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Chapter 15

TURBINES
Objective: To understand the basic operation of turbines.

Desired Learning Outcomes:

1. Comprehend the basic purpose of turbines.

2. Understand the various types of turbine blading.

3. Realize the blade design considerations and blade manufacture.

4. Understand the various turbine instalments and cooling measures.

5. Understand the turbine faults.

Introduction
1.      The high temperature, high pressure gases leaving the combustion system
contain a large amount of energy, most of which needs to be extracted as efficiently
as possible to drive the compressor and engine driven accessories.  The remainder
is available for output, either by driving a power turbine or by forming a propelling jet.
2.      The extraction of this energy is done by the turbine which, like the axial
flow compressor, consists of stages of fixed blades, known as turbine stator blades
or more usually nozzle guide vanes (NGV), and rotor blades.  Each turbine ‘stage’
contains one set of NGVs followed by one set of rotor blades.
3.      The turbine differs from the compressor, however, in that by expanding the gas
flow it is moving it in the direction of decreasing pressure, i.e. the gas’s direction of
natural flow, so the tendency to incur losses is much reduced.  This fundamental
difference between compressor and turbine is useful to the engine designer, as it
allows the use of a turbine with few stages to drive a multi-stage compressor spool.
Energy Transfer from Gas Flow to Turbine
4.      Turbine stages may be designed as predominantly impulse or predominantly
reaction with a considerable change in contour from blade root to tip.
(a)      Impulse. In a turbine stage where the blading is of the impulse
type, a pressure drop occurs only in the convergent NGV passages, together
with a corresponding velocity increase.  The resultant stream of high velocity
gas is directed at the rotor blades where the passages are constant in area and
therefore there is no further pressure drop.  However, although its scalar
element remains constant, the direction of the air velocity is changed, producing
an impulse on the turbine which causes it to rotate.  This is the oldest system
and can be likened to the water wheel (Fig 15-1). 

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Fig 15-1 Impulse Blading

(b)      Reaction. Exactly the opposite series of events takes place in a

reaction turbine.  The entire pressure drop takes place between the rotor blades
which have convergent passages in the direction of flow - the NGVs do no more
than alter or guide the flow for the rotors. The turbine is driven round by the
reaction force resulting from the acceleration of the gas through the converging
blade passage; both the direction and the magnitude of the gas velocity are
changed (Fig 15-2).  Again, in practice, pure reaction blading is not used in gas
turbine engines as it is inefficient.

Fig 15-2 Reaction Blading

(c)      Practical Aircraft Engine Blading. In a turbo jet aircraft, a

compromise between impulse and reaction blading is used, where the blade
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root is largely impulse blading and the blade tip mainly reaction blading, with a
smooth transition along the length of the blade.
Turbine Operating Conditions
5.      Owing to the emphasis on low weight and small diameter, the turbine in a gas
turbine engine is subjected to severe operating conditions:
(a)      The operating temperatures experienced are extremely high, as the
specific work output from the turbine is dependent on turbine entry temperature
(TET).  TETs of the order of 1640º K (1367º C) are not uncommon and engines
under development have TETs of 1850º K.  In addition to the high entry
temperatures, the turbine must also accept a fairly high stage temperature drop
(approximately 200º K) without a serious drop in efficiency.
(b)      As well as experiencing high thermal stresses, the turbine must be
capable of withstanding the large centrifugal stresses generated by the high
rotational speeds.  Tip speeds of around 400 m/s and associated gas velocities
of 600 m/s are normal.
c.      The power absorbed by the turbine to drive the compressor can be very
high.  Fig 15-3, illustrates typical power transmission values of a multi-spool
engine.

Fig 15-3

NGV and Turbine Blade Design Considerations

6.      Nozzle guide vanes are of aerofoil shape and form a convergent passage
between adjacent blades to convert the pressure energy of the gas flow to kinetic
energy.  The gas flow must be turned through a relatively large angle of deflection
from the axial direction and, at the same time, undergo expansion from low velocities
to sonic or near supersonic speeds. NGVs must withstand higher gas temperatures
than those which the turbine blades experience and they are normally hollow, so that
they can be cooled by passing HP air through them.  In addition, NGVs are
subjected to temperature and stress fluctuations caused by either uneven flow
distribution from the compressor, or by flame pulsating within the combustion
chamber.  NGVs are normally manufactured with shrouds fitted to both the top and
bottom of the vane. These shrouds form a smooth passage for the gas flow, avoid tip
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leakages, and permit a thinner vane wall section by providing increased rigidity.  The
vanes are often welded together in sets providing limited radial movement (Fig 15-
4). 

Fig 15-4
NGV Installation

7. Turbine blades have to extract sufficient work from the gas flow to drive the
compressor in as few stages as possible.  In addition, if the engine is multi-spool, the
situation is more complex with each turbine section driving its corresponding
compressor i.e. HP, IP or LP.  The HP turbine driving the HP compressor spool can
be single stage, as it receives gases of high energy, but by the time the gases reach
the IP or LP sections more blade area is needed if a proper work balance is to be
maintained.  To accomplish this, a multi-stage turbine may be necessary, with
increasingly larger blades.

Blade Manufacture

8.      Turbine blade materials have to meet some exacting requirements, such as:

(a)      High fatigue strength.

(b)      Good creep resistance qualities.

(c)      Resistance to thermal shock.

