Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines Assignment 2

In an aircraft, any different engines come in many different forms. In an alternate reality, one type of
engine could be used for most purposes, but in reality, this would be highly insufficient as not all
aircrafts use an engine in the same method.

Task 1 (LO2, P4, D2):

A)

Turbofans:

Turbofans can be described as a simple turbojet engine which has a larger intake at the front, which
includes a fan connected to the turbine through a shaft. Turbofans are the most commonly known type
of modern engine due to their high usage in commercial aviation.

Advantages:

Turbofans are usually the first choice in commercial aviation due to their high levels of efficiency. This
extremely high level of efficiency is generated because the fan part of the engine may produce up to
80% of the total thrust of the engine. This means that the fuel used per thrust unit is a lot lower when
compared to a stock turbofan.

Disadvantages:

the intake of a turbo fan engine is a lot larger when compared to any other type of engine. This
produces large amounts of drag in smaller aircraft and may reduce performance in maneuverability as
the engines are usually protruding extremely from the aircraft skin. Military fighter jets do not use turbo
fans, this is because the drag affects their ability to evade attacks in a dogfight. In military aircraft,
efficiency is a priority which is nowhere near as important as maneuverability, speed or maximum
payload capacity. Turbofans are also skipped for other alternatives in smaller aircraft, this is because at
lower speeds, the turbofan is no longer as efficient.

Auxiliary Power Unit installation:

In a Turbofan engine, the Auxiliary power unit, or the APU, is typically installed inside the empennage of
a larger aircraft such as the Airbus A320. The APU used in conjunction with a Turbofan engine is
generally also a small turbine engine. The APU in a large aircraft is started up with an electric motor
which gives the compressor enough speed to start the APU. The APU can then be further used for
starting other engines in the aircraft and for pneumatic pressure or it may be used for cabin necessities
such as cabin air conditioning or as a power supply for electricity. For the intake of the APU inside a large
Turbo fan aircraft, a small slit is integrated into the aft end of the fuselage to accommodate the airflow.
The APU can also be found in the A10 warthog as it was made to be used away from US bases with
infrastructure.
 APU unit inside the empennage [1]

Turbojets:

This Type of engine is commonly used in military applications, more specifically, it is used in high speed
combat and reconnaissance aircraft where speed is one of the top priorities. These engines are primarily
concerned with speed and they have to be able to fit in a small jet’s form factor.

Advantages:

One of the largest advantages to a turbojet engine is its small size which can be used in military
applications such as high-speed jets. This is because high-speed jets must have as less drag as possible,
this is for better maneuverability and for increased speed. The fan section in a turbo fan is often very
large so it must be externally attached to the fighter aircraft, as seen by aircraft such as the Fairchild
Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. Another advantage of a turbojet engine is the fact that it has a higher
propulsive efficiency at a higher speed. This makes sense as the cruising speed is Mach 0.73 and they
regularly exceed this speed when on a task.

The “Warthog” [2]

Disadvantages:

Turbojet engines cannot be used in commercial and smaller aircraft, this is because at low speeds, the
efficiency is low so during most times, the aircraft will be losing more fuel than necessary. Another
disadvantage to this type of engine is the amount of noise it produces which may be due to the
immense difference between the intake and exhaust airspeeds. However, One of the largest
disadvantages to using a turbojet is the cost of buying it is generally a lot more expensive than just
buying a turbofan engine. The maintenance and fuel costs also generally run a lot higher due to the
intensive nature of these engines.

Auxiliary Power Unit Installation:

As Turbojet engines are generally used in lightweight and small fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft
such as the EA-6B Prowler, the APU cannot be installed inside the aircraft as it is too large and heavy and
would compromise the aircraft’s functionality. This problem is solved by moving the APU outside of the
aircraft to a ground unit, so it is only used before takeoff to start the engine. The GPU is connected to
the turbojet engine to start it when necessary and is swiftly removed to give the aircraft clearance to
take off.

A US Navy (USN) ground crew moves an aircraft Gearbox Power Unit (GPU) into place in order to
power-up an EA-6B Prowler for a mission in support of Operation NORTHERN WATCH, from Incirlik Air
Base (AB), Turkey [3]

However, in other aircraft such as the F16, a newer system called the JFS (Jet Fuel Starter) is used in
place of the APU and is used only for starting up the main engine of the aircraft. But the Electricity is
provided by the main engine in all smaller fighter jet aircraft.
 JFS system maintenance [6]

B)

Comparison:

