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Free-turbine turboshaft

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generator core and power turbine revolved in opposite directions, reducing the overall moment of inertia. For the helicopter engine replacement market, this ability allowed previous engines of either direction to be replaced simply. Some turboshaft engines' omni-angle freedom of their installation angle also allowed installation into existing helicopter designs, no matter how the previous engines had been arranged. In time though, the move towards axial LP compressors and so smaller diameter engines encouraged a move to the now-standard layout of one or two engines set side-by-side, horizontally above the cabin.
17: 196: 318: 148: 116:, made a forced landing on the estuary mud. The Proteus gears were redesigned and an emergency fuel shut-off device was fitted to prevent a similar reoccurrence. Writing in 1994, Gunston found it remarkable that protection was not common on free-turbine engines. However, certification regulations allow other methods for preventing excessive overspeed such as disc rubbing and blade interference. 263: 183:
turbine) with the rotor brake, the engine could be started and then, with the gas generator at a speed of 10,500 rpm, the brake released allowing the power turbine to accelerate and bring the rotor to its operating speed from stationary in just 15 seconds and a time from engine start to take-off of only 30 seconds.
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For small turboprop engines, the free-turbine design has come to dominate and these designs are also mostly reversed overall, with their air inlet and compressor to the rear, feeding forwards to hot section and power turbine at the front. This places the turbine output close to the propeller gearbox,
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Turboprop aircraft are still powered by a range of free- and non-free turbine engines. Larger engines have mostly retained the non-free design, although many are two-shaft designs where the 'power' turbine drives the propeller and the low-pressure compressor while the high-pressure compressor has its
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are a major market for turboshaft engines. When turboshaft engines became available in the 1950s, they were rapidly adopted for both new designs and as replacements for piston engines. They offered more power and far better power to weight ratios. Piston helicopters of this period had barely adequate
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The advantage of the pusher propfan with a free power turbine is its simplicity. The prop blades are attached directly to the outside of the rotating turbine disc. No gearboxes or drive shafts are required. The short length of the rotating components also reduces vibration. The static structure of
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where fuel is mixed with the compressed air and ignited. The combustion gases are expanded through a compressor-driving turbine, and then through a "free" power turbine before being exhausted to the atmosphere. The compressor and its turbine are connected by a common shaft which, together with the
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where the power is extracted from the exhaust stream of a gas turbine by an independent turbine, downstream of the gas turbine. The power turbine is not mechanically connected to the turbines that drive the compressors, hence the term "free", referring to the independence of the power output shaft
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The free-turbine engine was found to be particularly suitable. It does not need a clutch, as the gas generator may be started while the output shaft remains stationary. For the Wessex, this was used to give a particularly fast take-off from a cold start. By locking the main rotor (and the power
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A further advantage of the free turbine design was the ease with which a counter-rotating engine could be designed and manufactured, simply by reversing the power turbine alone. This allowed handed engines to be made in pairs when needed. It also allowed contra-rotating engines, where the gas
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to destruction after losing its connection to the propeller load. (In a single-shaft arrangement with a similar gearbox failure the turbine would still have most of its load from the compressor). Such a failure resulted in the 1954 accident of the second prototype
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Turboshaft engines are sometimes characterized by the number of spools. This refers to the number of compressor-and-turbine assemblies in the gas generator stage and does not include the free power turbine assembly. As an example, the
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The advantage of the free turbine is that the two turbines can operate at different speeds and that these speeds can vary relative to each other. This is particularly advantageous for varying loads, such as turboprop engines.
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have free turbines. The TP400 is a three-shaft design, with two compressor turbines and a separate power turbine. Where the turbine is at the rear of the engine, a turboprop engine requires a long drive shaft forwards to the
351:) two-spool gas turbine engine. A commercial derivative has been designed as the TF15 for marine and railroad applications, and a flight-rated version, the PLT27, was also developed but lost a major contract to the 250:
avoiding the need for a long driveshaft. Such engines are often recognisable externally, as they use external 'elbow' exhausts ahead of the main engine. A particularly common example of this is the
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Simplified turboshaft engine, with a rear driveshaft, such as for a helicopter. The compressor spool, turbine and compressor, is in green. The free power turbine is in purple.
