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LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 
 
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THE GAS TURBINE 
 
 AN " INTERNAL COMBUSTION" PRIME-MOVER 
 
 BY 
 
 SANFORD A. MOSS, M.S. (UN1V.CAL.) 
 
 A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 ITHACA, N, Y. 
 MAY, 1903 
 
THE GAS TURBINE 
 
 AN " INTERNAL COMBUSTION" PRIME-MOVER 
 
 BY 
 
 SANFORD A. MOSS, M.S. (UNIV. CAL.) 
 
 A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 . MAY, 1903 
 ANDRUS & CHURCH 
 ITHACA, N. Y. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER i. General Account of the Gas Turbine 5 
 
 CHAPTER 2. History of the Gas Turbine 13 
 
 CHAPTER 3. Thermodynamics of the Brayton Cycle 17 
 
 CHAPTER 4. Theory of Nozzles and Free Expansion 25 
 
 CHAPTER 5. Theory of a Rapidly Rotating Disc on a Flexible Shaft__ 36 
 
 CHAPTER 6. Experiments with a Gas Turbine. 48 
 
THE GAS TURBINE. 
 
 AN "INTERNAL COMBUSTION" PRIME MOVER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAI, ACCOUNT OF THE GAS TURBINE.* 
 
 The " Gas Turbine " is a form of heat engine, or mechanism 
 for changing the potential energy of. fuel into mechanical work. 
 As we shall have occasion to see in Chap. 3, the gas turbine 
 seems to offer greater theoretical possibilities than the steam en- 
 gine and boiler, or the Otto cycle gas engine, which are the heat 
 engines now most usual. Of course considerable experimental 
 perfecting would be necessary before the gas turbine could de- 
 mand serious attention for commercial uses. However, the theo- 
 retical possibilities seem to warrant the present investigation at 
 least. 
 
 Before discussing the gas turbine itself we shall consider an- 
 other form of heat engine based on the same thermodynamic 
 principles, but somewhat simpler in conception. 
 
 Consider a compressed air transmission plant, comprising an 
 air compressor and a motor like an ordinary steam engine. The 
 work done by the motor varies directly with the absolute temper- 
 ature of the air supplied to it. That is to say, the work done by 
 the air depends only on its volume when supplied to the motor, 
 and hence increasing this volume by raising the temperature in- 
 creases the work, regardless of the actual quantity or weight of 
 the air. For this reason compressed air is usually " reheated " 
 before use in a motor. 
 
 If the air is compressed without any gain or loss of heat, that 
 is, " adiabatically," the temperature will rise considerably. In 
 our theoretical discussion we will assume such compression. 
 Practically it is always convenient to cool the air somewhat dur- 
 ing compression. If the air supplied to the motor is at the 
 adiabatic temperature at which it theoretically leaves the com- 
 
 * The substance of this chapter was published as an advance portion of 
 this thesis in The Engineer (Cleveland), Vol. 40, No. 8, April 15, 1903. 
 
6 
 
 pressor, the power from the motor will be theoretically the same 
 as that required for the compressor. By reheating the air suffi- 
 ciently, the power from the motor may be made to exceed the 
 power for the compressor by as much as we please. The excess 
 power represents work obtained from heat energy of the fuel used 
 in reheating. 
 
 In a transmission plant, compressor and motor are placed at a 
 distance from each other. If, however, they were at the same 
 place, the motor could drive the compressor, and the excess 
 power would be available for outside purposes. The apparatus 
 would then be a heat engine operating on the fuel used in heat- 
 ing the air between compressor and motor. 
 
 The air might be heated by passing it through a closed vessel 
 of some sort exposed to an outside flame, or by " internal com- 
 bustion " which we will discuss later. The entire connected 
 system of piping and vessels between the compressor and motor, 
 including the heating vessel, is everywhere at the same pressure, 
 which, of course, is the maximum compression pressure. The 
 air is therefore heated at constant pressure, and its volume in- 
 creases so that air leaves the heating chamber much faster than 
 it enters. The motor must of course use up the entire volume of 
 heated air as fast as it is supplied in order that the pressure may 
 remain constant. 
 
 The series of operations performed on a portion of working 
 substance as it goes through a heat engine is called its "cycle," 
 the cycle used in the heat engine just described being named the 
 " Bray ton cycle." This cycle is distinguished by the fact that 
 while the heat used is being added to the air, or other working 
 substance which actuates the engine, this working substance is 
 kept at constant pressure. The same cycle or series of operations 
 maybe carried out by very different kinds of engines. The gas 
 turbine operates differently from the engine just described, but it 
 uses the same Brayton cycle. That is, the same series of opera- 
 tions are carried out, but in a different way. 
 
 Theoretically the Brayton cycle should be easier to execute 
 than the Otto cycle used in modern gas engines. The thermo- 
 dynamic efficiency, or theoretical fraction of the heat supply 
 which is given out as mechanical work, is the same for the Otto 
 as for the Brayton cycle, if the same compression pressure is 
 used. However, the maximum pressure is very much greater 
 with the Otto cycle, where the heat is added at constant volume 
 with consequent increase of pressure, than with the Brayton cycle, 
 
where the pressure does not rise above the compression pressure. 
 The maximum temperature is also much greater for the Otto 
 cycle than for the Brayton, for the same compression pressure 
 and theoretical efficiency. Having lower maximum pressure and 
 temperature we should expect the Brayton cycle to be mofe 
 easily managed than the Otto for equal efficiency. 
 
 However, the method in which a cycle is carried out is as im- 
 portant as the form of cycle. Losses not taken account of by 
 theory always occur, and the magnitude of these depends only on 
 the mechanism of the heat engine which executes the cycle. We 
 must carry out the Brayton cycle in an actual engine without in- 
 curring greater losses than occur in an Otto gas engine in order 
 to secure better results. In all actual attempts to execute the 
 Brayton cycle in the past the losses have been so serious as to 
 more than outweigh the theoretical advantages. On paper, at 
 least, the gas turbine avoids these losses, as we shall see in 
 Chap. 3. 
 
 Let us next consider how the Brayton cycle is carried out by 
 the gas turbine, which, as has been stated, is the equivalent of 
 the compressor- motor combination already discussed. In the 
 case of the compressor-motor combination the compressed air was 
 supposed to be heated by being passed through a vessel exposed 
 to an outside flame. In the gas turbine there is substituted for 
 this internal combustion, used so successfully in the modern gas 
 engine. Since air is our original working substance and since it 
 is also requisite for the combustion of the fuel used in the heating, 
 we may use the air which is to operate the motor to support the 
 combustion of the fuel. That is to say, we will heat the air for 
 the motor by burning the fuel right in it. This is called " inter- 
 nal combustion," as distinguished from " external combustion," 
 where the heat of the fuel is transferred through the walls of a 
 vessel to the working substance, as in the case of a steam boiler. 
 The air must be heated between the compressor and motor, when 
 it is under considerable pressure. A closed vessel or enlargement 
 of the pipe between the compressor and motor is provided, called 
 the " combustion chamber," in which the air and fuel combine 
 or burn, always, of course, while at the maximum compression 
 pressure. From this chamber the products of combustion pass to 
 the motor. Theoretically this could be an engine like a steam 
 engine, or any substitute for it, and in this particular case we will 
 use a turbine wheel similar to a steam turbine. The details of 
 this we will discuss later, first considering more fully the method 
 of operating the combustion chamber. 
 
8 
 
 Heat engines using the Bray ton cycle and having a combustion 
 chamber with internal combustion, but using a motor similar to 
 an ordinary steam engine, instead of a turbine wheel as in our 
 case, have been built or planned in a multitude of forms, and the 
 type of combustion chamber proposed for any one of these is of 
 course suitable for the gas turbine. The relation of these engines 
 to the gas turbine we shall discuss more fully in Chap. 2. 
 
 In the Cayley engine, actually in operation in 1807, coal was 
 used as fuel. A supply sufficient for some time was placed on a 
 grate in a closed vessel and lighted, and- the air from the com- 
 pressor forced through it. When the fuel had all burned out, the 
 motor had to be shut down, the combustion chamber opened, and 
 a fresh fuel supply introduced. Of course a method could be 
 easily contrived for introducing coal into the combustion chamber 
 while the pressure is on, so that the motor could be operated con- 
 tinuously. 
 
 In other cases a gaseous fuel has been forced into the combus- 
 tion chamber against pressure within by means of a small gas 
 compressor, and the air forced in by a separate air compressor, 
 the two pipes meeting as they enter the combustion chamber. 
 After once being lighted a continuous jet of flame issues from the 
 meeting point of the pipes. The first gas turbine ever proposed, 
 which we will discuss later, was to operate in this way. 
 
 The most convenient fuel, however, for a gas turbine will be a 
 liquid of some kind, as, for instance, gasoline, kerosene, or dis- 
 tilled or crude petroleum. Many proposed Brayton cycle engines 
 with motors similar to steam engines have been planned for 
 liquid fuel. The original engine of this type was that of George 
 Brayton, actually in commercial use about 1872. It is due to 
 this engine that the name of Brayton is given to the cycle in 
 which heat is added at constant pressure. Such a cycle had been 
 proposed long before, however, and Brayton only invented a par- 
 ticular form of engine for executing the cycle. 
 
 The cylinder of Bray ton's motor was really his combustion 
 chamber. He forced the oil and air through passages at the en- 
 trance to the cylinder as the piston was advancing on the forward 
 stroke, and by means of a small flame, kept constantly lighted, 
 ignited and burned the mixture as it entered the cylinder. The 
 hot products of combustion, of course, at the maximum compres- 
 sion pressure, forced the motor piston ahead. In this case the 
 combustion was intermittent, the supply of air and oil being cut 
 off when the motor piston reached a certain point, and the com- 
 bustion resumed at the beginning of the next stoke. 
 
9 
 
 In the case of the gas turbine air and oil are continuously 
 forced into one end of the combustion chamber, and, once being 
 lighted, the jet continues to burn. The pressure within the com- 
 bustion chamber and the air pipe leading to it is, of course, 
 always the maximum compression pressure. 
 
