Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 | Rolls-Royce RB50 Trent

Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4

 

 

 

 

Late in 1943 the decision was taken at Rolls- Royce to build a turbo-prop for aircraft speeds of around 400 mph. The resulting engine, known as the RB50 Trent, was basically a Derwent II with a flexible quillshaft to reduction gear and propeller. On 20 September 1945 a Gloster Meteor, fitted with two Trents, became the world’s first turboprop powered aircraft to fly.           

Rolls-Royce RB50 Trent

Nozzle guide vanes | Turbine blades | BALANCING

Fig. 5-12 Section through a dual alloy disc.

Nozzle guide vanes
25. Due to their static condition. the nozzle guide vanes do not endure the same rotational stresses as the turbine blades. Therefore, heat resistance is the property most required. Nickel alloys are used, although cooling is required to prevent melting. Ceramic coatings can enhance the heat resisting properties and, for the same set of conditions, reduce the amount of cooling air required, thus improving engine efficiency.
Turbine discs

Nozzle guide vanes | Contra-rotating turbine | COMPRESSOR-TURBINE MATCHING

Fig. 5-8 Typical nozzle guide vanes showing their shape and location.

Nozzle guide vanes
13. The nozzle guide vanes are of an aerofoil shape with the passage between adjacent vanes forming a convergent duct. The vanes are located (fig. 5-8) in the turbine casing in a manner that allows for expansion.
14. The nozzle guide vanes are usually of hollow form and may be cooled by passing compressor delivery air through them to reduce the effects of high thermal stresses and gas loads. For details of turbine cooling, reference should be made to Part 9.

Fig. 5-9 Various methods of attaching blades to turbine discs.

15. Turbine discs are usually manufactured from a machined forging with an integral shaft or with a flange onto which the shaft may be bolted. The disc also has, around its perimeter, provision for the attachment of the turbine blades.
16. To limit the effect of heat conduction from the turbine blades to the disc a flow of cooling air is passed across both sides of each disc (Part 9). Turbine blades
17. The turbine blades are of an aerofoil shape, designed to provide passages between adjacent blades that give a steady acceleration of the flow up to the ’throat’, where the area is smallest and the velocity reaches that required at exit to produce the required degree of reaction (para. 5).
18. The actual area of each blade cross-section is fixed by the permitted stress in the material used and by the size of any holes which may be required for cooling purposes (Part 9). High efficiency demands thin trailing edges to the sections, but a compromise has to be made so as to prevent the blades cracking due to the temperature changes during engine operation.
19. The method of attaching the blades to the turbine disc is of considerable importance, since the stress in the disc around the fixing or in the blade root has an important bearing on the limiting rim speed. The blades on the early Whittle engine were attached by the de Laval bulb root fixing, but this design was soon superseded by the ’fir-tree’ fixing that is now used in the majority of gas turbine engines. This type of fixing involves very accurate machining to ensure that the loading is shared by allthe serrations. The blade is free in the serrations when the turbine is stationary and is stiffened in the root by centrifugal loading when the turbine isrotating. Various methods of blade attachment are shown in fig. 5-9; however, the B.M.W. hollow blade and the de Laval bulb root types are not nowgenerally used on gas turbine engines.

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM GAS FLOW TO TURBINE

Fig. 5-6 A typical turbine blade showing
twisted contour.

ENERGY TRANSFER FROM GAS FLOW TO TURBINE
6. From the description contained in para. 1, it will be seen that the turbine depends for its operation on the transfer of energy between the combustion gases and the turbine. This transfer is never 100 per cent because of thermodynamic and mechanicallosses, (para. 11). 

Fig. 5-7 Gas flow pattern through nozzle and blade

  7.when the gas is expanded by the combustion process (Part 4), it forces its way into the discharge nozzles of the turbine where, because of theirconvergent shape, it is accelerated to about the speed of sound which, at the gas temperature, isabout 2,500 feet per second. At the same time thgas flow is given a ’spin’ or ’whirl’ in the direction o rotation of the turbine blades by the nozzle guid vanes. On impact with the blades and during th subsequent reaction through the blades, energy is absorbed, causing the turbine to rotate at high speed and so provide the power for driving the turbine shaft and compressor.

Turbines

Fig. 5-1 A triple-stage turbine with single shaft system.

Fig. 5-2 A twin turbine and shaft arrangement.

