Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines

Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Turbine Engine Exhaust the highest practical velocity. The opening at the end of the tail pipe is called the
exhaust nozzle, or jet nozzle. Its outlet area is critical because it determines the
General velocity of the gases as they leave the engine.
Energy remaining in the exhaust gases after they leave the turbine can be utilized The nozzles on most turbojet and early low-bypass turbofan engines have an area
to produce thrust, To do this; components in the exhaust system must straighten that usually causes them to operate in a choked condition. By the time the gases
and accelerate the stream of gases. reach the end of the tail pipe, they have accelerated to the speed of sound and can
accelerate no further. The remaining energy that would otherwise be converted
After the gases leave the turbine, they flow through a duct formed between the ex-
into velocity is now converted into a pressure differential across the nozzle. This
haust cone and the exhaust, or tail, pipe. Depending on the aircraft design the ex-
differential produces a small increase in thrust. This condition soon turns uneco-
haust can be: divergent, convergent or convergent-divergent. nomical in terms of fuel consumption. Also temperatures within the engine would
Figure 1: Convergent Exhaust Duct elevate significantly.
Modern high bypass turbofan engine exhaust nozzles work in Unchocked condi-
Exhaust Pipe tion only. Higher hot exhaust airflow speed is not desirable, considering that now-
adays environment pollution and noise reduction have become very important
aspects in engine design. Gas parameters at turbine section outlet and flow di-
ameter are tuned in a way that at outlet diameter core exhaust gas path pressure
is reduced to ambient and maximum hot gases speed is never higher than sound
speed of the hot gases. Sound speed of hot exhaust gases is higher than that of
ambient air sound speed because of temperature difference. This phenomenon al-

Exhaust Nozzle
lows aircraft with unchocked exhaust to fly at speeds up to mach 1.5 (transonic).
Exhaust
Cone The RPM and exhaust gas temperature of some of the early gas turbine engines
were adjusted by changing the size of the exhaust nozzle; the area was increased
by trimming the end of the nozzle or decreased by installing around the edges
small metal tabs called “mice.”
Engines with afterburners have variable-area nozzles that modulate, or open or
close automatically, as the fuel flow changes. On the early afterburner engines,
these nozzles had two positions, but the area of the nozzles installed on modem
high-performance engines is continuously varied by the EEC (electronic engine
control) to maintain the proper back pressure on the turbine.
On Figure 1 on page 2 a convergent exhaust duct is formed between the exhaust
cone and the exhaust pipe. The exhaust cone is the fixed conical faking centred in
the exhaust stream immediately aft of the last-stage turbine wheel.
The exhaust cone is an engine component, but the exhaust pipe is an airframe
component.
Most engines have an exhaust collector with struts between the forward end of the
exhaust cone and the tail pipe to support the rear turbine bearing and straighten
the gas flow. As gases flow through the convergent duct between the exhaust
cone and the exhaust pipe, they are accelerated and leave the exhaust nozzle at

Sep04 / THTT Corresponding with EASA Part-66

Copyright by SR Technics Switzerland For training purposes only Cat: B1 15.7 - 2
 Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines
Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Figure 2: Exhaust Collector Figure 3: Convergent-Divergent Exhaust Nozzle

Exhaust Subsonic Convergent Supersonic Divergent

Collector Section Section

Exhaust Nozzle
Exhaust
Cone

Gas Attains
Sonic Velocity

Strut A convergent-divergent, exhaust nozzle causes an increase in thrust by in-

The exhaust collector bolts to the engine housing just aft of the turbine. The tail-
pipe bolts to the ring around the collector.
The thrust produced by the engines of supersonic aeroplanes is increased by us-
ing convergent-divergent, or CD, exhaust nozzles whose cross-sectional area
changes as is shown in Figure 3 on page 3.
creased acceleration of the exhaust gases.
The gases leave the turbine section and enter the convergent portion of the nozzle
at a subsonic speed. Their speed increases as the duct gets smaller until they
reach the speed of sound at the narrowest point where a shock wave forms and
prevents further acceleration. The gases leave the narrowest point at the speed of
sound, and as the duct area increases, they accelerate to a higher supersonic
speed. The benefits of a CD nozzle increase as the flight Mach number of the air-
craft increases.
For the most efficient operation, the rate of change of the divergent portion of the
nozzle cannot be fixed, but must vary automatically as the airflow through the en-
gine changes. Some high-performance engines have a CD nozzle whose bound-
ary is formed by a wall of air. Figure 4 on page 4 shows the way such a nozzle
works.

Sep04 / THTT Corresponding with EASA Part-66

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 Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines
Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Figure 4: Variable CD Nozzle of Low Bypass Engine with Afterburner

Secondary Nozzle

Primary Nozzle Effective

CD Nozzle

Secondary Flow

off

After
Primary Flow
Burner

on

Primary Flap

Secondary Flap

The afterburner duct has two sets of overlapping flaps; one set at the end of the
primary airflow passage and the other end at the end of the secondary airflow pas-
sage. The size of the openings formed by these flaps is varied with hydraulic ac-
tuators controlled by the Electronic Engine Control Unit. The primary flaps adjust
the opening to achieve sonic velocity at the primary nozzle, and as the gases
leave, they try to expand in all directions, but are restrained from expanding radi-
ally by the flow of secondary air controlled by the secondary flaps. Therefore, all
of their expansion is in an axial direction, which increases the velocity of the gas.
The shape of an effective CD nozzle is controlled by the relative position of the two
sets of flaps.