 "Combustion at constant pressure" occurs in all of the cases 
 we have considered, whether the fuel be solid, liquid, or gaseous. 
 The fuel being present, and air supplied as fast as necessary by 
 the compressor, combustion ensues exactly as if the fuel were 
 burned in the open air. The fact that the combustion takes place 
 in a closed vessel under pressure makes no difference whatever. 
 The products of the combustion are nitrogen and carbon dioxide, 
 together with oxygen from any air in excess of that required for 
 combustion. All of the heat of combustion of the fuel is emitted 
 just as when it is burned in the open air, and this goes to heat 
 the products of combustion, which are thereby expanded so that 
 they occupy a considerably increased volume. Now the products 
 of combustion have practically the same volume at any given 
 temperature and pressure as would the original air. Therefore 
 the volume and temperature of the products after combustion will 
 be the same as the original air would have if the entire heat of 
 combustion of the fuel were added to the air by passing it through 
 a heated vessel, without changing the chemical composition by 
 burning the fuel in it. In effect, then, internal combustion is 
 merely a means of adding a certain amount of heat to the air, 
 with consequent increase of volume, and is equivalent to passing 
 it through a heated pipe. The change of chemical composition 
 is merely incidental. Of course we always assume that the pro- 
 ducts of combustion are drawn off from the combustion chamber 
 as fast as they are formed, so that the pressure within it is always 
 the maximum compression pressure. Owing to the expansion 
 due to heating, the volume taken from the combustion chamber 
 and supplied to the motor is much greater than the volume of air 
 supplied by the compressor. As already stated, the power ob- 
 tained from the motor is greater than that required to drive the 
 compressor in the same ratio. 
 
 Next let us consider briefly the theory of the turbine wheel or 
 11 impulse wheel " as it should properly be called. Suppose we 
 have a vessel from which we may obtain a continuous supply of 
 liquid or gas under pressure. This might be a reservoir of water, 
 a steam boiler, or the combustion chamber of a gas turbine. By 
 using an engine similar to a steam engine we could obtain power 
 
IO 
 
 from the pressure of the liquid or gas. Suppose, however, that 
 we connect an open nozzle with the vessel, .so that the water, 
 steam, or gas can escape into the air or into any region where the 
 pressure is lower. A jet will then issue from the nozzle with con- 
 siderable velocity. If the nozzle be properly shaped so as to 
 avoid friction losses, the kinetic energy of the escaping jet will be 
 exactly the same as the energy which could be obtained by ex- 
 panding the same liquid or gas from the higher pressure to the 
 lower in a pressure engine like a steam engine. That is to say, 
 the velocity with which the jet escapes represents exactly the 
 same power as could be obtained by using the liquid or gas in an 
 ordinary engine, We will give the proof of this, and consider 
 the whole matter in greater detail in Chap. 4. 
 
 By directing the jet upon the vanes or buckets of a properly ar- 
 ranged impulse wheel, the power of the jet may be taken from 
 it and applied to do useful work. Examples of this are shown 
 by the Pelton type of water wheel, and the De Laval steam tur- 
 bine. 
 
 Suppose, then, that we place at the farther end of the combus- 
 tion chamber a proper nozzle and direct the jet of gases issuing 
 from it upon a turbine wheel. The wheel could be of the type 
 used in the De Laval steam turbine with a single set of buckets, 
 or a number of wheels could be placed in series, as with the 
 Curtis or Parsons steam turbines. We will then obtain the same 
 power from the wheel as we would if we used a motor with a 
 piston like that of Brayton, Cayley, and others. As already 
 stated, this power exceeds the power required to drive the com- 
 pressor by as much as the heating expanded the products of com- 
 bustion. Hence, we may drive the compressor from the impulse 
 wheel, and have surplus power, which is the net income from the 
 heat energy of the fuel used. 
 
 Having examined the individual steps in the operation of the 
 gas turbine, we are prepared to consider the apparatus as a 
 whole. Fig. i is a diagrammatic sketch of the complete machine, 
 which is so labelled as to be sufficiently explicit. We will discuss 
 possible modifications of this fundamental arrangement in Chap. 
 3 and actual details of construction and operation in Chap. 6. 
 
 Oil and air are forced into the combustion chamber as indi- 
 cated, and begin to burn at the entrance. The flaming stream 
 passes along the combustion chamber, and combustion is com- 
 plete by the time the nozzle is reached. The same constant pres- 
 sure is, as previously stated, maintained throughout the system 
 
II 
 
 from the compressor, through the pipes and combustion chamber 
 to the nozzle, since the nozzle is of such size as to allow the in- 
 creased volume of products of combustion to pass out of the com- 
 bustion chamber as fast as they are produced by the entrance of 
 
 FIG. i. Diagrammatic Plan of Fundamental Gas Turbine. 
 
 air and fuel. The diagram shows the arrangement for liquid 
 fluid, to which the gas turbine is perhaps best adapted. Gaseous 
 fuel, such as any kind of coal gas or producer gas, could be used 
 by replacing the oil pump by a gas compressor. Solid fuel could 
 be used by devising some means of continuously feeding it 
 against the pressure of the combustion chamber, or by having a 
 combustion chamber large enough to contain a supply of fuel for 
 some time, and forcing in air only. 
 
 The combustion chamber must, of course, be designed to with- 
 stand the high temperature of the burning gases and the pressure 
 of the compressor. The nozzle must be so designed that the 
 products of combustion have free expansion from the maximum 
 pressure to the external pressure, hence, as in the case of the 
 steam turbine, the channel must first converge and then diverge. 
 The proper shape for the nozzle we will consider in detail in 
 
12 
 
 Chap. 3. The gases will be cooled considerably in expanding 
 through the nozzle, but are still hot at the exit. In all heat 
 engines only a portion of the heat of the fuel is utilized and the 
 rest must be thrown away. In the case of the gas turbine, the 
 kinetic energy of the jet issuing from the nozzle represents that 
 part of the heat energy of the fuel which can be utilized, while 
 the temperature of the jet represents that portion of the energy 
 which will be lost. 
 
 The gases issue from the nozzle with a velocity comparable 
 with that in the De Laval steam turbine, and the turbine must 
 therefore rotate at the same extremely high speed if we use a 
 single stage wheel as does De Laval, the velocity of the buckets 
 being approximately half that of the jet. The theory of a disc 
 rotating at such extraordinary speeds is given in Chap. 5. Some 
 form of speed-reducing mechanism must also be introduced, since 
 it is difficult to utilize power from the wheel at the original speed. 
 However the speed of the wheel could be reduced by using 
 several wheels in series, as in the Curtis or Parsons turbines. 
 The use of a true turbine, where expansion occurs within the 
 wheel itself, is also conceivable. Everything considered how- 
 ever, a single stage impulse wheel .seems best. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE GAS TURBINE. 
 
 As is the case with many other supposed novelties, the gas tur- 
 bine was conceived in ancient times. What is probably the orig- 
 inal gas turbine was patented in England in 1791 by one John 
 Barber. The drawing of this, Fig. 2, and the following descrip- 
 
 FIG. 2. Barber's Gas Turbine, 1791. 
 
i 4 
 
 tion are taken from the British Patent Reports, Volume XXIII, 
 1791-2, Patent No. 1833, which seems to be the only source of 
 information concerning the curious machine. It will be seen that 
 Barber probably understood thoroughly the principle of the gas 
 turbine, although the mechanical knowledge of the time would 
 hardly have sufficed for the construction of a working machine. 
 
 The vessels marked i are retorts for the production of the gas 
 to be used, by distillation of coal, wood, etc., by means of an ex- 
 ternal flame. These are in duplicate, so that one can always be in 
 use while the other is being emptied of coke and recharged. The 
 vessel above the retorts is a cooling and condensing chamber, 
 from which the gas is drawn by the pipe B. The apparatus up 
 to this point is merely for the production of the gaseous fuel to be 
 used, and is not an essential feature of the gas turbine. The 
 parts marked CC, DD, the two lower vessels of those marked 4, 
 and the elevated water tanks above the apparatus comprise two 
 peculiar hydraulic compressors, the details of which we need not 
 investigate. The triangular shaped vessel between the -tanks 4 
 and the wheels is the combustion chamber. By means of the 
 front compressor, the gas taken from B is compressed and dis- 
 charged from the front vessel 4 into the combustion chamber by 
 the pipe shown. By means of the rear compressor air is com- 
 pressed and discharged from the rear vessel 4 by a pipe not shown 
 into the rear side of the combustion chamber. The upper vessel 
 4 discharges water into the combustion chamber, which absorbs 
 some of the heat of combustion and reduces the maximum tem- 
 perature. This is not essential to the operation of the apparatus, 
 however, as the same result could, of course, be obtained by the 
 use of an excess of air. 
 
 The air and gas must burn within the combustion chamber, 
 and the products, issuing from the lower end, are directed upon 
 vanes of the wheel marked 8, which is thereby impelled to rotate. 
 Barber's description of the action within the combustion chamber 
 is not very explicit, and there is a possibility that he did not un- 
 derstand the gas turbine after all. It may be that the triangular 
 chamber was only intended as a mixing chamber, and that the 
 combustion was not to occur until the mixture had passed through 
 its outlet, since the flame would not strike back owing to the ve- 
 locity through the orifice. It might be, on the other hand, that 
 the air and gas were to be throttled before they entered the cham- 
 ber, so that atmospheric pressure existed within it. In either 
 event the heat would be added while the working substance was 
 
at atmospheric pressure, instead of while it was at the maximum 
 pressure. The addition of heat would then be of no use what- 
 ever, and the wheel 8 would operate equally well whether the 
 gases were lighted or not. Theoretically the power required for 
 compression would then be equal to the power of the turbine 
 wheel ; and practically, owing to friction, etc., would be in excess ; 
 so that the machine would not operate at all. 
 
 In case, however, that Barber had the correct conception of the 
 matter and arranged to have the combustion take place in the tri- 
 angular chamber, where also the maximum compression pressure 
 existed, then the operation would be, as he states, as follows : A 
 pinion on the impulse wheel shaft operates the gear wheel 10, on 
 the shaft of which are the cams 9, which raise rods attached to 
 the walking beams 55, actuating the compressors by means of the 
 chains shown. A pinion on the same shaft as the wheel 10 ope- 
 rates the upper gear wheel. From the projecting shaft of this up- 
 per gear the difference between the compressor and motor power 
 can be taken off and applied to useful work. 
 
 The maximum compression pressure which Barber could obtain 
 was that due to the head of water from the tanks in the upper 
 part of the figure, which practically could not be made very great. 
 A modern gas turbine would use much greater pressures than Bar- 
 ber contemplated. 
 