The Turbofan and Turbojet engines are fundamentally different from one another in terms of
performance, this is because they are used for completely different functions and in different aircraft.
The Turbofan engine is primarily used in large commercial aircraft such as the A318 or the Boeing 787,
however, the turbojet engine was more commonly used in military applications such as the MiG-18 or
the F-86. However, with recent developments, turbojet engines are being phased out and being
replaced by superior low bypass turbofan engines. However, A contrast can be seen where military
fighter and reconnaissance aircraft do not use turbofan engines that are like ones used in commercial
aircraft. This is because typically ultra-high bypass turbofan engines are extremely large and require to
be attached separately to the fuselage or the wings using pylon support structures. This is not viable for
a highspeed aircraft due the fact that a large engine with a pylon would create excessive drag through
form drag and interference drag, which then would slow the aircraft down and will negatively affect
maneuverability. Ultra-high bypass turbofan engines however are viable for large commercial aircraft as
speed and maneuverability aren’t very important aspects of the aircraft when compared to factors such
as efficiency and noise pollution.

Turbojet engines can be a lot smaller in size and they produce a higher efficiency when travelling at
higher speeds, but this comes with its tradeoffs which is very bad fuel efficiency, low thrust at slower
speeds and a very loud engine which means that common usage would pollute and plague residential
areas of very loud noise pollution. The Concorde which is widely regarded as the only Afterburning
turbojet commercial aircraft, was plagued with a lot of problems which could have been avoided if a
turbofan engine was used instead. The problems included and weren’t limited to very high maintenance
costs, the requirement of always having a flight engineer in the cockpit due to its complexity and it was
extremely loud, so noise pollution was a major problem. In a turbojet aircraft, the exhaust may be
variable by hydraulic controls which determine how convergent the duct at the rear is. As this increases
noise heavily, it is suitable for fighter aircraft as it means more thrust yet obviously not suitable for a
turbofan commercial aircraft.
APU comparison:

With a Turbofan engine, the most common method of using the APU is placing it inside the empennage
of the plane with the exhaust piercing the cone at the rear end. The job of the APU with a turbofan is to
provide an electrical supply for components for the pilots and passengers, and it also provides
pneumatic pressure for the hydraulic systems along with starting the engines. The downside to this
method is that the APU takes up a lot of space as it is a gas turbine engine as well, yet the APU is
necessary due to its in-flight uses.

With a Turbojet aircraft, the APU is kept as a separate ground unit in order to start the engine and is
disconnected once the engines are up and running, the ground APU is disconnected and the aircraft is
free to take off. The electrical components are handled by producing the required electricity from the
main turbojet engine.

However, in newer high-speed aircraft which are primarily low bypass turbofan, the Ground APU system
has been substituted for a lightweight alternative system known as the JFS or jet fuel starter, however it
is only used for starting the engine so electrical power is still generated by the engine.

Concorde’s last flight before it’s retirement [4]

As said before, normal commercial turbofans cannot be used in high speed military applications due to
their large form factor, however, turbofans can be used if the size of the bypass is decreased, this means
that a turbofan engine with low bypass can be efficiently used in a high-speed maneuverable aircraft.
The advantage of doing this will be increased efficiency due to the newly introduced bypass air and
there will also be reduced noise although the difference is negligible. Newer military aircraft such as the
F-16 or the F-14 go for a low bypass design due to these advantages.
 F-16 in flight with it’s afterburning turbofan engine [5]

Ancillaries:

An aircraft ancillary/auxiliary gearbox is installed so it can be used in flight to help support systems in
flight such as oil pumps and hydraulic pumps. This support gearbox is necessary in any type of aircraft as
it maintains oil pressure and hydraulic pressure using its pumps which are powered by the rotation of
the turbine shafts. In a turbofan and a turbojet, the application of this system is fundamentally different
as the requirements on both the aircraft are different.

In a Turbojet engine, the installation of this gearbox is done by extruding the shaft out to the front of the
engine where a planetary gear box is installed in such a way that the turbine shaft is to act like the sun
gear while the gearbox introduces 3 planetary gears and a ring which is used to transfer the energy to
the systems that are required. As the airflow inlet usually resides at the front of the engine, the airflow
inlet has to be moved into a space which is behind the gearbox yet still in front of the compressor unit,
so the intake is moved in a way so it comes in from the side instead of the front. This install is done since
the turbojet engines are preferred to be longer instead of thicker as an accessory gearbox on the side of
the engine would have affected width therefore extra place in the aircraft would be required, increasing
drag.

Turbojet cut out view with an accessory gearbox [a1]

In a turbofan installation for the accessory gearbox, it is installed externally to the engine, as
aerodynamics and speed aren’t the most important factor. The most important trait to a turbo fan in
commercial applications is efficiency which cannot be achieved if a gearbox restricts the ability to place
a high bypass fan in front of the engine. Inside the turbofan accessory gearbox, the main gears that are
used are spur gears which are necessary to transfer energy to the oil pumps and the hydraulic pumps as
well as the electrical generators. To connect to the turbine shaft in the aircraft gas engine, a series of
bevel gears are used to connect to the high-pressure turbine shaft.