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Most turboshaft and turboprop engines now use free turbines. This includes those for static power generation, as marine propulsion and particularly for helicopters.
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One particular failure scenario, a gearbox failure, showed a free-turbine arrangement to be more at risk than a single-shaft turboprop. It could suffer a turbine
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turbine-powered HAR.9. As one of the first anti-submarine helicopters, the HAS.7 had been so weight restricted that it could carry either a search sonar
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led to an overspeed and release of the power turbine of Nº3 engine. It cut through the oil tank and started a fire that threatened the integrity of the
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Ukrainian MS-14VM helicopter engine, with typical side-mounted exhaust and with the output power shaft from the turbine passing through it
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performance; the switch to a turbine engine could both reduce several hundred pounds of engine weight, 600 lb (270 kg) for the
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is a single-spool design that uses a 14-stage axial compressor; the independent power shaft is coaxial with the gas generator shaft.
700:. International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Congress and Exposition. Cologne, Germany: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 1137: 1110: 441: 1142: 680:. International Gas Turbine Conference and Exhibit. Dusseldorf, Germany: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 722: 635: 1010: 52: 16: 651: 199: 884: 168: 1059: 251: 1247: 132: 492:. Gas Turbine Power Conference and Exhibit. Washington, D.C.: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 40:(or spool). This is opposed to the power being extracted from the turbine/compressor shaft via a gearbox. 1095: 243: 578: 553: 63:
A free-turbine turboshaft ingests air through an intake. The air passes through a compressor and into a
1090: 861: 606: 285:, rather than the more familiar tractor layout. The first such engine was the very early and promising 1278: 246:. Such long shafts can be a difficult design problem and must carefully control any shaft vibration. 1167: 1085: 945: 290: 286: 105: 56: 1039: 821: 511: 1015: 985: 980: 899: 816: 717:. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. pp. 218–222. 532: 359: 215: 712: 301:
the engine over this length is a large diameter tube within the turbine. In most designs, two
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rings of turbine and propeller are used. Intermeshed contra-rotating turbines can act as the
266: 226:. It first ran in July 1945 and in December 1946 was the first turboprop to pass a 100 hour 195: 1237: 1200: 1152: 909: 282: 77: 8: 366: 741: 1105: 1054: 391: 172: 36: 1132: 924: 718: 656: 631: 583: 558: 437: 341: 322: 94: 1232: 1025: 995: 965: 894: 348: 337: 227: 223: 1190: 879: 807: 776: 627: 386: 302: 234: 211: 164: 136: 102: 317: 792: 238: 160: 140: 98: 1267: 1157: 955: 929: 856: 69: 1211: 1185: 1175: 1005: 960: 601:
LeMoir, Ken (September 2001). "The Theseus, our first Gas Turbine engine".
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An attractively simple configuration making use of the free turbine is the
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Textron Lycoming AGT1500 Engine—Transitioning for Future Applications
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of 1942 with a ducted fan, followed by the unducted and much lighter
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Design and Development Review of the T64 Turboprop/Turboshaft Engine
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combustor, is known as a gas generator, which is modelled using the
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The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines
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with PT-6 engine, showing the exhaust elbows ahead of the engine
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The AVCO-Lycoming TF15: A Regenerative Marine Gas Turbine
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gas turbine and its broad design had been produced by
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for each other, removing the need for static vanes.