 Nothing seems to have come of Barber's gas turbine and the 
 matter lay untouched for years. In the meantime a great number 
 of internal combustion Brayton cycle engines with reciprocating 
 engines as motors, were proposed as already stated, none attain- 
 ing success however. A number of these are described by Mr. 
 Charles Lucke in a paper presented to the American Society of 
 Mechanical Engineers, Dec. 190^, andjorming part of his Doc- 
 tor's thesis, presented to Columbia University in 1902. He dis- 
 tinguishes two types, the first type having intermittent, and the 
 second type continuous internal combustion at constant pressure. 
 The latter type of course involves a combustion chamber or re- 
 ceiver sufficiently large to prevent excessive fluctuations of 
 pressure owing to the intermittent demand of the motor. A heat 
 engine of this type is essentially equivalent to the gas turbine 
 with the single exception that a reciprocating motor is used 
 instead of an impulse wheel. Mr. Lucke mentions the possibility 
 and even the desirability of using a "gas-expansion turbine" 
 instead of a reciprocating motor in this type of heat engine, but 
 he does not go into details. 
 
i6 
 
 A number of gas turbines have been proposed by various in- 
 ventors in which an explosive mixture is repeatedly admitted to 
 a chamber, exploded, and discharged with gradually decreasing 
 pressure upon the vanes of a turbine wheel. These might be 
 called " intermittent combustion" gas turbines. A gas turbine 
 of this type due to Leon Le Pontois was the subject of the Doc- 
 tor's thesis presented to Cornell University by Mr. W. O. 
 Amsler. All gas turbines of this character seem to be based 
 on the false idea that "explosion" is the only proper way 
 to conduct internal combustion, and -the inventors seem to 
 be ignorant of the possibility of continuous combustion under 
 constant pressure. For obvious reasons a continuous combustion 
 gas turbine is immeasurably superior to one with intermittent 
 combustion and variable pressure. 
 
 The writer began the study of the gas turbine in 1898, believ- 
 ing the idea original Until research disclosed Barber's patent. 
 A thesis for the degree M.S. entitled "Thermodynamics of the 
 Gas Turbine" was presented to the University of California in 
 1900, the substance of which is given in the next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THERMODYNAMICS OF THE BRAYTON CYCI,E. 
 
 The heat engine used in the Gas Turbine, commonly called the 
 Brayton Cycle, as already stated, is distinguished by the fact that 
 heat is added to and taken from the working substance while it is 
 at constant pressure. The various operations performed on a 
 portion of working substance as it passes through a Brayton cycle 
 heat engine are as follows : 
 
 The working substance, initially separate portions of air and 
 fuel in the case of the gas turbine, is first compressed to the maxi- 
 mum pressure p v While at this pressure heat is added by some 
 means or other ; in the case of the gas turbine by "internal com- 
 bustion. ' ' The volume and temperature of the working substance 
 are thereby increased. The chemical composition may also be 
 changed but this is merely on incident which we have on occasion 
 to take account of at present. The working substance next ex- 
 pands adiabatically to atmospheric pressure. During addition of 
 heat and expansion, work is done which is eventually utilized by 
 the motor. In our case an impulse wheel is used, which is, how- 
 ever, as will be shown in Chap. 4, equivalent to a piston engine. 
 The working substance, now at atmospheric pressure but at a 
 considerable temperature, is next discarded, and a new lot taken 
 into the compressor at atmospheric temperature and pressure. In 
 order to close the thermodynamic cycle we may suppose that the 
 same working substance is used over again, enough heat having 
 been extracted at constant pressure to reduce the temperature 
 appropriately. 
 
 The mathematical treatment of an actual cycle such as the 
 above has never been attempted directly, and the best that can be 
 done is to discuss the matter on the assumption that the working 
 substance is a perfect gas throughout. The approximations that 
 this assumption involves in the case of the gas turbine are as fol- 
 lows : The working substance is initially separate portions of oil 
 and air. Since the work of bringing the oil to the maximum 
 pressure is insignificant, the actual work of compression is not 
 quite so great as we take it to be by assuming the working sub- 
 stance wholly gaseous. However, as we shall see later, in cases 
 where the proportion of oil is reduced sufficiently to give work- 
 able temperatures, the oil forms two or three per cent, by weight of 
 
i8 
 
 the working substance. Hence but slight error is committed by 
 assuming that the work of pumping the oil is equal to the work of 
 compressing on equal weight of air. 
 
 In the next place the variation of volume due to addition of 
 heat by internal combustion is very irregular, and does not follow 
 the simple law of the perfect gas cycle, where the volume varies 
 directly with the heat added. Some irregularities, probably 
 slight owing to the small percentage of oil, arise from the fact 
 that some of the heat of combustion of the oil is absorbed by its 
 latent heat of vaporization. This heat causes increase of volume 
 but not of temperature. Other irregularities arise from the "ex- 
 pansion " due to combustion. When the volume of a perfectly 
 combustible mixture of gases is compared with volume of the 
 products of combustion ; both calculated by Avogadro's law, and 
 reduced to the same pressure and temperature, an expansion or 
 contraction is found to have occurred. It can be shown that ex- 
 pansion always occurs when a hydrocarbon C a H m burns, if m is 
 greater than ^. Therefore, since most of the hydrocarbons of 
 which oil is composed are quite complex, an expansion occurs 
 due to the change of chemical composition. This is independent 
 of the heating of the products of combustion due to the addition 
 of the heat of combustion. This is therefore another source of 
 increase of volume without change of temperature. Usually 
 there is a considerable amount of dilution in the mixtures used, 
 particularly on account of the nitrogen of the air, so that the ex- 
 pansion is not a very large percentage of the whole volume in- 
 volved, making this irregularity slight also. 
 
 The increase of volume due to the two causes referred to of 
 course represents work done due to liberation of the chemical 
 energy of the fuel It may be remarked that the work thus done 
 is probably never included as it ought to be in the tabulated 
 values of the heat of combustion of fuels. The " constant press- 
 ure calorimeter " of the Junkers' or other form, which is usually 
 used, takes no account of energy liberated by combustion but 
 causing volume variation merely without incidental change of 
 temperature. 
 
 The differences between the actual cycle and the assumed per- 
 fect gas cycle have thus far been found slight. There is, how- 
 ever, another difference of much greater magnitude. Recent re- 
 search has probably established the fact that the specific heat of 
 all gases increases with the temperature. Therefore the specific 
 heat of the products of combustion at the high temperatures 
 
attained in the gas turbine is much greater than the constant 
 value assumed in the perfect gas cycle. It follows that the actual 
 temperatures attained in the gas turbine are much less than those 
 calculated on the perfect gas assumption. Since so much approxi- 
 mation is involved in the perfect gas assumption, we may as well 
 assume in addition that the working substance has throughout 
 the specific heat of air at atmospheric temperatures. 
 
 Let us consider the effect of the "imperfect" nature of the 
 actual gases upon the theoretical efficiency of the cycle. As is 
 well known, in the case of the Carnot cycle imperfection of the 
 working fluid has no effect UROII the theoretical efficiency. It 
 may also be shown that the theoretical efficiency is independent 
 of the nature of the working fluid for any cycle in which heat is 
 added and taken away along lines of the same constant specific 
 heat* It does not appear therefore as if the imperfection of the 
 working substance would have any marked effect on the theo- 
 retical efficiency in the case of our cycle. That is to say we will 
 make the hypothesis that the theoretical efficiency of the actual 
 gas turbine is approximately the same as that calculated on the 
 basis that the working substance is a perfect gas. 
 
 The algebraical and arithmetical calculations for a number of 
 cases of perfect gas Brayton cycles comprised the master's thesis 
 of the writer, entitled " Thermodynamics of the Gas Turbine," 
 filed at the University of California. A brief abstract will be 
 given of the most important results. 
 
 The heat Q added by the combustion, per pound of working 
 substance, may be as a maximum the heat emitted by the com- 
 bustion of as much oil as is necessary to form a perfectly com- 
 bustible mixture of air and oil amounting to one pound. Ordi- 
 nary crude or refined petroleum is about 85 per cent, carbon and 
 15 per cent. Hydrogen. Calculation from this analysis gives 
 about 15 pounds of air as necessary to burn i pound of oil, with 
 emission of about 20,000 B.T U. Hence a perfect mixture of 
 
 air and oil weighing i pound emits 2O ' OC ^ 1250 B. T. U. 
 
 However in order to be sure that no oil will be unconsumed there 
 should be a slight excess of air, so that we will assume a round 
 figure of i ,000 as the greatest desirable value of Q. By decreas- 
 ing the proportion of oil to air we may make Q anything that we 
 please under 1,000. Of course this figure may need modification 
 if fuels other than oil are used. 
 
 *See Generalization of Carnot' s Cycle, Physical Review, Vol. 16, No. i, 
 Jan., 1903. 
 
20 
 
 The temperature and volume after combustion are calculated 
 from the value of Q and the specific heat at constant pressure for 
 air, '238, assumed as constant as already explained. The final 
 temperature and volume are calculated by assuming adiabatic 
 expansion from maximum to atmospheric pressure. The heat q 
 which must be extracted to return the working substance to the 
 initial condition is found from the specific heat at constant 
 volume, as before. The heat transformed into mechanical work 
 is the difference Q q so that the efficiency of the cycle which 
 
 we will call e is given by e = 2. 
 
 The work done in compression is C and the work done by the 
 motor is M, so that the net work available for useful purposes is 
 C M. Of course C M = J (Q q} where /is the mechani- 
 cal equivalent of heat. A measure of the complication involved 
 in the necessary compression of the air before combustion will be 
 given by the ratio of the power required for compression, to the 
 net power, which we will call r. 
 
 Then r = --. 
 
 C M 
 
 In deciding the values of the various quantities to be used in a 
 particular Brayton Cycle, we may choose arbitrarily the maxi- 
 mum pressure p l and the heat added per pound of working sub- 
 stance Q. The latter, however, must never exceed 1000 as already 
 stated. When/j and Q are decided, everything else may be cal- 
 culated directly. On the other hand, we may assign arbitrary 
 values to any other two quantities whatever, and calculate the 
 values of p l and Q which must necessarily be used to .secure them. 
 
