Republic of the Philippines

PHILIPPINE STATE COLLEGE OF AERONAUTICS

Piccio Garden, Villamor, Pasay City

Institute of Engineering and Technology BS in Aeronautical Engineering

AE LEC - Powerplant II – Gas Turbine Engine

MODULE NO. 3
RESEARCH 3: ACCESSORY SECTION AND APU

Jimenez, John Cedric C.

BSAeE 3-4

Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub

Instructor

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Jimenez, John Cedric C.

Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 1 of 7 Signature:

I. Accessory Section

A. Function and Importance

The accessory section, although not a part of the main sections of a gas turbine
engine is somewhat of a vital part of the engine itself. Its main function is to provide the
space for the accessories that are critical in controlling the operation of the GTE. Along with
serving as a space for hydraulic pumps and generators, an accessory section can also
include the oil reservoir, oil sump, and accessory drive gears/reduction gears. An accessory
module is mounted on the cold section of the engine, it includes the accessory drive
gearbox (AGB) that is driven by a bevel-gear system from the compressor rotor via a radial
drive shaft (Global Security, 2018). Although in some engines, in an effort to evenly spread
out the engine’s loads, the gearbox is divided into two smaller components, one driven by
the HP compressor and another driven by the LP compressor via a radial shaft.

There are two basic elements of an accessory section. These are the accessory
case and the gear train. The former refers to the mounting pads that can be used for the
engine-driven accessories such as a starter motor. Moreover, the accessory case can also
be utilized as an oil reservoir or oil sump that can be used for scavenging and draining of
oil used in bearings and drive gears (Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 2012). The
latter is a set of gears that is driven by the engine’s high-pressure compressor and is
encased within the accessory case itself. Shown below are the different mechanical
arrangements of accessory drives (Fig.1).
Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 2 of 7 Signature:

Figure 1 - different mechanical arrangements of accessory drives

Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 3 of 7 Signature:

B. Types of Accessories used in Aircraft

Some of the accessories that can be found in an accessory section of a gas turbine engine
are listed below:

• Starter

Starters are responsible for initializing the rotation of the compressor. Their main
function is to provide sufficient torque to start the engines properly. In the case of
dual axial flow compressor engines, the HP compressor is usually the one started
first. This initial acceleration of the HP compressor provides a continuous
combustion in the burners that is then mixed with fuel until the engine reaches its
self-sustaining speed. Some examples (Figure 1.1) of starter motors include electric
air turbine which are most commonly used, hydraulic, combustion, and cartridge
pneumatic.

Figure 1.1 – From left to right – Electric (starter-generator), Air turbine, and
Combustion starters

• Fuel Pump

The fuel pump basically sends fuel pressure from the fuel tanks to a fuel metering
unit (FMU) which then sends it to the fuel flow transmitter and into the fuel distribution
valve for the fuel for combustion. Fuel is then sprayed into the combustors via the
fuel injectors (Machado, 2015).
Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 4 of 7 Signature:

Figure 1.2 – From left to right – Fuel pump, fuel distribution valves, fuel injectors.

• Hydraulic Pump

These are used to move non-compressible fluid through an aircraft hydraulic system
(Quality Aircraft Accessories, n.d.). The power produced from a hydraulic system is
often used in operating wheel brakes, retraction and extension of landing gears, and
in constant-speed propellers. On larger aircraft, this system is also used for flight
control surfaces, flaps, spoilers, etc.

Figure 1.3 – Engine

hydraulic pump.

• Constant Speed drive

This is a type of transmission that takes an input shaft rotating at a range of speeds,
this delivers the power to an output shaft that rotates at a constant speed, used
typically for electrical generators. It is often combined with an integrated drive
generator (IDG) (Boeing Co., 2019).
Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 5 of 7 Signature:

Figure 1.4 – Constant speed

drive of a Boeing 727

II. Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)

A. Function and Importance

Figure 2 – Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in an aircraft.

