Turbine Engines Design - Assignment Example

Turbine Engines Design The turbines are diverse in size. They range from the 37.3kW micro-turbines to 190kW industrial turbines. The analysis discusses the gas turbine engine, with focus on turbine types and applications of the turbines to the prime mover. The thermodynamic cycle of the turbines is illustrated through the Bryton cycle. The cycle has three major areas; adiabatic compression, constant pressure heating, and finally adiabatic expansion. The gas turbine has three key components.. The components are; air compressor, combustor, and power turbine.

The power turbine generates the power that operates the output shaft and also the air compressor (Christopher, 2012). Air that is at ambient conditions enters the turbine through the compressor inlet. The air is compressed, and then passed in the combustion system. The combustion system integrates the compressed air with fuel, with the aim of achieving the maximum temperature in the cycle. The heated air expands within the gas producer turbine part. The working fluid energy is utilized in the production of power needed in the operation of the compressor.

The heated air is further expanded within the power turbine, to operate the load. The air is thus released into the atmosphere. The starting system is applied in ensuring adequate air compressor speed, so as to generate adequate air for combustion, and injection of the fuel within the combustor. The burning combustion cycle and the turbine rotor rotation, ensures almost vibration free operation, and also minimal moving or wear points (Brain, 2012). There are several considerations during the design and construction processes of the turbine engines.

The maximum cycle temperature is one factor. The output power is enhanced through improving the maximum cycle temperature. The maximum cycle temperature is denoted through the turbine rotor inlet temperature (TRIT). The output power can also be increased through improving the mass airflow within the gas turbine. Speed limitation is another consideration in turbine engines design. Increase in the speed of the turbine engine results into the increase in the centrifugal forces of rotating components.

The rotating components like disks and blades thus experience increased stress levels. The most significant issue for the investigator is the turbine types. Turbine differentiation is based on; duty types, combustor types, packaging degree, and shaft configuration. Duty types entail aircraft, heavy industrial and light industrial engines. Jet engines are constructed with light weight materials that are very sophisticated. Heavy industrial turbine engine, developed from the slower industrial steam turbines.

Aircraft turbine technology integrated with heavy industrial turbines generates the light industrial turbines (Çengel, 2011). The information of turbine engine development is very useful because it takes into consideration the environmental concerns. The turbine engine design aims at generating cleaner combustion, in addition to generating reduced pollutant levels. Pollutants which are regulated include; sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and also unburned hydrocarbons. The level of detail that is appropriate for the design turbine engines is the basic level.

The basic level of design and technology knowledge should be basis, to ensure complete understanding by all stakeholders. The customers should use the turbine engine technology easily. The maintenance team should also understand the simple steps for servicing the turbine engine parts. References Brain, Marshall. (2012). "how stuff works". Science.howstuffworks.com. Çengel, Yunus. (2011). Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach. New York: McGraw-Hill. Christopher, Della. (2012). "The Quest for Oil-Free Gas Turbine Engines," SAE Technical Papers, No.

2006-01-3055, available at: http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/2006-01- 3055.