 In cases where the cycle of a heat engine is executed in a motor 
 involving a reciprocating piston, the maximum pressure and tem- 
 perature must be brought within reasonable limits, so that these 
 are made the arbitrarily determined variables. In the case where 
 ah "impulse wheel" is used as a motor for the Brayton Cycle, 
 giving a Gas Turbine ; the temperature at the end of expansion 
 and the linear velocity of the impulse wheel must be within con- 
 trollable limits. The peripheral velocity of a De Laval Steam 
 Turbine, a Pelton water wheel, or any similar impulse wheel, 
 should theoretically be one-half, and practically about three- 
 eighths of the velocity of the jet which drives it. The velocity of 
 the jet Fis such that the kinetic energy of a pound of working 
 
 F 2 
 substance, , is, as already stated, equal to the work which 
 
21 
 
 would be done by the same pound in expanding behind a piston, 
 given by M. Hence the assignment of a value to the velocity of 
 the impulse wheel of a gas turbine amounts to assigning a value 
 to M. An extreme value for the velocity is 100,000 feet per 
 minute. 
 
 We shall next consider some numerical results for a number of 
 cases of the Bray ton Cycle, given in Table i. We will among 
 other things give the speed which the impulse wheel should have 
 in case the cycle is executed by using a gas turbine. Of course 
 all of the other values hold good for any form of engine whatever 
 in which the cycle is executed, whether a reciprocating piston 
 engine or whatnot. As previously stated, we will assume the 
 working substance as a perfect gas, so the temperatures we obtain 
 are very much higher than will occur in an actual case. 
 
 Case I is a theoretical Brayton Cycle in which compression and 
 expansion are both adiabatic. We will suppose a perfect ma- 
 chine with no losses. 
 
 Case II is a modification of the Brayton Cycle, in which the 
 compression is isothermal and a regenerator is used. We will 
 again assume no losses. We will find that the regenerator gives 
 a remarkable gain. The formulas show that the work done by 
 the motor is equal to the heat added by combustion. Hence we 
 obtain as useful work all of the heat of combustion except the 
 work required for compression. The less the compression pres- 
 sure the less this lost work and therefore the greater the efficiency. 
 This is not the case, however, if any losses occur. The theo- 
 retical efficiencies for Case II are remarkably high, but are of 
 course unattainable since we have assumed a perfect heat engine. 
 
 Case III is a recalculation of Case II in which we attempt to 
 find values for the efficiency which might be expected in an 
 actual case by assuming the various losses which will occur. 
 We will assume that the motor only gives 70% of the power 
 which it theoretically should, that the compressor requires 20% 
 more power than it should, and that the regenerator has an effi- 
 ciency of 60%. It appears that we can in no case use the full 
 value looo for the heat added per pound of working substance, 
 since the temperatures will be too high for a reciprocating engine 
 and the velocities too high for a Gas Turbine. An excess of air 
 is therefore used to reduce the heat added per pound. 
 
 The values given for the efficiency in this case are remarkably 
 high, and since they are results which might be expected in an 
 actual engine, they are worthy of attention. Of course experi- 
 
22 
 
 merit will be necessary to determine just what values of tempera- 
 ture, etc., are practicable. As stated the values of the tempera- 
 tures given in Table i do not hold for the actual cycle. 
 
 TABLE i. BRAYTON CYCI,E CALCULATIONS. 
 
 
 1 
 
 IH 
 
 5 
 
 *7 bo 
 
 (4-4 
 
 o 
 
 ' 
 
 3 cO 
 
 i, 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 oD 
 
 
 
 
 % *> 
 V& 
 
 w ! || 
 
 8.J 
 
 S|S 
 
 "cd O * 
 
 O 
 
 gfc 
 
 frfr 
 
 
 0* 
 
 ^ cC 
 
 IT* ^j 
 
 -M F be 
 
 VH ^* ^yQ 
 
 fi ^ 
 
 K** 
 
 O S3 
 
 
 ^ C 
 
 'O'o "S 
 
 w t/3 
 
 PH J_T 
 
 ^j . ' t 
 
 
 t4H -j -*-* 
 
 S ^ 
 
 
 "" 
 
 
 co &c 
 
 g n W 
 
 g^H 
 
 S 8^ 
 
 3 0> 
 
 H'S 
 
 
 <r 
 
 S 'S 5 
 
 .2 
 
 ili<r 
 
 {S 
 
 
 ^S^ 
 
 J:^ 
 
 
 si 
 
 CO 2 
 
 o 
 
 'o'tS 
 
 s&^ 
 
 * 5 
 
 o^^ 
 
 if 
 
 H 
 
 
 as, 
 
 1" 
 
 CO 
 
 S-s 
 
 cS 
 C 
 
 to 
 
 ^5 
 
 5 
 
 t! 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 B 
 
 if 
 
 s 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 4 
 
 ^3 
 
 r 
 
 r 
 
 e 
 
 CASE I. 
 
 90 
 90 
 
 IOOO 
 
 250 
 
 O 
 O 
 
 4665 
 1505 
 
 2435 
 652 
 
 .22 
 
 .87 
 
 115,300 
 71,680 
 
 43 
 43 
 
 Adiabatic Compression. 
 Perfect Machine with 
 No Losses. 
 
 195 
 
 495 
 495 
 
 IOOO 
 
 250 
 
 IOOO 
 
 250 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 4860 
 1710 
 5190 
 2040 
 
 2008 
 546 
 1562 
 
 434 
 
 .27 
 1.07 
 
 34 
 1.38 
 
 131,2001 .54 
 
 83,740 .54 
 147,600 .64 
 98,300 .64 
 
 CASE II. 
 
 90 
 
 IOOO 
 
 o 
 
 9239 
 
 5039 
 
 ;o8 
 
 159,100 .93 
 
 Isothermal Compression 
 with Regenerator. 
 Perfect Machine with 
 
 90 
 
 195 
 195 
 
 495 
 
 250 
 
 IOOO 
 
 250 
 
 IOOO 
 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 
 1965 
 7376 
 1498 
 6087 
 
 915 
 3176 
 448 
 1887 
 
 39 
 .1 1 
 .61 
 15 
 
 79,370 
 159,100 
 79,570 
 159,100 
 
 .72 
 
 91 
 .62 
 
 87 
 
 No Losses. 
 
 495 
 
 250 
 
 o 
 
 1176 
 
 126 
 
 1.03 
 
 79,570 
 
 49 
 
 CASE III. 
 
 56 
 
 333 
 
 
 
 2147 
 
 1200 
 
 74 
 
 75,4oo 
 
 .27 
 
 Iso. Comp. with Regen. 
 Actual Machine with 
 Assumed Losses. 
 Air Excess. 
 
 82 
 61 
 98 
 
 33 
 61 
 
 392 
 
 445 
 545 
 445 
 569 
 
 
 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 o 
 
 2 39 8 
 2867 
 3233 
 3179 
 3699 
 
 I2OO 
 1619 
 1619 
 2139 
 2139 
 
 .68 
 50 
 47 
 .40 
 36 
 
 84,800 
 86,485 
 99,960 
 78,155 
 96,775 
 
 30 
 
 35 
 .28 
 
 33 
 
 CASE IV. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Iso. Comp. with Regen. 
 
 79 
 
 625 
 
 37 
 
 1275 
 
 600 
 
 67 
 
 75,000 
 
 13 
 
 Assumed Losses. 
 
 47 
 
 638 
 
 .36 
 
 1680 
 
 IOOO 
 
 43 
 
 75,ooo 
 
 .15 
 
 Cooling Water. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The excess of air required to keep the temperature down in the 
 above case demands an increased size of compressor. However, 
 the temperature could be kept down by the use of water, which 
 can be introduced more readily. Case IV is therefore one in 
 which the working substance is a mixture of air and water, the 
 air being just sufficient for perfect combustion. The water be- 
 comes superheated steam at the same temperature as the products 
 of combustion and the mixture operates the motor. We suppose 
 isothermal compression of the necessary air, and a regenerator as 
 
-23- 
 
 before. The regenerator can only utilize the sensible heat of the 
 steam however, and must reject the latent heat. This lowers the 
 efficiency, and therefore this case is not as favorable as Case III. 
 The compressor is much smaller in proportion however, as shown 
 by the small value of r. The assumed efficiencies of compressor 
 motor and regenerator were needlessly taken somewhat differently 
 in this case than in the preceding. 
 
 The efficiencies of Case III are so much higher than those of 
 Case IV that it probably will be best to use air in excess rather 
 than water, in order to give controllable temperatures. 
 
 As stated, we have attempted to take account of all possible 
 losses in calculating Case III "ley assuming dynamical efficiencies 
 for the various parts of the apparatus. It is to be noted that we 
 do not have any extra-thermodynamic or thermal losses in the gas 
 turbine, which prove so serious in heat engines with reciprocating 
 motors, such as the steam engine and Otto gas engine. The most 
 important source of loss not taken account of by theory in a gas 
 engine is the loss of heat through the cylinder walls to the jacket 
 water. There is no such loss in the case of the gas turbine, as 
 the maximum temperature occurs within a chamber where there 
 are no moving parts, so that cooling is unnecessary. By lining 
 the combustion chamber thickly, or covering it with a non-con- 
 ductor, the temperature at the outside, and consequently the 
 radiation loss, may be made very small, even though very high 
 temperatures exist within. 
 
 One source of dynamic loss in the gas turbine is the friction as 
 the gases pass through the nozzle and as they pass along the 
 buckets of the impulse wheel. The steam turbine is subject to 
 exactly similar losses, and the fact that they have not proven 
 serious in its development indicates that they will probably not 
 be serious in the case of the gas turbine. We have attempted to 
 take account of the loss in Case III by assuming an efficiency of 
 70% for the motor. 
 
 Another source of dynamic loss in the gas turbine is that occur- 
 ring in the compressor, since its "mechanical efficiency" is. 
 always less than unity. We have attempted to take account of 
 this loss in Case III by assuming that the compressor requires 
 20% more power than it theoretically should. 
 