Sep04 / THTT Corresponding with EASA Part-66

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 Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines
Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Noise Suppressors aircraft. Turbofan engines extract much more energy from the exhaust gases to
drive the fan, and their exhaust gas velocities are lower than those of a turbojet
Noise from high-powered turbojet engines around commercial airports has caused engine of comparable power. For these reasons, turbofan engines do not produce
complaints from area residents. However, turbofan engines have reduced the enough noise to require noise suppressors.
noise problem considerably. The amount of noise produced by a turbojet engine
relates to the velocity of the exhaust gases, but the distance the noise can be Figure 6: Noise Comparison
heard relates to the frequency of the sound. You have perhaps noticed the way a
band is heard as it approaches from a distance. The first sound heard is the low 120
frequency of the drum, and it is only when the band is much nearer that the high- Pure Jets without Noise Suppressor
pitch of the horns can be heard. The same principle applies to turbine engine noise
suppressors. The total amount of sound cannot be decreased without sacrificing
Pure Jets with Noise Suppressor
power. But, if its frequency is increased, the sound will not be audible at a long dis-
tance. A sound suppressor, may be used to replace the normal exhaust nozzle.
110
Figure 5: Sound Suppressor of Low Bypass Turbofan Engine Low By-Pass Ratio Jets

EPNdB
High By-Pass Ratio Jets
Exhaust Nozzle
100

Overall
Trend

90

This type of nozzle is called a corrugated-perimeter noise suppressor or exhaust

mixer, and it works by breaking the normal exhaust stream into a number of small-
er streams. The frequency of some of the sound produced by these smaller
streams is above the audible range of the human ear, and these high frequencies
are absorbed by the atmosphere before they can travel a great distance from the

Sep04 / THTT Corresponding with EASA Part-66

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 Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines
Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Thrust Reversers Figure 7: Clam Shell Reverser

Modern turbine-powered aircraft are normally so heavy and land at such a high Aft Section of
speed that the aircraft brakes cannot be depended upon for complete speed con- Engine Pod
trol while the aircraft is in its landing roll. Propellers with reverse-pitch capability
can be used to slow aeroplanes equipped with reciprocating and turboprop en-
gines. Turbojet and turbofan engines do not have reversing propellers, but they do
have provisions for reversing some of their thrust.
Thrust reverses, which produce a rearward thrust of between 40% and 50% of the
engines rated forward thrust can be installed on these engines. These reverses
are used on the ground to decrease the landing roll. Thrust reversers are control- Exhaust
Gases
led by a cockpit lever at the command of the pilot. They provide approximately
20% of the braking force under normal runway conditions and are especially help-
ful when landing on wet or icy runways.
A thrust reverser operates by deflecting part of the exhaust gases, or fan discharge
air, forward. Two ways of doing this are with a set of clamshell doors or a series of
cascade vanes.
Reversers Stowed-Forward Thrust
A clamshell thrust reverser is often called a mechanical-blockage reverser. A pair
of scoop-shaped doors that normally lie alongside the exhaust nozzle may be de-
ployed by sliding them rearward and opening them so they block the normal nozzle
and deflect the exhaust gases forward (see “Figure 7” on page 6).
A cascade thrust reverser is sometimes called an aerodynamic-blockage reverser,
and it is used on many large commercial engines to provide reverse thrust by de-
flecting the fan discharge (see “Figure 8” on page 7).
When the reverser is stowed the fan discharge duct is unobstructed. But when de-
ployed, the rear portion of the fan cowl moves aft, and blocker doors block the fan Exhaust
duct. The fan discharge airflows out through a series of reverser vanes, which de- Gases
flect the fan discharge air forward (see “Figure 8: Cascade-Type Thrust Reverser”
on page 7) .

Reversers Deployed-Reverse Thrust

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 Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines
Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Figure 8: Cascade-Type Thrust Reverser Thrust reversers are actuated by the pilot using a control mounted on the engine
throttle. The throttle is retarded to the idle position and the reverse thrust control is
moved. The reversers deploy, and further aft movement of the control increases
the engine speed and thus the amount of reverse thrust. Thrust reversers are not
Thrust Reverser Stowed
normally used on the ground when the speed is less than approximately 60 knots
Blocker Cascades
because of the danger of recirculating exhaust gases and ingesting foreign objects
Doors stirred up by the high-velocity gases.
Figure 9: Landing Distance

Fan Exhaust Air

Inlet Engine Engine Exhaust Air

Air

Fan Exhaust Air

Fan Exhaust Air

Inlet Engine Engine Exhaust Air

Air

Fan Exhaust Air

Cascades Blocker Doors

Thrust Reverser Deployed

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 Basic Maintenance Module 15 Gas Turbine Engines
Training Manual 15.7 Exhaust

Sep04 / THTT Corresponding with EASA Part-66

Copyright by SR Technics Switzerland For training purposes only Cat: B1 15.7 - 8