Rolls-Royce accessory gearbox [A2]

Task 2 (LO2, P5):

Single entry (Pitot) inlet ducts:

This may be one of the most popular inlet duct out of any aircraft whether it be a commercial passenger
aircraft such as the Boeing 737 or a military purposed cargo aircraft such as the Ilyushin IL-76. This type
of inlet has a fixed shape which means that it will not adapt to its flight conditions unlike a variable
throat nozzle.

In this type of inlet, from the leading edges of the duct, the diameter of the inlet increases until the fan
section, which is where the inlet ends. This type of inlet duct is also commonly known as an inlet diffuser
as it (from the name) diffuses the pressure of the intake air.

When the aircraft is travelling at subsonic speeds, when the air enters the inlet duct and the diameter of
the duct increases, the velocity of the air increases due to the venturi effect, which means that the static
pressure also increases. the last section of the inlet where the size is approximately the same, the static
pressure and velocity of the air also stay the same.
 Pitot inlet GE9x engine [7]

Task 3 (LO2, P6):

The main purpose of a compressor in an aircraft is to compress the air into a small place so lots of
energy is released when it is mixed with fuel and ignited. The 2 main types of compressors that are used
in aircraft are centrifugal and axial.

Centrifugal compressor:

This type of compressor is seen in aircraft engines and is very common in the automotive industry as it is
used in “turbochargers” as they help increase efficiency and vehicle performance. Like any compressor,
this works with the goal of trying to achieve a higher discharge density then the inlet density.

Centrifugal compressors are also known as radial compressors thanks to their larger circular shape. This
is so, when they rotate, the impellers of the compressor add kinetic energy to the air which in turn
increases pressure. The air that is being pressurized with the centrifugal energy of the impeller is pushed
against the housing of the compressor until it does a half rotation to get to the discharge.

Centrifugal compressors are no longer used in aircrafts but one of the more popular applications was the
DH 108 swallow which used the Rolls Royce goblin which is known for its centrifugal compressor.

DH 108 swallow [8[

Axial compressor:
The Axial compressor is the most popular type of compressor as it is the most suitable for commercial
aircraft such as the Boeing 747. Compares to a centrifugal compressor, this type of compressor is a lot
thinner although longer. Thinner is usually preferred as it reduces drag.

This type of compressor comes with multiple stages which have “fins” on them which gradually decrease
the volume of the air, so the first few fins are large while the last few fins before combustion are very
small when compared.

The fins in this compressor have a distinct aerofoil shape to them, this is to encourage spinning the
compressor and it also guides the air towards the combustion chambers.

Task 4 (LO2, P7):

A)

The purpose of a combustion chamber is to safely ignite the compressed air by injecting fuel into the
chamber to create an air fuel mixture then igniting it to release a lot of energy.

The parts to a combustion chamber are the following:

One or more combustion chamber – This is to contain the ignition of the air fuel mixture, failure of the
chamber can be catastrophic.

Fuel injection system – This is used to inject the fuel into the system. This is usually a very accurate
component to create the optimal air fuel mixtures to be ignited.

Ignition source – This source is usually only used once in a flight unless there is a stall, this ignition
source usually just creates a small spark which ignites.

Fuel drainage system – Drains unburnt fuel after the engine switches off.

B)

There are 3 main types of combustion chambers which are commonly used, these are; Multiple can,
tubo-annular and annular.

The multiple can combustion chamber uses multiple smaller combustion chambers in which each of
them have a separate cooling compartment, unlike the annular and tubo-annular where the cooling
compartment is shared. In the can annular design, there are still multiple smaller combustion chambers,
but the difference is that the cooling compartment is shared within all the cans. The annular design is
the only design of combustion chamber where the combustion chamber and the cooling chambers are
all shared.

The advantages of a multiple can combustion chamber design is that the flame tube liner and air casing
are easily replaceable components. Individual chambers can also be rig tested, this is good because in
case of a failure, not all of the chambers have to be replaced, only the one that fails testing is replaced.
The last advantage of having this design is that smaller combustion chambers are less likely to have
structural deformities due to the heat expelled by the combustion.

The advantages of a can-annular design is that it takes up less space than multiple can so the diameter
of the engine can be smaller. Another advantage is that the system weighs less than multiple can as less
material is used to create individual cans. The last advantage is that individual flame tubes are used
instead of just one, this makes maintenance easier and cheaper when compared to annular.

Annular combustion chambers are advantageous due to the fact that they make efficient usage of space,
so no space is wasted with additional cans as there is only one combustion chamber. The length of this
system is therefore a lot shorter as well. Due to it’s shared shape, the pressure distribution is also
improved along with better flame propagation so no inter-connectors are required.