 It is to be noted that losses in compressor and motor which are 
 comparatively small percentages of the powers of these machines 
 are much larger percentages of the net power, which is the differ- 
 ence between the two. Suppose, for instance, that the compres- 
 
24 
 
 sor requires theoretically 10 and actually 12 horsepower, and that 
 the motor yields theoretically 50 but actually 35 horsepower. 
 The net power will then be theoretically 40 and actually only 23. 
 That is to say a 20% loss in the compressor and a 30% loss in the 
 motor cause a loss of 42^ % of the theoretical net power. It is 
 probably due to this great effect on the net power of compara- 
 tively small compressor and motor losses that the Brayton cycle 
 has never been really successful in a reciprocating engine, al- 
 though tried many times. A reciprocating motor necessarily has 
 a water jacket, and this adds possibly a 50% thermal loss to the 
 dynamic motor loss. The net power is therefore enormously re- 
 duced. In the gas turbine we escape the thermal loss and thus 
 have some possibility of obtaining reasonably high values of the 
 net power. This is shown by the net efficiencies of Case III, 
 Table i, which have been calculated with reasonable values of 
 the various losses taken into account, as already stated. These 
 efficiencies compare so favorably with those obtained in the mod- 
 ern steam and gas engine that it seems quite possible that after 
 sufficient experiment and development the gas turbine may trans- 
 form heat into work more efficientlv than either of these. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THEORY OF NOZZLES AND FREE EXPANSION.* 
 
 Suppose that a portion of fluid, liquid or gaseous, with a given 
 volume and temperature, exists in a region where a given pres- 
 sure is continuously maintained. The fluid then represents a 
 certain amount of stored or "potential" energy. Part of this 
 exists as heat energy due to the temperature of the portion, and 
 the balance is due to its presence in a region where the pressure 
 is continuously maintained. -If the volume leaves the region, 
 work will be done, the amount being given by the product of 
 pressure and volume. Hence the presence of the portion of fluid 
 in the region under pressure implies stored energy of this amount. 
 
 Suppose that in some way or other our portion of fluid reaches 
 a region of lower pressure, the change being made without add- 
 ing or extracting heat, that is " adiabatically." The potential 
 energy will then be found to be less than before. The difference 
 has left the gas and must be sought elsewhere. 
 
 There are two ways in which the portion of fluid may pass 
 from one pressure to another. In the first place, it may be 
 placed behind a piston and allowed to expand gradually, as when 
 steam expands in a steam engine. Then the difference between 
 the potential energies for the two pressures appears as the me- 
 chanical work done by the piston. This may be called "con- 
 strained expansion. ' ' In the second place, the portion of fluid may 
 expand from one pressure to the other by passing through a 
 " nozzle " or orifice in the wall of the vessel in which the higher 
 pressure exists, into the region where the lower pressure exists. 
 This is called "free expansion." The result of free expansion is 
 the reduction of the portion of fluid to the same final condition as 
 regards pressure, volume and temperature as in the case of con- 
 strained expansion, so that the loss of potential energy must be 
 the same. 
 
 Now each small portion of the fluid, while in the orifice, is 
 always passing from one point to another where the pressure is 
 slightly lower. At any instant, therefore, any small portion is 
 acted on by a force due to the difference between the pressures 
 behind it and before it. This force does work in increasing the 
 velocity of the portion of fluid considered, so that the mass ac- 
 
 *The substance of this chapter was published as an advance portion of 
 this thesis in Sibley Journal, Vol. 17, No. 6, March, 1903. 
 
26 
 
 quires a gradually increasing stock of kinetic energy as it moves 
 through the orifice. The kinetic energy of the fluid as it finally 
 leaves the orifice, together with any energy dissipated in the 
 form of heat due to friction against the sides of the orifice, repre- 
 sents the difference in the potential energy of the fluid when at 
 the higher and when at the lower pressure. That is to say, in 
 free expansion we have kinetic energy corresponding to the work 
 done on the piston in constrained expansion. 
 
 In both cases, however, work is done representing the differ- 
 ence between the potential energies corresponding to the two 
 pressures. The kinetic energy due to free expansion is therefore 
 exactly the same as the amount of work which would be done on 
 an engine piston by the same fluid expanding between the same 
 pressures. 
 
 The kinetic energy of a jet of fluid issuing from an orifice after 
 free expansion may be taken from the fluid and applied to do use- 
 ful work by means of an " impulse wheel " having a number of 
 vanes or buckets on which the jet impinges. Any form of motor 
 in which a piston is moved by a fluid under pressure may there- 
 fore have substituted for it an impulse wheel driven by a jet of 
 the fluid issuing from a vessel under the same initial pressure. A 
 hydraulic pressure engine may therefore be replaced by a Pelton 
 water wheel, a steam engine by a De Laval steam turbine, and a 
 Brayton Gas Engine by a " gas turbine." 
 
 The kinetic energy of a jet of gas after free expansion is usually 
 enormous compared with the mass, so that very high velocities 
 are attained. The friction losses may therefore become serious if 
 the nozzle is not properly designed. On the other hand the 
 friction losses are comparatively small with proper precautions. 
 A requisite for minimizing friction loss is that the velocity in the 
 nozzle shall gradually and continuously increase, since sudden 
 variations cause shock. As the increase of velocity is caused by 
 the decrease of pressure from point to point, the pressure should 
 decrease gradually and continuously. 
 
 In the case of water, the volume does not vary with the 
 pressure, and hence the velocity at any point along a water nozzle 
 depends only on the cross-section at that point, regardless of the 
 pressure. Hence a continuous increase of velocity is secured by a 
 continuous decrease of section. That is to say a nozzle for water 
 should converge continuously from the point of greatest pressure 
 to the point of least pressure. 
 
 A nozzle for a gas must have a radically different shape in order 
 that the velocity may increase and the pressure decrease con- 
 
tinuously. The volume of a given mass of gas increases as pres- 
 sure decreases and this increase of volume must be taken into ac- 
 count in conjunction with the desired increase of velocity in order 
 to find the nozzle shape. Now the nozzle must converge in order 
 to give an increase of velocity, and diverge in order to allow for a 
 change of volume due to decrease of pressure. If the velocity is 
 to increase faster than the volume increases, the nozzle will con- 
 verge on the whole. However, it is quite possible that the pressure 
 may decrease so that the consequent rate of increase of volume is 
 greater than the consequent rate of increase of velocity. Then 
 the nozzle must diverge in order to provide for the greater rate at 
 which the volume increases. \ 
 
 As we will show presently a decrease of pressure down to about 
 one-half of the initial pressure causes a greater rate of increase of 
 velocity than of volume, requiring the nozzle to converge. If the 
 pressure is to decrease still further the volume begins to increase 
 more rapidly than the velocity and hence the nozzle must diverge. 
 That is to say when the final pressure is less than about one-half 
 of the initial pressure the nozzle first converges and then diverges 
 in order to allow for a continuous decrease of pressure. 
 
 If the nozzle is not shaped in this manner the pressure cannot 
 decrease continuously down to the final pressure. That is to say 
 a convergent nozzle is an abnormal shape for a gas, and gives a 
 very abnormal action which we will later briefly investigate. A 
 nozzle first convergent and then divergent is the normal shape for 
 a continuous decrease of pressure and nothing abnormal or 
 mysterious occurs when such a nozzle is used. It is often popu- 
 larly supposed that the free expansion of gases is very mysterious 
 owing to the irregular action in a convergent nozzle, whereas this 
 irregularity is due solely to the fact that a convergent nozzle is 
 proper only for non-expansible fluids such as water. 
 
 With this introduction we may proceed to treat our subject 
 mathematically. We will take the case of a perfect gas although, 
 as already stated, the gases used in a gas turbine are by no means 
 perfect. However the results will apply approximately. Our 
 results also hold approximately for the case of superheated steam, 
 now commonly used in steam turbines, and for compressed air 
 issuing from an orifice. The same methods would be used for the 
 case of saturated steam, but the equations would be somewhat 
 different. We will neglect friction altogether. The gas passes 
 through a nozzle from a region where the pressure is p^ pounds 
 per square foot to a region where the pressure is zero. Since the 
 
28 
 
 pressure is to decrease continuous!}' from />, to O we may cut the 
 nozzle off at a point where the pressure has diminished to/ 3 and 
 thus obtain a nozzle suited for discharge into a region of pres- 
 sure /> 3 . Let the general conditions at any point whatever along 
 the nozzle be denoted by letters without subscripts, p being the 
 absolute pressure in pounds per square foot, v the corresponding 
 specific volume in cubic feet per pound, T the absolute Fahrenheit 
 temperature, Fthe velocity in feet per second, and A the nozzle 
 area in square feet. 
 
 Let the conditions at the entrance of the nozzle be denoted by 
 subscriptj, at the point of minimum diameter by subscript 2 , at 
 the point where any particular pressure (as for instance atmo- 
 spheric pressure) is reached, by subscript 8 , and at the point 
 where zero pressure would be reached if the nozzle continued so 
 far, by subscript 4 . Let M be the weight of gas passing through 
 in pounds per second. Let <: p and c v be the specific heats of the 
 gas and k their ratio. R is the gas equation constant, equal to 
 
 ^, and / is the mechanical equivalent of heat. As is well 
 
 known R =J( c^ c v ). 
 
 Let us consider that portion of the nozzle between the entrance 
 and the general point where the pressure is p. The mathematical 
 statement of the fact that no energy is created within this space, 
 (neglecting the kinetic energy of the gas entering the nozzle) is 
 
 The neglect of the entering kinetic energy amounts to the as- 
 sumption that the entrance velocity is zero, so that the nozzle 
 area at the entrance must be infinite. Practically, however, the 
 entrance area may be comparatively small and the entrance 
 velocity be in the neighborhood of 100 to 200 feet per second, and 
 yet the kinetic energy of the entering gas will be quite negligible 
 as compared with the other terms of the expression. 
 The above expression reduces to 
 
 ~r=P.v l -pv+Jc v (T l -T) 
 
 Since p l v l = R T pv=RT, and 
 this becomes 
 
 Hence we have as a general expression for the velocity 
 
29 
 
 V-VigJc^Tt-T) (0 
 
 We will assume, as is usual in similar cases, that the gas ex 
 pands adiabatically in passing through the nozzle. 
 Hence the usual adiabatic relation holds, 
 
 T, 
 Therefore 
 
 This expression shows the relation between the pressure and 
 velocity at any point. It will be seen that the velocity always in- 
 creases as the pressure decreases. 
 
 We may express the relation between the nozzle area and the 
 pressure at any point by substituting for Fin (2). From the re- 
 lation A V = Mv and the adiabatic relation 
 
 , we have V- 
 v ' 
 
 Then 
 
 r . 
 
