt &
Whitney PW4000, Pratt & Whitney FT4 and Rolls-Royce RB211.[41]

Amateur gas turbines

[edit]
Increasing numbers of gas turbines are being used or even constructed by amateurs.

In its most straightforward form, these are commercial turbines acquired through military
surplus or scrapyard sales, then operated for display as part of the hobby of engine
collecting.[43][44] In its most extreme form, amateurs have even rebuilt engines beyond
professional repair and then used them to compete for the land speed record.

The simplest form of self-constructed gas turbine employs an

automotive turbocharger as the core component. A combustion chamber is fabricated
and plumbed between the compressor and turbine sections.[45]

More sophisticated turbojets are also built, where their thrust and light weight are
sufficient to power large model aircraft.[46] The Schreckling design[46] constructs the entire
engine from raw materials, including the fabrication of a centrifugal compressor wheel
from plywood, epoxy and wrapped carbon fibre strands.

Several small companies now manufacture small turbines and parts for the amateur.
Most turbojet-powered model aircraft are now using these commercial and semi-
commercial microturbines, rather than a Schreckling-like home-build.[47]

Auxiliary power units

[edit]
Small gas turbines are used as auxiliary power units (APUs) to supply auxiliary power to
larger, mobile, machines such as an aircraft, and are a turboshaft design.[26] They
supply:

 compressed air for air cycle machine style air conditioning and ventilation,
 compressed air start-up power for larger jet engines,
 mechanical (shaft) power to a gearbox to drive shafted accessories, and
 electrical, hydraulic and other power-transmission sources to consuming devices
remote from the APU.
Industrial gas turbines for power generation
[edit]

Gateway Generating Station, a combined-cycle gas-fired

power station in California, uses two GE 7F.04 combustion turbines to burn natural gas.

GE H series power generation gas turbine: in combined

cycle configuration, its highest thermodynamic efficiency is 62.22%
See also: Gas-fired power plant
Industrial gas turbines differ from aeronautical designs in that the frames, bearings, and
blading are of heavier construction. They are also much more closely integrated with the
devices they power—often an electric generator—and the secondary-energy equipment
that is used to recover residual energy (largely heat).

They range in size from portable mobile plants to large, complex systems weighing
more than a hundred tonnes housed in purpose-built buildings. When the gas turbine is
used solely for shaft power, its thermal efficiency is about 30%. However, it may be
cheaper to buy electricity than to generate it. Therefore, many engines are used in CHP
(Combined Heat and Power) configurations that can be small enough to be integrated
into portable container configurations.

Gas turbines can be particularly efficient when waste heat from the turbine is recovered
by a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) to power a conventional steam turbine in
a combined cycle configuration.[48] The 605 MW General Electric 9HA achieved a
62.22% efficiency rate with temperatures as high as 1,540 °C (2,800 °F).[49] For 2018,
GE offers its 826 MW HA at over 64% efficiency in combined cycle due to advances
in additive manufacturing and combustion breakthroughs, up from 63.7% in 2017 orders
and on track to achieve 65% by the early 2020s.[50] In March 2018, GE Power achieved
a 63.08% gross efficiency for its 7HA turbine.[51]

Aeroderivative gas turbines can also be used in combined cycles, leading to a higher
efficiency, but it will not be as high as a specifically designed industrial gas turbine.
They can also be run in a cogeneration configuration: the exhaust is used for space or
water heating, or drives an absorption chiller for cooling the inlet air and increase the
power output, technology known as turbine inlet air cooling.

Another significant advantage is their ability to be turned on and off within minutes,
supplying power during peak, or unscheduled, demand. Since single cycle (gas turbine
only) power plants are less efficient than combined cycle plants, they are usually used
as peaking power plants, which operate anywhere from several hours per day to a few
dozen hours per year—depending on the electricity demand and the generating
capacity of the region. In areas with a shortage of base-load and load following power
plant capacity or with low fuel costs, a gas turbine powerplant may regularly operate
most hours of the day. A large single-cycle gas turbine typically produces 100 to
400 megawatts of electric power and has 35–40% thermodynamic efficiency.[52]

Industrial gas turbines for mechanical drive

[edit]
Industrial gas turbines that are used solely for mechanical drive or used in collaboration
with a recovery steam generator differ from power generating sets in that they are often
smaller and feature a dual shaft design as opposed to a single shaft. The power range
varies from 1 megawatt up to 50 megawatts.[citation needed] These engines are connected
directly or via a gearbox to either a pump or compressor assembly. The majority of
installations are used within the oil and gas industries. Mechanical drive applications
increase efficiency by around 2%.

Oil and gas platforms require these engines to drive compressors to inject gas into the
wells to force oil up via another bore, or to compress the gas for transportation. They
are also often used to provide power for the platform. These platforms do not need to
use the engine in collaboration with a CHP system due to getting the gas at an
extremely reduced cost (often free from burn off gas). The same companies use pump
sets to drive the fluids to land and across pipelines in various intervals.

Compressed air energy storage

[edit]
Main article: Compressed air energy storage
One modern development seeks to improve efficiency in another way, by separating the
compressor and the turbine with a compressed air store. In a conventional turbine, up to
half the generated power is used driving the compressor. In a compressed air energy
storage configuration, power is used to drive the compressor, and the compressed air is
released to operate the turbine when required.
Turboshaft engines
[edit]
Main article: Turboshaft
Turboshaft engines are used to drive compressors in gas pumping stations and natural
gas liquefaction plants. They are also used in aviation to power all but the smallest
modern helicopters, and function as an auxiliary power unit in large commercial aircraft.
A primary shaft carries the compressor and its turbine which, together with a combustor,
is called a Gas Generator. A separately spinning power-turbine is usually used to drive
the rotor on helicopters. Allowing the gas generator and power turbine/rotor to spin at
their own speeds allows more flexibility in their design.