Task 5 (LO2, P8):

A)

When a gas turbine is in operation, there are 3 main design philosophies to it, which are impulse,
reaction and impulse/reaction.

The first design is the impulse design. This design is only used for engine starters and is not used when in
flight as the engine is already rotating by then. The first step is passing through a pair of guide vanes
where the air is guided downwards. Through a nozzle. The nozzle is put in place so the air is high speed
before it hits the turbine blades. When the gas is directed into the turbine vanes, an impulse force is
generated by the gas impacting the blades, this causes the blades to start rotating downwards.

A reaction turbine is a design which is no longer common in modern flight engines, however, in this
design, the nozzle created by the guide vanes are no longer convergent and the guide vanes are just
parallel to one another. These vanes direct the gas into the reaction turbine blades. These turbines have
a shape which will react to the air by rotating.

Impulse vs Reactor turbine [9]

Impulse-reaction turbine blades are the mixture of both. In this design, the root is shaped like an
impulse blade, yet the tip is shaped like a reactor blade. This design is most commonly used in all aircraft
due to its versatility. The main advantage is that it evenly distributes the load due to its shape so failure
is less likely.
B)

One form of failure that can be seen in a turbine is when a blade snaps off due to creep stress. This is a
problem in unshrouded gas turbines where a loose blade could cause even more damage as it is not
restricted by the shroud, however that is a very uncommon design choice. The creep stress on the gas
turbine blade is often caused by the high centrifugal forces posed by the rotation in addition to the heat.
This causes elongation of the blade which can result in two outcomes if not tended to; It could snap off
or It could elongate to the point it starts damaging the housing of the turbine.

Stress simulation of a turbine blade [10]

C)

When Turbine blades are exposed to their environment which is comprised of very high temperatures
and almost constant creep stress caused by centrifugal energy, the blades must be cooled down in order
to minimize deformation as much as possible.

One of the methods of cooling a gas turbine blade is transpiration cooling. This type of cooling is done
only in hollow blades. It is done by feeding in cooling air through the bottom and it is then let out
through the pores of the blade which are generally located at the trailing edge and the gill holes near
the leading edge. This way, the vanes and blades are cooled from the inside so they can operate in
temperatures which may be above their melting point.
Task 6 (LO2, P9):

In both the turbojet and turbofan application, the main goal of the exhaust is to direct the airflow, so it
exits through the rear of the engine at the fastest speed possible without being choked off. In both use
case scenarios, the exhaust acts as a convergent nozzle which uses the venturi effect to increase the
speed of the air without choking it off. This is done because the amount of thrust produced is greater if
there is a larger difference between the exhaust speed and the inlet speed. To not choke off the airflow,
the diameter of the exhaust is controlled to make sure no airflow is unintentionally reversed into the
turbine stage as that would negatively effect aircraft performance, yet airspeed is still increased by the
time of exit.

The exhaust cone inside the exhaust is used to make sure that all air being exhausted is converged to be
only one jet of air, this reduces turbulent airflow behind the exhaust. This cone is present in both
turbofans and turbojets.

In turbojets and low bypass turbofans, the usage is typically seen inside high-speed combat and
reconnaissance aircraft. In that case, the noise coming out of the exhaust is not controlled as it is not a
priority when in flight, however, in turbofan commercial aircraft, the noise must be kept to a minimum
in order to operate in airports near residential zones, so, in newer aircraft such as the Boeing 787, the
cowling around the exhaust has serrated edges. This works by diffusing the sound, like a recording
studio so a reduced amount of noise pollution is generated when compared to older aircraft such as the
Boeing 727.

787 Serrated edges [11]

SOURCES:

1 - https://wingmag.com/en/apu-auxiliary-power-unit

2 – https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II

3 – https://nara.getarchive.net/media/a-us-navy-usn-ground-crew-moves-an-aircraft-auxiliary-power-
unit-apu-into-place-31113e

4 – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3209441.stm

5 – https://www.aeronef.net/2009/11/f-16-falcon-afterburner-wallpaper-31.html

6 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/mark233/6912987364

7 – http://www.energyglobalnews.com/guinness-world-records-ge9x-is-the-worlds-most-powerful-jet-
engine/

8 – https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/353418/view

9 – https://themechanicalengineering.com/difference-between-impulse-turbine-and-reaction-turbine-
with-pdf/

10 – https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Example-of-the-predicted-equivalent-stress-distribution-for-
a-high-pressure-turbine-blade_fig2_267483563

11 - https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/12832/why-does-the-boeing-787-engine-nacelle-
exhaust-have-such-an-unusual-shape

A1 - http://petrotech.ir/Home//TechnicalArticalDetails/1100

A2 - https://www.quora.com/What-do-they-mean-by-the-gearbox-in-commercial-jet-engines