 This gives us a means of investigating the variation of the area 
 A as the pressure/ varies. Differentiating with respect to/, 
 
 where B is a group of coefficients all of which are essentially posi- 
 tive. Suppose that / is equal to /j. Then since k is about 1.41, 
 
 will be positive. will continue positive, that is the noz- 
 
 dp dp 
 
 zle area will decrease as the pressure decreases, while the pressure 
 varies from/! to a value such that the parenthesis on the right 
 vanishes. That is to say the nozzle must converge while the 
 pressure varies from p l to a value / 2 such that 
 
 '-' (5) 
 
 Evidently - vanishes for/ / 2 and hence A has a minimum 
 dp 
 
 value for this pressure. As the pressure / still further decreases 
 
 is a negative and hence the nozzle diverges. 
 dp 
 
30 
 
 That is to say a nozzle in which the pressure continuously de- 
 creases has a point of minimum area at the place where the pres- 
 sure is/> 2 and diverges beyond this point. If the shape is differ- 
 ent from this, the pressure cannot decrease continuously and an 
 irregular action occurs. 
 
 In the case of air and a number of other gases k= 1.41 and 
 the pressure at the throat or point of minimum area is / 2 = 
 
 527^1- 
 By substituting the value of the throat pressure in the adiabatic 
 
 relation between pressure and temperature, the throat temperature 
 is found to be 
 
 T 2 T 
 T+l l 
 
 By substituting this value for T 2 in the general expression for the 
 velocity (i) we have as the throat velocity 
 
 This may be shown to be the velocity of sound in the gas for the 
 conditions of pressure and temperature obtaining at the throat. 
 It is therefore the velocity at which a disturbance will be pro- 
 pagated along the stream flowing through the nozzle. Since 
 the velocity of motion beyond the throat is greater than the 
 velocity at which a disturbance can be propagated, it is impossible 
 for a disturbance to be propagated backward along the stream of 
 gas. Hence if the portion of the nozzle beyond the throat were 
 to be removed, so that the gas was discharged at a pressure p^ 
 into a region of lower pressure /> 3 , the disturbance thus produced 
 could not in any way affect the flow of gas between the entrance 
 and the throat. That is to say if a nozzle is wholly convergent and 
 the region into which it discharges has a pressure less than / 2 the 
 discharge will nevertheless be at pressure p 2 and the gas will ex- 
 pand from / to /> 3 by diverging in the region beyond the end of 
 the nozzle, just as if the proper divergent portion of the nozzle 
 existed beyond the throat. This explanation of the well known 
 fact is in essence due to Professor Osborne Reynolds. 
 
 In order to compute the sizes necessary for the design of a 
 nozzle we proceed as follows : By substituting the value of p 9 
 given by (5) in the general expression (4) for the area we obtain 
 a value for the throat area which reduces to 
 
 \ 
 
 A \ 2gk 
 
 For the case of air and those gases for which k= 1.41 the throat 
 area becomes 
 
In order to most conveniently compute the area and velocity at 
 the end of the nozzle where it discharges into, a region at pressure 
 / 3 we first find the final temperature and specific volume by sub- 
 stituting the value of p 3 in the general adiabatic relations, whence 
 
 We may then obtain the final velocity by substituting the value 
 of 7~ 3 in the general expression for the velocity (i), which gives 
 
 Also, v . 
 
 The final area may then be found by substituting the values thus 
 found for F 3 and v 3 in the general expression A V Mv. 
 
 By taking p = o in (4) it appears that the final area for dis- 
 charge into an absolute vacuum is infinite. This is du'e to the 
 fact that the specific volume is infinite for zero pressure. How- 
 ever, the area increases very rapidly for a very slight decrease in 
 pressure in this vicinity, and the final area for what is practical!}' 
 considered a vacuum is not particularly great. It may be re- 
 marked that the final temperature is zero for discharge into a 
 vacuum. 
 
 The theory thus far has been known in essence for some time, 
 although the present method of treatment is possibly new. We 
 have found, however, only the entrance, throat, and final diame- 
 ters of the nozzle. The curvature of the nozzle and the distance 
 between these points, is not determined. The following attempt 
 to complete the discussion is believed to be original. 
 
 We shall assume as a basis for procedure the manner in which 
 a particle of gas is to be accelerated as it passes through the noz- 
 zle. Evidently in order to avoid impact loss due to changes of 
 velocity the acceleration should proceed in some regular manner. 
 One possible assumption is uniform acceleration. That is to say 
 the force furnished by the gradually decreasing pressure which 
 serves to increase the velocity may be taken as constant. We 
 will presently work out the shape of a nozzle to secure this result. 
 However, this is not necessarily the shape giving a minimum 
 friction loss. For instance it is conceivable that the losses might 
 be less if the particles of gas were accelerated less rapidly as their 
 
32- 
 
 velocity increased. Then the accelerating force would vary in- 
 versely as the velocity. Theoretical considerations may be dis- 
 covered which will give some absolute criterion as to the best 
 method of acceleration. However, the matter must probably be 
 decided by experiments with nozzles designed according to vari- 
 ous reasonable assumptions. 
 
 The assumption of uniform acceleration seems most reasonable 
 and therefore we will take it up here. 
 
 Let x be the variable distance from the nozzle entrance to any 
 point where the pressure is p. Then x^ will be the throat dis- 
 tance, x s the total length of the nozzle, and x the length for dis- 
 charge into a vacuum. We have by hypothesis 
 
 <Tx = 
 dt* 
 
 where C is a constant to be determined presently. Also 
 
 V= 
 dt 
 
 Let us substitute from these expressions in the identity 
 
 dt dt* 
 
 The substitution gives 
 
 F 2 = 2 C 
 dx 
 
 Integrating and inserting the obvious value o for the integration 
 constant, 
 
 V* = 2 Cx. (6) 
 
 We evaluate the constant C by assuming a value for x 9t the length 
 of the nozzle for discharge at pressure p s . This must be decided 
 by experience, being long enough to avoid losses due to too rapid 
 acceleration, and short enough to avoid excessive friction against 
 the nozzle walls. Having computed F 3 in the manner already 
 described we have, by substitution in the above expression, 
 
 c=YL 
 
 2*3 
 
 By substituting the value for V. A obtained from the general ex- 
 pression (2), we have as an equivalent expression for C, 
 
 Next, let us express the relation between the pressure at any 
 point and the distance to it. By substituting in (2) the value of 
 ]/ from (6) we have 
 
ZLEIWITh UNIFORM ACCELERATIO 
 
 FIG. 3. Nozzle Section with Pressure, Temperature and Velocity Curves. 
 
34 
 -gjf* T, \ l _(P_ 
 
 We have taken arbitrarily x 3 the length of nozzle for discharge 
 into a region of pressure p s . However the nozzle up to x^ will be 
 the same if we suppose that the nozzle is long enough to discharge 
 into a vacuum, and that the particular pressure p. A is reached at 
 the arbitrary intermediate point x^. The total length of the noz- 
 zle will then be x^ which is found by placing p = o in the above 
 expression. Then 
 
 We shall find it convenient to use x simply as an abbreviation. 
 Then the relation between x and p is 
 
 *-,Jx-(A^l (9) 
 
 Next, let us express the area at any point in terms of the dis- 
 tance to that point. By substituting the value of Ffrom (6) and 
 the value of p from (9) in (3), we have 
 
 A 
 
 do) 
 
 This is the equation giving the nozzle shape in order that the 
 gas passing through may be uniformly accelerated. Curve i, Fig. 
 3 shows the section of a nozzle for a particular case constructed by 
 this equation. The final pressure is zero, but by cutting off the 
 nozzle at the proper point the discharge pressure may have any 
 value that we please. 
 
 It must be remarked that the equations deduced give the areas 
 perpendicular to the stream tines, or lines of flow. When the 
 area is small compared with the length, these are practically par- 
 allel to the axis and the areas may be taken on normal plane sec- 
 tions of the nozzle. When the nozzle begins to diverge consider- 
 ably near the end the stream lines spread out and the areas given 
 by the equation can no longer be taken on plane surfaces. 
 
 If we express A in full by substituting the values of the con- 
 stants C and x t from (7) and (8) it will be found that A is directly 
 proportional to ^/and \/T r inversely proportional to p^ and also 
 
 involves the ratio ( $- ) . It follows, therefore, that a nozzle 
 
-35- 
 
 constructed for a given initial pressure and temperature may have 
 these quantities varied and still be of the correct shape for uniform 
 acceleration. The quantity of gas passing through, M, will change 
 
 however, since - l is constant for a given shape: Also, 
 Pi 
 
 PA. 1 must be constant for a given shape, so that the final pres- 
 
 P^J 
 
 sure will vary directly with the initial pressure for a given length 
 of nozzle x a and a given shape. 
 
 By differentiating (10) and putting -- =o we obtain the fol- 
 
 % d x 
 
 lowing value for x tt the distance to the throat or point of minimum 
 area : 
 
 That is to say, the throat is at a constant fraction of the length 
 of a complete nozzle, regardless of conditions. This value of JC 2 
 substituted in (10) will give the throat area A 2 previously found. 
 It will be interesting to note the variation of pressure, tempera- 
 ture and velocity as we proceed from point to point along the noz- 
 zle. (6) gives the variation of velocity from point to point and 
 (9) the variation of pressure. By substituting in (9) the adiabatic 
 relation between pressure and temperature, we obtain as the tem- 
 perature variation 
 
 This shows that the temperature decreases uniformly for our case 
 of uniform acceleration. 
 
 'From these equations the values of pressure, temperature and 
 velocity for the nozzle of Curve i, Fig. 3 are plotted in Curves 
 2, 3, 4, each value being laid off opposite the point of Curve i, to 
 which it corresponds. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THEORY OF A RAPIDLY ROTATING DISC ON A FI<F,XIBI,E SHAFT. 
 
 One of the possible methods of operating a gas turbine is the 
 use of an apparatus similar to that of the De Laval steam tur- 
 bine, involving a single wheel rotating at a very high speed. 
 The wheel must of course be very carefully balanced, so that the 
 center of gravity coincides as nearly as possible with the center 
 of the hole bored to fit the shaft on which the wheel is mounted. 
 Even with most careful workmanship, however, the center of 
 gravity is always far enough away from the bore center to give 
 rise to centrifugal forces of considerable magnitude at the high 
 rotative speeds necessary. The evil effect of this lack of balance 
 is obviated by Gustav De Laval's highly ingenious invention of 
 a flexible shaft. As the action of the flexible shaft is very com- 
 monly misunderstood, and as the full mathematical theory has 
 probably never been given, it will be here discussed as a matter 
 of incidental interest. 
 
 We will use the following notation throughout this chapter. 
 O = center of rotation. 
 B = center of bore, provided the shaft is initially straight. In 
 
 general, B is the point coinciding with O when there is no 
 
 load on the shaft. 
 C = center of gravity of disc. 
 a = distance between center of bore and center of gravity = BC. 
 