482: 233:Some large turboprop engines, such as the original 72:. The (free) power turbine is on a separate shaft. 1148:Engine-indicating and crew-alerting system (EICAS) 210:The first free-turbine gas turbine engine was the 1181:Full Authority Digital Engine/Electronics (FADEC) 573: 571: 569: 254:engine, of which over 50,000 have been produced. 1265: 548: 546: 711:Leyes, Richard A.; Fleming, William A. (1999). 434:The Development of Jet and Turbine Aero Engines 1138:Electronic centralised aircraft monitor (ECAM) 690: 618: 616: 566: 358:Turboshaft engines were used to power several 139:showing the circumferential air intake of the 757: 670: 596: 594: 543: 424: 422: 456: 613: 496: 1143:Electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) 764: 750: 591: 525: 419: 143:and the two exhausts (red covers) per side 97:, G-ALRX, which was forced to land in the 316: 261: 194: 146: 131: 51: 15: 483:Ehrich, Frederic F. (March 5–9, 1961). 428: 1266: 600: 745: 508:Britannia Aircraft Preservation Trust 83: 13: 257: 14: 1290: 691:Horan, Richard (June 1–4, 1992). 671:Lauriat, T.B. (June 8–12, 1986). 1011:Thrust specific fuel consumption 652:"Whatever happened to propfans?" 562:. 29 November 1957. p. 838. 704: 684: 664: 644: 533:"Accident description – G-ALRX" 312: 119: 1060:Propeller speed reduction unit 476: 457:Parsons, Dan (18 March 2015). 450: 214:turboprop. This was the first 127: 1: 412: 587:. 26 July 1957. p. 118. 277:engine, with a rear-mounted 7: 971:Engine pressure ratio (EPR) 630:. 1986. pp. 6, 53–54. 380: 244:propeller reduction gearbox 190: 106:propeller reduction gearbox 10: 1295: 1238:Auxiliary power unit (APU) 862:Rotating detonation engine 1225: 1199: 1166: 1123: 1068: 1047: 1038: 938: 870: 800: 786: 377:(United States) service. 362:, most notably using the 179:a torpedo, but not both. 47: 946:Aircraft engine starting 504:"History of Romeo X-Ray" 287:Metropolitan-Vickers F.3 57:Austin 250hp gas turbine 822:Pulse detonation engine 537:Aviation Safety Network 360:gas turbine locomotives 26:free-turbine turboshaft 1016:Thrust to weight ratio 986:Overall pressure ratio 981:Jet engine performance 900:Centrifugal compressor 817:Gluhareff Pressure Jet 330: 270: 203: 152: 144: 60: 21: 1253:Ice protection system 1021:Variable cycle engine 991:Propulsive efficiency 407:Turbo-compound engine 402:Rocket turbine engine 320: 265: 198: 150: 135: 55: 19: 1153:Flight data recorder 910:Constant speed drive 890:Afterburner (reheat) 283:pusher configuration 78:General Electric T64 579:"Aero Engines 1957" 101:. A failure in the 1055:Propeller governor 392:Free-piston engine 331: 271: 204: 173:de Havilland Gnome 169:Westland Whirlwind 153: 145: 61: 37:gas turbine engine 22: 1261: 1260: 1133:Annunciator panel 1119: 1118: 1034: 1033: 925:Propelling nozzle 609:. pp. 18–23. 443:978-1-85260-618-3 342:Honeywell AGT1500 95:Bristol Britannia 84:Risk of overspeed 1286: 1279:Aircraft engines 1248:Hydraulic system 1243:Bleed air system 1233:Air-start system 1096:Counter-rotating 1045: 1044: 1026:Windmill restart 996:Specific impulse 966:Compressor stall 895:Axial compressor 798: 797: 766: 759: 752: 743: 742: 736: 735: 733: 731: 708: 702: 701: 699: 688: 682: 681: 679: 668: 662: 661: 648: 642: 641: 626:(4th ed.). 