(d)      Resistance to corrosion.

(e)      Economic to manufacture.

Turbine Installations

9.    Turbine installations vary depending on the type and number of separate
compressors or power shafts that need to be driven.  The different configurations are
listed as follows:

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(a)      Single-spool Turbine.

With this arrangement the
turbine is connected by a
single shaft to the
compressor.  The numbers of
turbine stages depend on the
power required to drive the
compressor (Fig 15-5).

Fig 15-5

(b)      Multi-spool Turbines. Engines with more than one compressor

spool require a separate turbine for each of the spools. Fig 15-6 shows the
turbine arrangement for such an engine, which in this instance is three spool.

Fig 15-6

(c)      Direct Coupled Turbo shaft. This configuration is similar to that

described in 9a with the addition of an extension shaft attached to the front of
the compressor to drive a propeller. As the majority of the energy of the gas
stream is extracted to drive the compressor and propeller, a multi-stage turbine
is fitted. 

Fig 15-7

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(d)      Free Turbine. This arrangement is another turbo shaft engine

with a separate or ‘free’ turbine driving the propeller or rotor (Fig 15-8).

Fig 15-8

Turbine and Disc Cooling

10.    In addition to being designed with the correct contour to produce the desired
energy transfer, turbine blades, vanes and the discs must also withstand high
temperatures.  The gas turbine is a high temperature machine and increased
operating temperatures give an increased specific output from the engine, i.e. higher
thrust for the same engine size and weight.
11.    At turbine entry temperatures (TET) suitable for adequate thrust, all materials
suitable for blading and discs are affected by stress and creep.  Creep is the
continuous extension of a component under loads, even though the load is less than
that which would cause fracture.  The degree of creep is dependent on the
temperature, where the higher the temperature the greater the amount of creep. 
Thus the guide vanes, the blades and their discs must be cooled to permit them to
withstand these high TETs.
12.    Disc Cooling. The turbine disc is heated by the effect of radiation and
conduction from the turbine blades, and hot gas leakages past the seals.  HP air
from the compressor is used to cool the front face of the turbine disc. If a number of
discs have to be cooled the seals are arranged to provide a cascade.  The cooling
airflow will also pressurize the space around the shaft and prevent high temperature
gas access.  The rear face of the turbine disc is protected by the exhaust cone and
additional cooling air is sometimes bled over the rear face of the disc through the
rear-fairing supports (Fig 15-9).

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Fig 15-9 Disc Cooling

Fig 15-10 General Arrangement of Turbine and Disc Cooling

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13.    Turbine Blade and Vane Cooling.  Blades and vanes are cooled with air
tapped from the compressor which is at a suitable temperature and pressure for
cooling.  The amount of air required is only a small percentage of the total
compressor output and is taken into account during the design stage.  Air cooling of
blades is currently carried out in one of two ways: by convection or film cooling.
(a)      Convection Cooling. Convection cooling is achieved by passing
cooling air through longitudinal holes or hollow blade sections.  Examples of
this method are shown in Fig 15-11.

Fig 15-11

Fig 15-11

(b) Film Cooled Blades. It is done by passing a film of cold air over
the surface, thus protecting it from the hot gas flow. However, it is expensive to
develop and produce, so designers have concentrated their efforts at providing
cooling to the portions of the blade which have the greatest need i.e. the
leading and the trailing edges (Fig 15-2).

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Fig 15-12
Turbine Faults
14.    Loss of Tip Clearance. The service life of a gas turbine engine is generally
limited by the condition of high temperature components.  The designed tip
clearance between the turbine blades and the shroud ring can decrease because of
blade creep and bearing wear. 
15.    Buckling, Cracking and Distortion. Hot spots from misaligned, damaged
combustion systems or faulty blade cooling may give rise to blade troubles,
particularly distortion and cracking of the NGV trailing edges.  If cracks are not
rapidly seen, pieces of the material may break away and either cause further
damage to the turbine, or impose eccentric dynamic loading on the assembly. 

16.    Foreign Object Damage (FOD). Occasionally, damage can result from
foreign objects, although compressor damage will occur as well.  Turbofan engines
are not as prone to FOD on turbines as, after passing through the LP compressor,
most of the debris is centrifuged into the bypass duct.  The majority of FOD damage
to the turbine comes by carbon breaking away and passing through the turbine. 
Small scratches and chips are allowed, but these limits are very small because of the
extreme operating conditions of the turbine.
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17.   Turbine Blade Containment. Turbine blades are small pieces of metal
rotating at high RPM. If a blade is torn out it will be thrown out tangentially by
centrifugal force. This can do a lot of damage. So a containment shield is there to
retain detached blades. Should a turbine blade become detached from the disc
during engine operation, the destructive force is so great that secondary damage
caused by the blade can result in the loss of the aircraft.  Various methods of
containment are employed such as increasing the strength of the turbine casing and
having reinforced bands placed around the aircraft engine bay protecting the vital
parts of the aircraft structure, such as fuel tanks and control runs.

Questions for Study and Discussion

DLO 1

1. What is the purpose of turbine?

DLO 2

1. What is practical aircraft engine blading?

DLO 3

1. What type of stresses is a turbine likely to face?

2. What are certain requirements that turbine blade materials have to

face?
DLO 4

1. What are different cooling methods?

DLO 5

1. What can cause buckling and distortion?

2. Why is turbine blade containment required?

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