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Advanced Micro Turbines (A.M.T.) of The Netherlands

AMT Mercury (above) and Pegasus (below) turbine engines from http://www.amtjets.com/

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Mercury Pegasus Olympus

Engine diameter 100 mm 120 mm 130 mm
Engine length (Air start engine) 220 mm 264 mm 267 mm
Engine length (Electric start engine) 292 mm 342 mm 374 mm
Engine weight (Air start engine) 1400 g 2125 g 2475 g
Engine weight (Electric start engine) 1550 g 2255 g 2850 g
System airborne weight (Air start system). Engine, ECU, pump, battery,
2005 g 2705 g 3150 g
thermosensor, straps
System airborne weight (Electric start system). Engine, ECU, pump, battery,
2235 g 3075 g 3795 g
thermosensor, straps.
Thrust @ S.T.P. * (see below). 15 Deg. Celsius / 1013 Mbar. 59 Deg. 88N / 9Kg @ 167N / 17.0KG 230N / 23.5KG
Fahrenheit / 29,91 in. 151,200 @119,500 ** @108,500
Maximum allowed r.p.m. 151,900 120,000 112,000
Thrust @ idle r.p.m. 4N 6N 8N
Idle r.p.m. 47,600 37,000 36,000
Pressure ratio @ max. r.p.m. 2.8 : 1 3.2 : 1 3.8 : 1
Mass flow. 250 g/sec @88 N 375 g/sec @157 N 450 g/sec @230 N
Normal Exhaust GasTemperature 650 C 600 C 700 C
Maximum Exhaust GasTemperature 750 C 675 C 750 C
290 g/min @88
Fuel Consumption @ max. r.p.m. and S.T.P. * (see below) 450 g/min @157 N 640 g/min @230 N
N

Notes

S.T.P. Standard Temp. & Pressure:

Temp: 15 Degrees Celcius / 59 Degrees Fahrenheit

Pressure: 1013 Mbar / 29.91 in

Suitable oils are

AeroShell 500 (delivered with AMT Netherlands engines)

AeroShell 560
Mobil Jet oil II

Table and notes from http://www.amtjets.com/

Graupner JetCat series

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The Graupner JetCat P80 turbine, from http://www.jetcatusa.com/p80.html

JetCat P-80 turbine complete with starter includes:

Jet-tronic ECU (fuel control electronics)

GSU (Display and Programmer)
LED I/O board
Miniature fuel pump
Electronic starting gas valve
Electronic Fuel valve
Fuel tubing, tubing connector set, filters, and cable set
6 cell, 1250mA battery pack
Starting gas tank
Turbine mounting clamp, RamTec compatible
Detailed instruction manual

Thrust 93.5 N @ 123,000 RPM

Weight 1.318 kg, incl. starter
Diameter 112 mm
RPM Range 35,000 - 120,000
Exhaust gas temp 580°C -690°C
Fuel consumption 256 g per/min at full power
Fuel Jet A1, 1-K kerosene
Lubrication approximately 5% synthetic turbine oil in the fuel
Maintenance interval 25 hours

P80 thrust chart

The values are approximate and can vary slightly from engine to engine. Values at Standard Temperature and Pressure.

P60 P70 P80 P120 TITAN P180

thrust: N @ rpm 57.9 @ 165,000 77.9 @ 123,000 93.5 @ 123,000 124.7 @ 123,000 151.4 @ 123,000 200.4 @ 110,000
Fuel use in g / min 227g 227g 256g 341g 454g 682g
weight in kg 0.841 1.182 1.318 1.409 1.409 2.273

JetCat SPT5 turboprop using a P60 turbine from http://www.jetcatusa.com/spt5.html

Thrust 245 N with 27" prop at 7,000 RPM

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Weight 2.227 kg, incl. starter
Length 387 mm
Diameter 50,000 - 165,000
RPM Range 1,500 - 7,000 RPM
Exhaust gas temp 580°C -780°C
Fuel consumption 227 g per/min at full power
Fuel Jet A1, 1-K kerosene
Lubrication approximately 5% synthetic turbine oil in the fuel
Maintenance interval 25 hours

Notice the greater thrust for a given fuel consumption for the turbprop engine relative to the turbine engine alone. Data taken from
http://www.jetcatusa.com/spt5.html site.

Product information from https://shop.graupner.de/webuerp/servlet/AI?ARTN=6797

Turbine technology offers many advantages, but model aircraft with conventional propeller power systems have never been able to exploit
them. Now they can: the Graupner/JetCat SPT5 turbo-prop engine represents a successful combination of high power reserves and High-Tech
engineering. In the world of full-size aviation most types of propeller-driven machine have already been converted to turbo-prop power, but
the engine´s relentless progress has only just begun in the model arena. As the name indicates, the turbo-prop engine - its full name is a turbo-
jet propeller engine - comprises a gas turbine driving an airscrew.

