CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE

The aim of the designing and constructing scale model of jet engine was to study the
working and performance of jet engines. The study showed that jet engines are efficient
in converting fuel energy into shaft power. The study revealed that jet engines offer a
number of advantages as compared to other heat engines in respect of:
1. High power to weight ratio
2. Higher mechanical efficiency
3. Higher thermal efficiency
4. Lesser vibrations
5. Simplicity of components
Thus jet engines/ gas turbines can be employed in number of the automotive propulsion
and low cost power generation applications.
There are some disadvantages of the gas turbines like:
1. Low part efficiency
2. Difficulty in manufacturing
But these disadvantages can be surpassed by extensive research in the field of
computational fluid dynamics, combustion dynamics, metallurgy and advancements in
the manufacturing techniques.
There are number of improvements currently going on in the field of gas turbines which
will make them more versatile than other engines. Below are some of the recent new
technologies in the field of gas turbines.


Miniature turbines
Lot of research has been going on in the field of miniaturising the gas turbine engine.
The power needs such chargers for mobiles, electronic gadgets, batteries for laptops
and other handheld devices are progressively increasing these days so the need arises
of having a compact, reliable and sustainable source of energy. Throughout the project
we have been emphasising on the construction and development of gas turbine jet
engine and studied various methods and techniques that can lead us to greener,
economical power producing device.
The millimetre turbine has the same components as a macro sized conventional turbine
engine, but their size requires an entirely different manufacturing technology. Millimetre
sized turbines also have many of the same design considerations as large turbines
including basic layout, mechanical stress, oxidation-limit etc. In some respects
designing a micro size turbine is simpler than a conventional macro one since the micro
rotors of the turbine are very stiff, eliminating bending problems which occur on larger
rotors. Thermal stress is also not an issue at these sizes as well as maintenance of any
kind.
The millimetre turbine technology is based on semiconductor manufacturing
techniques. This enables the fabrication of complex micro parts and assemblies
devices with dimensions in the 1-10,000 micron size range with submicron precision.
Such parts are produced with photo lithographically-defined features and many can be
made simultaneously, offering the promise of low production costs in large-scale
production. The best metric is energy per unit weight, about 120-150 w-hr/kg for current
commercial Li-ion rechargeable batteries. We expect that 500-700 whr/kg can be
accomplished in the near term, rising to 1200-1500 whr/kg in the longer term (for the
engine and its fuel supply).



VAATE (Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engines)
VAATE is designed to address not only classic turbine engine component
improvements, but also the changing requirements of propulsion systems specifically
towards higher altitude and long endurance applications. The evolving demands being
placed on our military will dictate a future force structure that must be leaner and less
expensive, but also more versatile, lethal, and survivable.
The VAATE program addresses numerous military and commercial aviation engine
classes including turbofan/turbojet engines, turboshaft/turboprop engines, engines for
unmanned air vehicles, and expendable missile engines. Specific measurable technical
improvements, or goal factors, have been identified for each class of engine so that
progress toward the overarching 10X goal can be measured. Examples of goal factors
for the large turbofan/turbojet class include:
1. 200% increase in engine thrust-to-weight ratio (a key jet engine design parameter)
2. 25% reduction in engine fuel consumption (and thus fuel cost)
3. 60% reduction in engine development, procurement, and life cycle maintenance cost
Gas turbine engines play an enormous role in establishing U.S. air dominance at the
battlefront and are the backbone of the military aviation force that guards our interests
both at home and abroad. Turbine engines powered the reconnaissance, transport, and
fighter/attack aircraft as well the helicopters, missiles, and many unmanned air vehicles
that had great impact in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and other troubled areas of the
world.
Hybrid vehicles
Micro turbines are small combustion turbines approximately one third the size of its
equivalent diesel engine with outputs of 25 kW to 500 kW. They evolved from
automotive and truck turbo-chargers, auxiliary power units of air planes, and small jet
engines and comprise a compressor, combustor, turbine, and recuperator.
Micro turbines offer a number of potential advantages compared to other technologies f
or mobile power generation.
These advantages include:
1. Small number of moving parts
2. Compact size with the potential to be located with strict space limitations
3. Light-weight
4. Lower energy costs
5. Lower emissions with multi-fuel capability
6. Improved overall vehicle design due to weight and size savings
7. The opportunities to utilize otherwise waste fuels.