620: 611: 610: 598: 589: 588: 575: 564: 563: 550: 541: 540: 529: 523: 522: 520: 519: 510:. Archived from 500: 494: 493: 491: 480: 474: 473: 471: 469: 454: 448: 447: 426: 340:is powered by a 338:main battle tank 224:Tockington Manor 1294: 1293: 1289: 1288: 1287: 1285: 1284: 1283: 1264: 1263: 1262: 1257: 1221: 1204: 1195: 1191:Thrust reversal 1168:Engine controls 1162: 1125: 1115: 1091:Contra-rotating 1064: 1030: 934: 880:Accessory drive 872: 866: 808:Air turborocket 790: 782: 770: 740: 739: 729: 727: 725: 709: 705: 697: 689: 685: 677: 669: 665: 660:. 12 June 2007. 650: 649: 645: 638: 628:Rolls-Royce plc 622: 621: 614: 605:. No. 31. 599: 592: 577: 576: 567: 552: 551: 544: 531: 530: 526: 517: 515: 502: 501: 497: 489: 481: 477: 467: 465: 455: 451: 444: 427: 420: 415: 387:Air turborocket 383: 315: 303:contra-rotating 260: 258:Pusher propfans 237:and the modern 235:Bristol Proteus 212:Bristol Theseus 193: 165:Westland Wessex 130: 122: 103:Bristol Proteus 86: 50: 12: 11: 5: 1292: 1282: 1281: 1276: 1259: 1258: 1256: 1255: 1250: 1245: 1240: 1235: 1229: 1227: 1223: 1222: 1220: 1219: 1214: 1208: 1206: 1197: 1196: 1194: 1193: 1188: 1183: 1178: 1172: 1170: 1164: 1163: 1161: 1160: 1155: 1150: 1145: 1140: 1135: 1129: 1127: 1121: 1120: 1117: 1116: 1114: 1113: 1111:Variable-pitch 1108: 1103: 1098: 1093: 1088: 1086:Constant-speed 1083: 1078: 1072: 1070: 1066: 1065: 1063: 1062: 1057: 1051: 1049: 1042: 1036: 1035: 1032: 1031: 1029: 1028: 1023: 1018: 1013: 1008: 1003: 998: 993: 988: 983: 978: 973: 968: 963: 958: 953: 948: 942: 940: 936: 935: 933: 932: 927: 922: 917: 912: 907: 902: 897: 892: 887: 882: 876: 874: 868: 867: 865: 864: 859: 854: 849: 844: 839: 834: 829: 824: 819: 810: 804: 802: 795: 793:jet propulsion 784: 783: 769: 768: 761: 754: 746: 738: 737: 723: 703: 683: 663: 643: 636: 624:The Jet Engine 612: 590: 565: 542: 524: 495: 475: 449: 442: 417: 416: 414: 411: 410: 409: 404: 399: 394: 389: 382: 379: 314: 311: 259: 256: 192: 189: 161:Napier Gazelle 137:Wessex HAS.31B 129: 126: 121: 118: 99:Severn Estuary 85: 82: 49: 46: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1291: 1280: 1277: 1275: 1272: 1271: 1269: 1254: 1251: 1249: 1246: 1244: 1241: 1239: 1236: 1234: 1231: 1230: 1228: 1226:Other systems 1224: 1218: 1215: 1213: 1210: 1209: 1207: 1203:and induction 1202: 1198: 1192: 1189: 1187: 1184: 1182: 1179: 1177: 1174: 1173: 1171: 1169: 1165: 1159: 1158:Glass cockpit 1156: 1154: 1151: 1149: 1146: 1144: 1141: 1139: 1136: 1134: 1131: 1130: 1128: 1122: 1112: 1109: 1107: 1104: 1102: 1099: 1097: 1094: 1092: 1089: 1087: 1084: 1082: 1079: 1077: 1074: 1073: 1071: 1067: 1061: 1058: 1056: 1053: 1052: 1050: 1046: 1043: 1041: 1037: 1027: 1024: 1022: 1019: 1017: 1014: 1012: 1009: 1007: 1004: 1002: 999: 997: 994: 992: 989: 987: 984: 982: 979: 977: 974: 972: 969: 967: 964: 962: 959: 957: 956:Brayton cycle 954: 952: 949: 947: 944: 943: 941: 937: 931: 930:Turbine blade 928: 926: 923: 921: 918: 916: 913: 911: 908: 906: 903: 901: 898: 896: 893: 891: 888: 886: 883: 881: 878: 877: 875: 869: 863: 860: 858: 855: 853: 850: 848: 845: 843: 840: 838: 835: 833: 830: 828: 825: 823: 820: 818: 814: 811: 809: 806: 805: 803: 799: 796: 794: 789: 785: 781: 778: 774: 767: 762: 760: 755: 753: 748: 747: 744: 726: 