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Small Gas Turbines for Helicopters and Surface Transport

The performance increase of aircraft engines during the last 15 years is mainly due to the
development of large or medium sized gas turbines. Small gas turbines can however find also a broad
field of application and it is the aim of the present Lecture Series to review the state of the art
of small gas turbines from the various view points of civilian and military applications, present and
future technology, cycle developments for maximum specific power and minimum operating costs, analysis
of component development, industrial applications or auxiliary power generation as well as the estimated
future developments.

A set of specialists from various NATO countries has been invited to outline these different
questions and this gives to this Lecture Series a new dimension, since it shows the interest in small
gas turbine development all around NATO countries.

The survey of "Military and Civilian Needs for Small Gas Turbines" by D.D. weidhuner (USA)
reviews the expected fields of application of small gas turbine engines. Helicopter and small fixed
wing aircraft propulsion are well known applications, unmanned aircraft, combat vehicles such as heavy
tanks and truck tractor trailers are some important military applications from which civilian transport
facilities such as smooth and dependable passenger carrying buses will be developed sooner or later.

The greatest field potential application is certainly that of automotive engines, but
the cost barrier will have to be broken before the antipollution advantage of gas turbines may become
significant on an industrial or economic basis.

Further applications derive from some uses in which the large gas turbines have already
found their place : electric power generation as main or auxiliary power plant and marine application.
In all these problems, the cost of small gas turbines against that of diesel engines remains certainly
the main drawback, but the high reliability and the long life of small gas turbines will finally impose
the use of these engines.

The "State of the Art of Gas Turbines for Helicopters and Surface Transport" is given by
H.H. Langshur and B.J. Palfreeman (Canada). The industrial background of the authors gives them the
ability of discussing thoroughly the present state of the art as well as the development expected
for the coming 10 years. The main present application is helicopter propulsion and this will prevail
for many years. Actual trend is towards small gas turbines with still higher performances, and higher
compression ratios, higher turbine inlet temperatures are expected. Technological progress will bring
operational multispoon small gas turbines as well as cooled blade turbines and this progress will be
continuously transferred to the ground vehicle propulsion systems, for which the low pollution characteri-
stics of gas turbines will be a source of development.