The secondary shaft directly drives a gearbox designed to cope with high rotational speeds, and this in turn reduces the speed to a value
suitable for a propeller. The gearbox is fitted with anintegral axial fan which provides the necessary airflow for cooling the components subject
to high temperature. Another completely new feature of the engine is the electronic control system, which processes the speed information
derived from both shafts: primary and secondary. This simply means that the pilot can concentrate entirely on flying, while the complex engine
management processes are carried out fully electronically. The reduction gearbox is a specially developed planetary design, highly efficient
and very compact.

When ever a new kind of power system concept is introduced, the model flyer is obliged to immerse himself in the subject in order to gain the
necessary expertise, and this certainly applies to turbines. However, once the operator has become familiar with the procedure, it is actually
simpler to handle a turbine installed in a model aircraft than to operate a piston engine: only a single radio control system channel is required
to control the engine, and starting preparations for the engine simply boil down to filling the fueltank and a small auxiliary gas tank required to
start the turbine.

The engine starts at the press of a button from the transmitter, where upon the entire starting process runs automatically, controlled by the
turbine's on-board electronics (ECU). Initially the integral electric motor accelerates the turbine to a speed of around 6000 rpm, then the
auxiliary gas supply is opened and the gas is ignited in the turbine's combustor. The turbine then continues to accelerate until the burning gas
overtakes the starter motor's speed the motor then disengages, and the turbine continues to accelerate until it reaches a speed high enough to
support running on kerosene.

Once the start-up process is completed successfully, the ECU sets a stable idle speed before transferring control to the pilot. After the flight the
pilot reduces engine speed in the usual way, then - using the same channel - he initiates the power-down process, which is again entirely
automatic, under the control of the on-board electronics: first combustion is halted, then the starter motor is switched on again to push fresh air
through the turbine until the internal temperature has fallen to below 100°C. An LED in the model lights up to indicate that this cooling-off
phase is complete, at which point the receiving system can safely be switched off.

Wren turbines

Wren SuperSport turbine, from http://www.wrenturbines.co.uk

MW 44 MW 54 SuperSport XL 200

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thrust in N 45 64 81 147
Fuel usage in ml / min 176 230 290 494
weight in grams 600 990 960 1,800

Wren helicopter engine - £2,700

Photograph and data from http://wrenturbines.co.uk

Power 6 kW @ 14,500 gearbox rpm

Diameter 90 mm core engine
Length 360 mm
Engine weight 2.077 kg
Ancillaries weight 350g
Gearbox RPM range 4,300 - 14,500 rpm

The complete system package contains:

Helicopter Engine
Autostart ECU
Hand Data Terminal
Solenoid valves
Pump
Engine mount
Gas and fuel pipes
Gas bottle valve
Gas connector
Onboard gas tank
Operator's manual

Wren turboprop

output power 6 kWatts at 7,000 rpm

weight 2.3 kg
propeller speed 1,100 to 7,000 rpm

The turbine powered helicopter

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The turbine powered helicopter has several advantages:

electric start
low vibration level
high engine power (typically 6 kWatts)

and several problems:

very high fuel consumption

noisy
relatively expensive

The Robbe Nova Cuatro owned by Birger Hovland. Photograph from http://wrenturbines.co.uk

EADS Turbine powered target Unmanned Aircraft

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Above and below photographed at the EADS stand at the Dubai 2007 Air Show.

ONERA develops micro-UAV gas turbine engine

French aerospace agency ONERA has tested a tiny combustion chamber for use in a prototype micro gas turbine that could be built by 2010
for use in a miniature Unmanned Aircraft.

By Rob Coppinger, DATE: 8 February 2008, SOURCE: Flight International.

Tested at ONERA's Laerte laboratory in Palaiseau, near Paris, the combustion chamber has a volume smaller than 10mm^3 and is intended for
a micro-turbine that is 20mm in diameter by 20mm high. This will power a micro-UAV with up to a 20 cm wingspan, says ONERA.

Air and fuel, either hydrogen or propane, are injected separately into the micro-turbine, which produces mechanical energy that is then
converted into electricity. "The power required is between 50 and 100W [for] an expected UAV endurance of 30min," says ONERA.

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The agency has concluded that fuel cells of sufficent power density will not exist for some time and that batteries will always be too heavy.

Hydrogen is used as a fuel because its chemical reaction occurs in 50µs, a tenth of the time for normal hydrocarbons, ensuring that ignition
occurs before the gas exits the tiny combustion chamber. Another major challenge is the thermal losses caused by the chamber's relatively
large surface area, which can extinquish combustion.

The next step is to study the rotation of a centripetal silicium turbine wheel 8 mm in diameter with paddles 400 µm in height. These would be
manufactured using either silicon etching or micro-machining. The work will investigate the ability of the micro-turbine to attain rotation
speeds of several hundred thousand revolutions per minute. The target speed is 1 million rpm. With such high rotation speeds, tiny
hydrodynamic bearings will be used so their gases can keep the rotating surfaces from catastrophically touching.

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