 This is the amount by which the shaft is out of balance. It 
 
 is always a small quantity. 
 K= force required to deflect the shaft unit distance. This is a 
 
 function of the dimensions and material of the shaft and 
 
 character of the supports. For ordinary bearings the shaft 
 
 is a beam fixed at the ends. If there is a swivel bearing at 
 
 one or both ends, the beam is supported merely. 
 M= weight of disc. The weight of .the shaft is assumed to be 
 
 neglegible. 
 w = angular velocity of disc in radians per second. This is the 
 
 angular velocity of B about O, and is supposed to be main- 
 
 tained constant by some external agency. 
 * = period which the disc would have if the shaft were set into 
 
 transverse vibration. Then it may be shown that \l/ V 
 
 \ 
 
 . 
 
 M 
 
37 
 
 where g is the gravitation constant. The time of a complete 
 vibration is then . 
 
 R = distance OC between center of gravity and center of rotation 
 for equilibrium. We will find later R = 
 
 L = twisting moment required to twist the shaft and disc through 
 
 one radian. 
 
 / = moment of inertia of the disc about its center of gravity. 
 < = period which the disc would have if the shaft were set into 
 
 torsional vibration. Then it may be shown that <j> = \~JL 
 
 The time of a complete vibration is ?- rr . 
 
 <p 
 
 Fig. 4 represents the ordinary case of a shaft slightly out of 
 balance. The centrifugal force deflects the shaft until the inward 
 force due to the deflection is equal to the centrifugal force. We 
 neglect gravity for the present, and may suppose the shaft verti- 
 cal. The centrifugal force acting on the center of gravity is 
 
 r w 2 . This gives rise to a rotating force of the same magnitude 
 g 
 
 pulling on the bearings and tending to cause their vibration. 
 The shaft deflection is O B = r a. The condition that the force 
 due to the deflection is equal to the centrifugal force is 
 
 M rv ? = K(r a) 
 g 
 which reduces to 
 
 a 
 
 (i) 
 
 -0' 
 
 For ordinary shafts $ is large, so that for moderate speeds 
 is less than unity. Then the greater w the greater will be r. 
 That is to say, the greater the speed the greater will be the shaft 
 deflection, and the more violent the rotating pull on the bearings, 
 given by 
 
 MJ K 
 
 This is the theory of the well known difficulties occurring with 
 high speed machinery. The remedy is to make M the weight of 
 the rotating parts, as small as possible, K which gives the stiff- 
 
- 3 8- 
 
 ness of the shaft, as great as possible, and a which gives the ec- 
 centricity of balancing, as small as possible. 
 
 If the angular velocity be made greater, the deflection will in- 
 crease, and finally, if the angular velocity w be made equal to ^, 
 the deflection will theoretically become infinity. This will 
 not actually occur, however, as the law of proportionality of 
 load and deflection does not hold except for small deflections, and 
 because vibrations of period ^ which may occur, will also have a 
 
 period o>. \j/ is called the "critical speed," and considerable dis- 
 turbance occurs however when o> reaches this value. No mathe- 
 matical account has ever been given of the exact action. 
 
 Suppose now that w is made to exceed the critical speed. Then 
 the denominator of the expression (i) becomes negative, and in 
 order to have a positive value for r we must make a negative also. 
 This is done by taking it in a direction opposite that of Fig. 4, so 
 that the center of gravity is inside of the center of bore, as in Fig. 
 5. Fig. 5 therefore represents the position of equilibrium when w 
 is greater than the critical speed if/. If we count a as essentially 
 positive in this position, the condition for equilibrium is 
 M R ^__ 
 
 g 
 which reduces to 
 
 o_ 
 
 (2) 
 
 a] 
 
-39- 
 
 Here the greater the angular velocity to the less will be R. That 
 is to say, the center of gravity actually comes nearer to the center 
 of rotation as the speed increases. For any given rotative speed, 
 
 we secure this result by making tf = as small as possible, 
 
 M 
 
 which is accomplished by making K, which gives the stiffness of 
 the shaft, as small as possible. That is to say, the more flexible 
 the shaft the nearer the center of gravity comes to the center of 
 rotation. The center of gravity always rotates in a circle whose 
 radius is given by (2), however. The popular statement that " a 
 flexible shaft allows the disc to'rotate about its center of gravity " 
 is therefore erroneous. If the disc were to rotate about its .center 
 of gravity, the shaft would be deflected a distance a, so that there 
 would be an unbalanced deflection force a K. 
 
 The rotating force pulling on the bearings and tending to vi- 
 brate them, for the case of Fig. 5 is 
 
 g J _ g 
 
 K Mrf 
 
 This is diminished and the machine made to run with slight vi- 
 bration by making K, which gives the stiffness of the shaft, as 
 small as possible and Mthe weight of the disc, and o> the angu- 
 lar velocity, as great as possible. This is all expressed by the 
 statement that w -i- \f/ should be as great as possible. That is to 
 say, the working value of the speed should bear as great a ratio 
 as possible to the critical speed in order to reduce vibration of the 
 bearings. 
 
 The position of Fig. 4 is sometimes called rotation with the 
 "heavy side out" while that of Fig. 5 is rotation with the 
 " heavy side in." That is to say, if a mark be made during rota- 
 tion by touching the portion of the edge of the disc furthest from 
 the center of rotation, in order to find the place to cut away metal 
 in order to correct the balancing, then metal must be taken from 
 the side of disc nearest the mark if the speed is below the critical 
 speed, and from the side away from the mark if the speed is 
 above the critical speed. 
 
 The critical speed in radians per second we have found to be 
 
 t = \ K g. This reduces to [32.16 X 12 k = , 8? - 6 \~k 
 
 \| M 27T^J M ^-^r 
 
 revolutions per minute, where k is the load in pounds required to 
 deflect the shaft one inch and M is the total load in pounds sup- 
 posed concentrated at the shaft center. 
 
4 
 
 As we have seen, Fig. 5 shows a position of equilibrium. We 
 have next to show that the equilibrum is stable. That is to say, 
 we must show that if any accidental cause displaces the center of 
 gravity from the position shown, it will return and not seek some 
 new position.* The balance of the chapter will be a tedious 
 proof of this fact. 
 
 In discussing the motion of the disc we will make use of the 
 well known fact that the center of gravity C moves as if all of 
 the forces acting on the disc were applied at it, the mass being 
 concentrated there also ; and that the disc rotates about the center 
 of gravity as if it w r ere fixed in space. 
 
 First we will consider the motion of the center of gravity only, 
 and will assume that the shaft is vertical. Suppose that the disc 
 is not rotating so that the B Fig. 5 will coincide with the point O. 
 Then the center of gravity C will assume a position C slightly 
 below O. 
 
 If the point B be displaced in any direction from O the elastic- 
 ity of the shaft will cause a force proportional to the displacement 
 tending to return B to O, We will suppose the disc displaced 
 without rotation, so that the center of gravity C will have an ex- 
 actly equal displacement from its position of rest C ' . Since the 
 center of gravity moves as if the displacement force acted on it, 
 we may consider that the center of gravity C is acted on by a force 
 proportional to its displacement from C '. The center of gravity 
 will then have a simple harmonic motion, and will vibrate back 
 and forth until the energy is absorbed by molecular friction. The 
 
 period of such a vibration is well known to be $ =& using the 
 
 notation already given. 
 
 The most general case of harmonic motion will be when two 
 displacements at different angles and at different times are given 
 to the disc. It will then vibrate in an ellipse with period \j/. 
 
 We may now apply any other forces to the shaft when it has 
 this vibration, and the disc will then have a displacement com- 
 pounded of that due to the vibration and that due to the new forces. 
 Suppose, for instance, we apply a pull to the center of gravity of 
 constant magnitude but of varying direction, rotating in fact with 
 
 * The discussion up to this point substantially as here given, was published 
 by Stodola in Zeitschrift des Vereines Deutscher Ingenieure, Vol. 47, Nos. 
 2 and 4, Jan. 10 and 24, 1903. However, the matter is given here since it 
 was prepared independently before the above publication. The balance of 
 this chapter is probably new. Stodola gives a treatment along totally dif- 
 ferent lines which does not seem satisfactory. 
 
an angular velocity o>. So far as the shaft is concerned this force 
 will cause a rotating displacement, to be compounded with the 
 vibrating displacement. Such a rotating force is furnished by the 
 "centrifugal force," which is in equilibrium with the force due 
 to a rotating displacement R + a of the shaft center B. Hence 
 the disc may rotate in the position shown by Fig. 5, and at the 
 the same time have an elliptical vibration. 
 
 Conversely, if the disc be rotating in the position of Fig. 5, and 
 any accidental displacement be given to it, it will at once begin 
 to vibrate, in addition to the rotation, in the same way as it would 
 if the displacement were given to it when at rest. 
 
 The above reasoning is perfectly rigid, but nevertheless the step 
 is perhaps a large one to make at once. We will therefore at a 
 later period, for verification, form the differential equation of mo- 
 tion of the disc, and show that the integral gives a displacement 
 compounded of an elliptical vibration and a rotating displace- 
 ment R. Such a mathematical treatment hides the true nature 
 of the actions, however, and the method above used is much more 
 luminous. 
 
 It must be noted that if a displacement from the position of Fig. 
 5 be gived the disc during rotation, the resulting vibration will 
 always be parallel to the original displacement, and will not rotate 
 in direction. That is to say, if a displacement should happen to 
 be made in the direction of the instantaneous position of the radius 
 to the center of gravity, the vibration induced will not continue to 
 be radial, since then the direction of vibration would constantly 
 change, but it will be in a direction fixed in space parallel to the 
 initial direction. 
 
 If the elastic force resulting from an initially radial displace- 
 ment were always radial, it can be shown that the position of Fig. 
 5 would be unstable. 
 
 Any accidental displacement from the position of Fig. 5 will 
 therefore in general cause the point C to vibrate in an ellipse about 
 the equilibrium position, the axes of the ellipse always remaining 
 parallel to their original position in space. Owing to molecular 
 friction this vibration will soon die away, the size of the ellipse 
 gradually decreasing until the position of Fig. 5 is again reached. 
 
