Economical Gas Turbine Paper Presented At ASNE Meeting In Groton

The Southern New England Section of the American Society of Naval Engineers held its quarterly meeting recently at the New London Naval Submarine Base, Groton, Conn. Norman L. Mac- Intyre of Seaworthy Engine Systems, Inc. (Essex, Conn.), presented a clear and stimulating paper on ways of obtaining more economical gas turbine systems.

Since the early installation on the commercial ship GTS Admiral William M. Callaghan, aircraftderivative gas turbines have become the accepted powerplant for commercial and high-speed combatant ships by the navies of the world. However, the increased cost and unreliable availability of the high-grade distillate fuels required by these engines on a worldwide basis requires that future applications consider all possible alternatives for saving energy and using lower grade fuels.

The discussion was particularly timely in view of recent NAVSEA decisions r e g a r d i n g future gas turbine propulsion systems. Improvements in economics for both the full power and cruising conditions were shown to be possible with four different schemes.

1. Increase the maximum pressure and temperature of the cycle to improve the thermodynamic efficiency. Comparable improvements of 25-percent in aircraft engines suggest the need to pursue the materials problem associated with this scheme.

2. Reduce fuel cost by enabling the engine to successfully burn a lower grade fuel. Recent experiments with blended residual fuel oil (BFO), a sodium washing system, magnesium injection to inhibit vanadium, and water-in-fuel emulsion are showing promise of achieving 23-percent savings in fuel costs.

3. Recover heat energy normally wasted in the GT exhaust by employing a waste heat recovery boiler which would operate a selfcontained steam propulsion system (i.e., GOGAS). Increases of 8,500 hp in a 35-khp plant and a 20-percent reduction in specific fuel consumption were theoretically demonstrated.

4. Provide diesel engines for the cruise condition where the gas turbine fuel rate is poor. This plant design also lends itself to incorporating one or more of the above features.

A lively and extended questionand- answer period followed. Section chairman David Motherway presented a Section plaque to Mr.

Maclntyre and e x p r e s s e d the members' appreciation for an excellent presentation. Mr. Motherway also conducted a brief business meeting and announced the upcoming slate of new officers.

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