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V001t01a008 64 GTP 8 PDF
V001t01a008 64 GTP 8 PDF
AS ME
The major design features of the FT4A gas-turbine engine for marine
and industrial applications are described, the development-test history of
the engine is reviewed, and the field experience with this and similar
engine concepts is discussed. In addition, the particular characteristics
of the FT4A power plant which make the latter attractive for various ap-
plications are mentioned.
Printed in U.S.A.
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Fig. 1 FT4A-2 free turbine and gas generator assembly with exhaust elbow and drive shaft attached (left side view)
The FT4A engine was designed around an already the JT4 jet engine. The power turbine replaces
proven gas generator, the J75 turbojet engine. the jet nozzle of the aircraft engine and converts
The latter engine, which is currently in use in the energy of the hot gases to shaft horsepower
the F-105 and F-106 military aircraft and, under rather than to jet thrust. Since the power tur-
its commercial designation (JT4), in some models bine is not mechanically connected to the gas-gen-
of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 transports, was erator shaft, the term, "free turbine," is usually
considered to be ideally suited to serve as the applied to the unit.
power source for driving the free-turbine compo- The gas generator of the FT4A was designed in
nent of the FT4A engine. The design of the free- 1952 under contract with the Government to provide
turbine component involved new effort, but the a jet engine for propulsion of Mach-2 fighter air-
company's turbomachinery experience was such that craft. It has been under active development since
no major problems were foreseen. Thus, it was ex- that time and has accumulated more than 42,500 hr
pected that a design for the overall engine would of development testing in company facilities.
be achieved without the necessity for undertaking Various models of this engine have accumulated
an extensive developmental program. more than 7,000,000 hr of service experience and
The design, construction, and test program for have established and excellent record of dependa-
the FT4A engine was jointly supported by the Bu- bility. The application of this gas generator to
reau of Ships and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Since marine and industrial fields brings to these areas
initiation of the program, other applications for an "off-the-shelf" gas generator with proven capa-
an engine of this type have developed in the fields bility far beyond anything which would be specifi-
of marine propulsion, electric power generation, cally developed for these fields with funds which
and industrial processes. A range of power rat- might be available for this purpose.
ings is available in this versatile power plant The gas generator consists of a 15-stage,
to meet the needs of such widely divergent appli- 12:1-compression-ratio, axial-flow compressor, a
cations as hydrofoil ships, which require high can-annular combustion chamber, and a 3-stage, ax-
power output for short duration, and industrial ial-flow, reaction turbine, Fig.2. The 12:1 com-
process installations, which require moderate pow- pression ratio is achieved without variable mech-
er output for continuous, year-long, operation. anisms by use of "twin-spool" design. The first
eight low-pressure-compressor stages are driven by
DESCRIPTION OF ENGINE the second and third stages of the turbine, where-
as the seven high-pressure-compressor stages are
The FT4A engine, Fig.1, consists of a gas gen- driven by the first stage of the turbine. All
erator and a power turbine. The gas generator components are arranged axially along a common
fulfills the function of the steam boiler in a centerline, with the shaft connecting the low-
steam turbine system; it consists of the basic ma- pressure compressor and its turbine rotors located
chinery of the military and commercial versions of concentrically within the shaft connecting the
2
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Fig. 2 FT4A free turbine and gas generator assembly (installation sketch)
3
1.2
80.° F AMBIENT TEMP
SEA LEVEL
1 .0
TEST DATA
S.F.C. 08
LB/HP/HR SPECIFICATION ESTIMATE
2000 RPM
FREE TURBINE
SHAFT SPEED
0.6 (N3)
2500 RPM
0.4
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
4
titular concern. Another related problem was that
of "sulfidation." Sulfidation is defined as an
attack of nickel-base turbine materials at high
temperature as a result of the combined effects of
sulfur in the fuel and chloride ions (sodium chlo-
ride, primarily) in the air or fuel. The salt is
believed to act as a flux which cleans the oxide
from the surface of the material and thus allows
the sulfur to combine with the chromium in the
nickel-base alloy, reducing its oxidation resis-
5
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Fig.6 Installation of FT4A-2 free turbine and gas generator assembly in a test stand
The first test of a complete FT4A engine was the free-turbine blades were very low, less than
conducted during the latter part of 1962 in the 2500 psi. Linear vibration was under one mil
Willgoos Turbine Laboratory at Pratt & Whitney (single amplitude) at all conditions. Following
Aircraft. The engine was assembled with strain the completion of testing, the engine was disas-
gages on the free-turbine blades to measure blade sembled for inspection. All parts were revealed
stresses as a function of rotor speed and power to be in excellent condition. The engine was then
output. The engine was also instrumented for the reassembled.