There are different redundancy systems in place in order to ensure that there is
always a source of electricity in-flight within an aircraft in case of emergencies. Such
example of these redundancy systems includes the ram-air turbine, aircraft batteries, and
the auxiliary power unit or APU. The APU is basically another turbine engine that can
provide sufficient electrical power used to start the engines on the ground without the need
of an external ground power unit, thereby saving fuel. In some instances, such as in a case
of an engine generator failure, the APU can be turned on in-flight. Other uses of an APU
are to provide air-conditioning and air pressurization for the passengers without necessarily
using the main engines. This results in savings in fuel, as well as costs as an APU uses
less fuel than the main engines. It is usually located on the tail cone of an aircraft (see figure
2).
The APU works much like a regular turbine engine, it uses intake air and bleed air
from the compressor of the engines that spins a starter motor, which helps produce torque
for the shaft thereby spinning the whole fan assembly (Arnot, 2019). This spinning motion
helps compress the intake air which can be used for combustion, and finally exhaust
through the APU Exhaust cone / exhaust port vent (fig. 2.1).
Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 6 of 7 Signature:

Figure 2.2 – Tail cone of an Airbus A330 (left) and of a Boeing 777 (right).

An example of scenario when an APU is used is the supposed ‘water landing’ of

American Airlines Cactus 1549, wherein Capt. Sully Sullenberger turned on the APU as he
felt the aircraft’s engines let go. This enabled him to still keep most of the aircraft systems
functional until he landed on the Hudson River (fig. 2.2).

Figure 2.2 – ‘Miracle on

the Hudson’, Water landing
of U.S. Airways - Cactus
1549

B. Sections of an APU

The APU consists of three sections, the power, load compressor, and gearbox. The
power section is the turbine engine itself that provides the power to the APU. While the load
compressor is the one responsible for the suppl of pneumatic pressure that can be used
for the aircraft’s pressurization. Lastly, the gearbox is what transmits the power produced
from the APU to an electric generator that supplies electrical power to the aircraft. This
power can be used for avionics, on-board lighting, and galley electrics whilst the aircraft is
parked at a gate of an airport (DViation, 2021). Shown below is an image of the different
basic parts of an APU (Fig. 2.3).
 Name: Jimenez, John Cedric C. Title: History of Gas Turbine Engines

Date: April 29, 2022 Research No. 3

Instructor: Engr. Grant Irving Tomaub
Page: 7 of 7 Signature:

Figure 2.3 – Basic parts of an APU

III. References

Arnot, M. (2019, March 11). What’s the Hole in Your Plane’s Tail? It’s the Little Engine That Could: The
APU. Retrieved from The Points Guy: https://thepointsguy.com/news/what-is-the-apu/
Boeing Co. (2019). GENERATOR CONSTANT SPEED DRIVE SYSTEM - DESCRIPTION/OPERATION.
Retrieved from Web Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20100731084928/http://www.k-
makris.gr/AircraftComponents/CSD/C.S.D.htm
DViation. (2021, June 23). How Does It Work: Auxiliary Power Unit. Retrieved from Dviation:
https://blog.dviation.com/2021/06/23/how-does-it-work-auxiliary-power-
units/#:~:text=An%20APU%20is%20a%20gas,APU%20to%20an%20electric%20generator.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2012). Gas Turbine Engine Fundamentals. In Aviation
Maintenance Technician Handbook-Powerplant Volume 1 (p. 39). United States, Chicago: Federal
Aviation Administration.
Global Security. (2018). CHAPTER 8: Accessory Systems. Retrieved from Globalsecurity.org:
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/1-506/Ch8.htm
Machado, R. (2015). Turbine Engine Fuel System – Fuel System Operation. Retrieved from Flight
Mechanic: https://www.flight-mechanic.com/turbine-engine-fuel-system-fuel-system-
operation/#:~:text=The%20fuel%20pump%20receives%20fuel,main%20stage%20of%20the%20p
ump.
Quality Aircraft Accessories. (n.d.). Aircraft Hydraulic Pumps & Power Packs. Retrieved from QAA:
https://www.qaa.com/aircraft-hydraulic-pumps-and-power-packs