724:1-56347-332-1 720: 716: 715: 707: 696: 695: 687: 676: 675: 667: 659: 658: 653: 647: 639: 637:0-902121-04-9 633: 629: 625: 619: 617: 608: 604: 597: 595: 586: 585: 580: 574: 572: 570: 561: 560: 555: 549: 547: 538: 534: 528: 514:on 2015-09-27 513: 509: 505: 499: 488: 487: 479: 464: 460: 453: 445: 439: 435: 431: 430:Gunston, Bill 425: 423: 418: 408: 405: 403: 400: 398: 395: 393: 390: 388: 385: 384: 378: 376: 373:(France) and 372: 368: 365: 361: 356: 354: 350: 347: 343: 339: 336: 328: 325:turbine in a 324: 321:Changing the 319: 310: 308: 304: 298: 296: 292: 288: 284: 280: 276: 268: 264: 255: 253: 247: 245: 240: 236: 231: 229: 225: 221: 217: 213: 208: 207:own turbine. 201: 197: 188: 184: 180: 178: 174: 170: 166: 162: 157: 149: 142: 138: 134: 125: 117: 115: 112:. The pilot, 111: 107: 104: 100: 96: 91: 81: 79: 73: 71: 70:Brayton Cycle 66: 58: 54: 45: 41: 38: 35: 31: 28:is a form of 27: 18: 1274:Gas turbines 1212:Flame holder 1186:Thrust lever 1176:Autothrottle 1006:Thrust lapse 961:Bypass ratio 788:Gas turbines 780:gas turbines 728:. Retrieved 713: 706: 693: 686: 673: 666: 655: 646: 623: 603:Sleeve Notes 602: 582: 557: 536: 527: 516:. Retrieved 512:the original 507: 498: 485: 478: 466:. Retrieved 463:FlightGlobal 462: 452: 433: 357: 355:turboshaft. 332: 313:Land and sea 299: 279:unducted fan 272: 269:unducted fan 248: 232: 209: 205: 185: 181: 176: 154: 123: 120:Applications 87: 74: 62: 59:, sectioned. 42: 25: 23: 1126:instruments 1081:Blade pitch 1076:Autofeather 920:Nose bullet 773:Jet engines 307:guide vanes 220:Frank Owner 200:Beech T-34C 156:Helicopters 128:Helicopters 1268:Categories 1069:Principles 1048:Components 1040:Propellers 939:Principles 885:Air intake 873:components 871:Mechanical 847:Turboshaft 518:2015-06-14 413:References 375:Turboliner 371:Turbotrain 344:(formerly 30:turboshaft 1101:Proprotor 951:Bleed air 905:Combustor 842:Turboprop 432:(2006) . 364:Turbomeca 335:M1 Abrams 327:M1 Abrams 228:type test 114:Bill Pegg 110:wing spar 90:overspeed 65:combustor 34:turboprop 1217:Jet fuel 1106:Scimitar 976:Flameout 915:Impeller 837:Turbojet 832:Turbofan 813:Pulsejet 777:aircraft 730:30 March 554:"Wessex" 468:30 March 397:Motorjet 381:See also 349:Lycoming 191:Aircraft 1205:systems 827:Propfan 353:GE T700 346:Textron 323:AGT1500 275:propfan 216:Bristol 163:of the 141:Gazelle 1124:Engine 1001:Thrust 857:Rocket 852:Ramjet 721:  657:Flight 634:  584:Flight 559:Flight 440:  48:Design 801:Types 698:(PDF) 678:(PDF) 607:R-RHT 490:(PDF) 367:Turmo 239:TP400 1201:Fuel 791:and 775:and 732:2020 719:ISBN 632:ISBN 470:2020 438:ISBN 333:The 329:tank 267:GE36 369:in 291:F.5 281:in 252:PT6 222:at 32:or 1270:: 654:. 615:^ 593:^ 581:. 568:^ 556:. 545:^ 535:. 506:. 461:. 421:^ 295:GE 230:. 177:or 24:A 815:/ 765:e 758:t 751:v 734:. 640:. 539:. 521:. 472:. 446:.

Index


turboshaft
turboprop
gas turbine engine

Austin 250hp gas turbine
combustor
Brayton Cycle
General Electric T64
overspeed
Bristol Britannia
Severn Estuary
Bristol Proteus
propeller reduction gearbox
wing spar
Bill Pegg

Wessex HAS.31B
Gazelle

Helicopters
Napier Gazelle
Westland Wessex
Westland Whirlwind
de Havilland Gnome

Beech T-34C
Bristol Theseus
Bristol
Frank Owner

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