INTRODUCTION
1. The turbine has the task of providing the power to drive the compressor and accessories and, in the case of engines which do not make use solely of a jet for propulsion, of providing shaft power for a propeller or rotor. It does this by extracting energy from the hot gases released from the combustion system and expanding them to a lower pressure and temperature. High stresses are involved in this process, and for efficient operation, the turbine blade tips may rotate at speeds over 1,500 feet per second, The continuous flow of gas to which the turbine is exposed may have an entry temperature between 850 and 1,700 deg. C. and may reach a velocity of over 2,500 feet per second in parts of the turbine.
2. To produce the driving torque, the turbine may consist of several stages each employing one row of stationary nozzle guide vanes and one row of moving blades (fig. 5-1). The number of stages depends upon the relationship between the power required from the gas flow, the rotational speed at which it must be produced and the diameter of turbine permitted.
3. The number of shafts, and therefore turbines, varies with the type of engine; high compression ratio engines usually have two shafts, driving high and low pressure compressors (fig, 5-2). On high by-pass ratio fan engines that feature an intermediate pressure system, another turbine may be interposed between the high and low pressure turbines, thus forming a triple-spool system (fig, 5-3). On some engines, driving torque is derived from a free-power turbine (fig. 5-4). This method allows the turbine to run at its optimum speed because it is mechanically independent of other turbine and compressor shafts.

Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk102 | Rolls-Royce RB37 Derwent V

Rolls-Royce RB37 Derwent V

Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Adour Mk102

Work commenced in January 1945 on a 0.855 scale Nene, reduced to fit the engine nacelle of a Gloster Meteor. Known as the Derwent V the engine passed a 100 hr test at 2600 lb thrust in June 1945 and in September went into production with a service rating of 3500 lb. Two world speed records were set by Meteor IV’s powered by special Derwent V’s in November 1945 and September 1946.

Combustion stability

Fig. 4-11 Combustion stability limits.

28. Combustion stability means smooth burning and the ability of the flame to remain alight over awide operating range.
29. For any particular type of combustion chamber there is both a rich and weak limit to the air/fuel ratio, beyond which the flame is extinguished. An extinction is most likely to occur in flight during a glide or dive with the engine idling, when there is ahigh airflow and only a small fuel flow, i.e. a veryweak mixture strength.
30. The range of air/fuel ratio between the rich and weak limits is reduced with an increase of air velocity, and if the air mass flow is increased beyond a certain value, flame extinction occurs. A typical stability loopis illustrated in fig. 4-11

COMBUSTION CHAMBER PERFORMANCE

Fig. 4-9 Annular combustion chamber.

COMBUSTION CHAMBER PERFORMANCE
23. A combustion chamber must be capable of allowing fuel to burn efficiently over a wide range of operating conditions without incurring a large pressure loss. In addition, if flame extinction occurs, then it must be possible to relight. In performing these functions, the flame tube and spray nozzleatomizer components must be mechanically reliable.
24. The gas turbine engine operates on a constant pressure cycle, therefore any loss of pressure during the process of combustion must be kept to a minimum. In providing adequate turbulence and mixing, a total pressure loss varying from about 3 to 8 per cent of the air pressure at entry to the chamber is incurred.

Boomerang plans Pattern

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SWIFT: A FOOT-LAUNCHED SAILPLANE

 Abstract

This paper describes the development of what might be considered the first successful ultralight sailplane.The SWIFT is a high performance foot-launched glider, designed to combine some of the convenience of hang gliders with the soaring performance of sailplanes. It takes off and lands like a hang glider, yet maintains exceptional performance at high speeds, achieving a lift-to-drag ratio of about 25:1. Although it is a fullycantilevered rigid wing with aerodynamic controls and flaps, it is light enough to launch by running from a hillside and is easily transported on the top of a car. This paper describes the design, development, and flying of this unique aircraft. Introduction and Background

 Introduction and Background

Pioneers of heavier-than-air flight were inspired with the idea of being able to fly like birds – not for the purpose of efficient, high-speed transportation, but for the shear freedom that such a capability would permit. This was the motivation for, and is the appeal of,modern soaring aircraft such as paragliders, hang gliders, and sailplanes. Although the performance of sailplanes has increased dramatically over many decades  so that lift-to-drag ratios of 60:1 have been achieved and 1000 km flights are possible, certain aspects of high performance sailplanes seem counter to the vision espoused by Lilienthal and others [1]. Especially for a group of graduate students in the San Francisco Bay Area, the cost of sailplane flying, along with the long drive to an airport that supported such activities, meant that achieving the goal of bird-like flight was only somewhat more realizable than it was 100 years ago.