OVERVIEW

“Design of Gas Turbine Engines: From Concept to Details” is a student-favorite 32-hour practical course, delivered in sixteen 2-hour sessions, two per week, which presents an overview of the complete spectrum of the design of aero-propulsion systems and puts each major segment in perspective. It demonstrates how thermodynamic, aerodynamic, and structural concepts are turned into hardware and illustrates the extent of current practical design techniques. Initially, gas turbine engines are modeled simply but with sufficient accuracy to enable their geometry and weight to be defined and performance to be estimated not only at a selected design point but also over a broad range of off-design operations. While the general approach has not changed for many years, it is no surprise that our capabilities have improved significantly. With practice, what were once considered to be “preliminary design” activities may now be extended, enabling project schedules to be accelerated significantly with increased confidence. The improvements made in corresponding specific software enable further technological advancements such as designing the system and its components holistically.

An introduction to leading turbomachinery component and system modelling will be provided to illustrate the theoretical aspects presented later through practical examples. In this updated version of the course, emphasis will be given to software demonstrations. After each session, the handouts will be supplemented by additional relevant material that enables participants to repeat the in-class illustrations to consolidate the demonstrations, prior to exploring AxSTREAM for themselves. Participants will have access to this comprehensive digital engineering software so that they can remain engaged between sessions by working through examples provided.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• We link the theory of gas turbine engines as it must be taught with its application to real engine design in industry.
• We define the structure of design and development programs for new gas turbine engines and summarize the roles of various levels of design in a new engine program.
• We look into the various types of conventional gas turbine engines along with their characteristics and the factors most affecting their performance.
• We illustrate and demonstrate compressors and turbines design at the intermediate levels of a program.
• We investigate rotordynamics as a topic which cannot be left untouched during the design of any rotating equipment to prevent catastrophic failures.
• We dive into the increasing benefits, complexity, and function of cooling in gas turbine engines.
• We show that optimum performance is obtained through relevant trade studies and appropriate compromise, made easier through holistic modeling.
• And finally, we demonstrate that – with the appropriate tools - preliminary design studies may be extended significantly to improve confidence and permit acceleration of an engine development program.

AUDIENCE

The course is aimed at:

• Designers of compressors, turbines, and engine systems.
• University faculty members who teach courses in propulsion, thermodynamics and aerodynamics and other associated engineering subjects - and their students.
• Propulsion engineering specialists interested in learning about the design of turbomachinery so they may leverage their role in a gas turbine engine project.