measurement of performance, linear vibration, met-
al temperatures throughout the free turbine, and FIELD EXPERIENCE
mount-system thermal growth. The test installa-
tion, shown in Fig.6, consisted of a large cell in Subsequent to its initial in-house operation,
which the engine was mounted, coupled to a dual- the first FT4A engine was delivered to the Navy
ratio gearbox driving two water-cooled, eddy-cur- for service testing. A second FT4A engine has
rent dynamometers coupled in tandem. The gearbox since gone into service in the industrial elec-
and dynamometers were cradled and the torque re- tric-power-generation field, and other related ex-
action was taken on a pair of hydraulic load cells perience is being accumulated.
for torque measurement. The air was ducted to the The Bureau of Ships, having an interest in ap-
engine from the silencer intake through a set of plying the FT4A engine to new ship designs, ar-
ram blowers used to overcome duct losses to the ranged to conduct a 1000-hr service evaluation
engine. This test installation was limited to test on the original test engine at the Naval
20,000 hp. The test, consisting of 60 hr of ex- Boiler and Turbine Laboratory. The test installa-
ploratory testing, was completed without incident. tion was designed to operate the FT4A engine gen-
The performance of the engine exceeded expecta- erally as it would be installed in a displacement
tions; Fig.3, previously referred to, shows the ship. The engine was mounted in small, normally
measured performance as compared with the esti- unmanned, sound-absorbent enclosure. Air was
mated performance. Measured vibratory stresses in ducted to a plenum chamber into which the inlet
6
was mounted; the exhaust was ducted to the outside
of the laboratory. Two tandem-cradled, high-
speed, water brakes, directly driven by the free
turbine, were provided for load absorption. Pro-
visions were made for spraying salt water into the
inlet air duct upstream of the plenum chamber.
The program for testing the FT4A engine at the
Naval Boiler and Turbine Laboratory provided for
operation in accordance with the MIL-E-17341B en-
durance schedule. This schedule includes 176 hr
in applications where the complexity of regenera- erated test program to obtain experience with con-
tion can be tolerated. verted aircraft gas-turbine engines in a marine
Pratt & Whitney Aircraft has accumulated a atmosphere. This engine had run 250 hr through
broad background of related experience on other September 1963. This related experience on simi-
similar engines. The GG3, the counterpart of the lar engines has given good reason for confidence
J57 engine, has run a total of more than 40,000 hr in the future of the FT4A engine.
in industrial-process and gas-transmission-pumping
applications. The rating for this application is Conclusion
at a gas-generator turbine temperature comparable The future applications 2 of the FT4A and sim-
to that used for cruise power in aircraft. One ilar gas-turbine engines appear unlimited in the
engine has run 16,000 hr, with two overhauls at marine and industrial areas. This type of engine
8000-hr intervals. This experience has indicated provides large quantities of power available at a
that time between overhauls of the aircraft gas- momentTs notice in a compact, lightweight package.
turbine type will grow significantly beyond the Its fuel-consumption values are competitive with
8000-hr initial period when operation is at moder- those of other prime movers. Furthermore, it
ate ratings. An electric peaking installation of lends itself to automation and thus enables sig-
an FT3C engine at the Hartford Electric Light Com- nificant reductions to be made in operating per-
pany has run more than 1100 hr.' This is an auto- sonnel for ships and power stations.
matic generating plant similar to the FT4 unit at
the Delaware Power and Light Company. An FT12 en- 2 "Gas Turbines for Unconventional Craft," by
gine is being operated in a Navy LCM on an accel- G.L. Graves and R.S. Carleton, SAE-ASNE Paper No.
685A, April 8-11, 1963.
1 "Economics and Operating Results Prototype Air- "Combined Diesel - Gas Turbine Power Plants in
craft Jet Engine - Electric Powerplant," by R.A. Coast Guard Vessels," by R.C. Case and Lt. K.W.
Evans and J.C. Sonntag, ASME Paper No. 63-AHGT-36, Forslund, SAE-ASNE Paper No. 685c, April 8-11,
March 3-7, 1963. 1963.