 Next let us consider the effect of the vibrations just considered 
 in causing rotation of the disc about the center of gravity. Let 
 Fig. 6 represent any instantaneous position of the points O, Z?and 
 C while C is making an elliptical vibration. The path of B will 
 be parallel since the vibrational displacements have involved no 
 
42 
 
 rotation of the disc. The net force acting on the disc is then pro- 
 portional to O B. If the center of gravity is now fixed and a force 
 proportional to OB acts on B as shown, there will be a twisting 
 moment on the disc proportional to OB X CD, Fig. 6. This 
 twisting moment is resisted by the torsional elasticity of the shaft, 
 so that there is a tendency to produce torsional^ vibration. 
 
 Since all of the displacements are very small the shaft may be 
 considered as perfectly straight in computing the torsional elas- 
 ticity. Now, both O B and CD are very small quantities as com- 
 pared with the torsional elasticity, so that the angle through 
 which the shaft is rotated by the twisting moment OB x CD is 
 of the second order of small quantities and may be safely neglect- 
 ed. That is to say, a displacement of the disc has no appreciable 
 effect in causing additional rotation of the disc about its center of 
 gravity beyond that due to the constant angular velocity. 
 
 There is another possible displacement from the position of Fig. 
 5, consisting of a finite rotation of the disc so as to cause torsion 
 in the shaft, as shown in Fig. 7. If the angular velocity o> did 
 not exist, a torsional displacement would cause a harmonic tor- 
 sional oscillation of the disc about its center of grovity. The 
 
 FIG. 6. 
 Transverse 
 Vibration. 
 
 FIG. 7. 
 Torsional 
 Vibration. 
 
 FIG. 8. 
 Effect of 
 Gravity. 
 
 FIG. 9 
 
 Most General 
 Vibration. 
 
 twisting moment due to torsion of the shaft is a pure couple, so 
 that it causes rotation about the center of gravity, even though 
 the center of bore is at a different point. The period of the tor- 
 sional oscillation will be <f> = \f-* using the notation already 
 
 given. If now the disc be given a constant angular velocity w in 
 addition to the torsional vibration, the latter will persist just as 
 before, so far as rotation of the disc about its center of gravity is 
 concerned. 
 
 The force due to the net deflection, proportional to OB, Fig. 7, 
 will here also give a twisting moment about the center of gravity 
 proportional to OB x CD. This is of the second order of small 
 quantities and will be neglected as before. 
 
-43- 
 
 The line B C, Fig. 7, will therefore rotate with a constant an- 
 gular velocity o>, and also oscillate back and forth so as to make 
 a variable angle a with the normal position B' C' . Since a varies 
 harmonically with period <, we will have a = c t cos <f> t. The in- 
 troduction of the constant angular velocity does not affect the har- 
 monic oscillation as already stated. 
 
 Next let us consider the effect of such a torsional oscillation on 
 the displacement of the center of gravity. Owing to the previ- 
 ously considered displacements without rotation, the points^ and 
 C were displaced equally beyond the displacement necessary to 
 balance the centrfugal force, SQ that the force acting on the center 
 of gravity could be taken as proportional to its own displacement. 
 Now we must consider that the force acting on the center of grav- 
 ity is proportional to the displacement of B beyond the position 
 necessary to balance the centrifugal force. This is not the dis- 
 placement of the center of gravity owing to the variable angle a. 
 
 The position of C without the vibration we are now considering 
 would be at a distance R from O, Fig. 7, near C ', and owing to 
 the addition of the vibration will be supposed to be C at any in- 
 stant. The vibration we are considering is the absolute vibration 
 of the center of gravity in space in addition to the constant rota- 
 tion. 
 
 Suppose we put OC' = = fi-\-v and C C' = rj and resolve 
 forces and accelerations along and perpendicular to the moving 
 axis O C' . v and rj will then give the departures from the equi- 
 librium position due to the vibration we are considering. 
 
 The force perpendicular to the axis is AT X B B' or K(-rj + 
 flsina), since we have CC' = t] = BB' a sin a. Since a will 
 always be small we take a instead of sin a. We have already re- 
 marked that a = r t cos <f> t, so that the force perpendicular to the 
 moving axis is K '(rj -f- ac^ cos <f> t}. 
 
 The total force in the direction of the moving axis is 
 
 - K X O C or K ( + a cos a). 
 
 Now a portion of this, K (R + ), is required to maintain equi- 
 librium against the centrifugal force, so that the remaining force, 
 K ' (y a -f- a cos a), is the force in the direction of the moving 
 axis tending to cause the vibration we are considering. Since a 
 is small we may for a second approximation put cos a i, so that 
 the force becomes Kv. The accelerations along and perpendic- 
 ular to a moving axis are respectively (Routh's Rigid Dynamics, 
 Vol. I, page 176), 
 
 d 2 2 i d , 
 
44- 
 ^9_,.+L _) 
 
 Since w is constant we may reduce the final terms. Also substi- 
 tuting in terms of v, we have as the accelerations, 
 
 _-_. 
 
 Now the term R w 2 gives the acceleration due to the rotation in 
 the equilibrium position so that the acceleration due to the added 
 vibration alone is found by omitting this term. We have already 
 omitted the corresponding centrifugal force, K '(R + a). 
 
 Bquating the forces previously found along and perpendicular 
 to the moving axis to the forces required to produce the above ac- 
 celerations we have 
 
 ,2 , . .-. d 2 77 o i d v 
 
 ^ 2 (77 -fa^COS^O = ' 7?a> 2 -f 20)-. 
 at at 
 
 This is a pair of simultaneous linear differential equations whose 
 solution is complicated. The integration will be omitted and the 
 integrals only given. These will be found correct by substitution 
 in the equations. 
 
 v = 2 B to < sin < / 
 
 y = _ B O 2 - co 2 - < 2 ) cos <f> t 
 where 
 
 Since v and rj are displacements along and perpendicular to the 
 rotating axis O C' , and since the values above evidently repre- 
 sent a harmonic motion in an ellipse with axes in these directions, 
 it follows that any accidental torsional displacement will cause a 
 vibration of the center of gravity with period < in an ellipse whose 
 axes rotate with an angular velocity w, one of them always coin- 
 ciding with the radius vector to Ihe equilibrium position of the 
 center of gravity. This is in addition to the simultaneous tor- 
 sional oscillation of the disc and shaft. This oscillation and con- 
 sequently the vibration of the center of gravity induced by it will 
 of course rapidly die out owing to molecular friction, so that the 
 equilibrium position of Fig. 5 will be again reached. 
 
-45- 
 
 We have always supposed a vertical shaft so that gravity 
 need not be considered. Let us now make the shaft hori- 
 zontal and take gravity into account. First taking all the 
 forces as acting on the center of gravity, we will have a down- 
 ward pull M and an equal upward pull due to a down- 
 ward deflection of the shaft, the displacement of the disc 
 
 M 
 being ^> The point C will therefore rotate in a circle of radius 
 
 R whose center is O Fig. 8, a distance below the axis of ro- 
 
 JK 
 
 tation O'. 
 
 Next let us consider if rotation occurs about the center of grav- 
 ity due to the action of the weight as shown in Fig 8. If the 
 center of gravity Cbe fixed there will be a force proportional to 
 the net deflection O B acting at B, tending to rotate the disc and 
 resisted by the torsional elasticity of the shaft. The twisting 
 moment will be proportional to O B X CD, Fig. 8, and will 
 therefore be a small quantity of the second order, so that the 
 torsional vibration induced will be negligible just as in the pre- 
 vious cases. 
 
 We have now analysed the matter completely and taken ac- 
 count of everything which can occur. The methods used have 
 been chosen so as to show most clearly the actual nature of the 
 various actions, and have perhaps been rather inelegant mathe- 
 matically. We will therefore go through with the matter again 
 from a strictly mathematical standpoint for verification of our re- 
 sults. This treatment is distinctly obscure so far as the nature 
 of the action is concerned however. 
 
 Fig. 9 shows the most general position of the various points. 
 Since we have a rotation with angular velocity w, induced by an 
 external source, we take as a reference line an axis rotating with 
 this velocity and therefore making an angle <o t with the X axis 
 at any instant. The most general displacement of the shaft 
 center B will be along and perpendicular to the rotating axis. 
 We will take as the amount of the net deflection at any instant 
 p O B, and suppose that it makes an angle 8 with the reference 
 axis. Such a displacement would leave B C parallel to the refer- 
 ence axis. We will also suppose a rotation of the disc and the 
 line B C and a twist of the shaft through an angle a. We will as 
 is usual first find the motion of the center of gravity by taking all 
 of the forces as acting on it. We will resolve forces along the X 
 and Faxes. At first sight it would seem simpler to resolve forces 
 
- 4 6- 
 
 along and perpendicular to the moving axis. However, the re- 
 sulting equations turn out to be much more difficult to integrate. 
 The force equations are 
 
 M d 2 x f * *\ 
 
 - - = K p cos (o> t 8) 
 
 g dt 
 
 Evidently 
 
 p cos (co / 8) = x + a cos (w t -f a) 
 p sin (w / 8) = jj/ + a sin (w /f + a) . 
 
 Hence, our force equations may be written 
 
 ^.= - ^ { x + a cos (o, / + a) j 
 
 2 /* *\ 
 
 ^^ = ^ 2 J j/ -f a sin (w / + a) I g. 
 
 In order to integrate these we must find an expression for a. 
 This we do by forming the equation of rotation about the center 
 of gravity, assuming that it is fixed and that all of the forces act 
 to cause rotation about it'. 
 
 The force moment equation then is 
 
 We have 
 
 dt* dt*' 
 
 Now A' si n (a -f 8) is of the same order of magnitude as L a. 
 p and a are both small quantities so that their product is of the 
 second order of small quantities, and therefore negligible. Hence 
 the term Kp a sin (a -f- 8) is negligble as compared with L a. 
 This amounts to saying that the twisting moment A" X OB X 
 CD, Fig. 9 can never cause an appreciable torsional vibration of 
 the shaft. 
 
 Hence we have 
 
 This is a linear equation whose solution is well known to be 
 a = c v cos <j> t. 
 
 There is in general a second arbitrary constant which we may 
 take zero without loss of generality, beginning our count of time 
 from the instant when the vibration is at one extreme. 
 
47- 
 
 It is to be remarked that a variable twisting moment would 
 really be required to drive the shaft at the constant angular 
 velocity w, owing to the variation of a and of the shaft displace- 
 ment perpendicular to the reference line. Both of these should 
 be balanced by a variable external twisting force in order that 
 there should be no angular Deceleration at the extremity of the 
 shaft. However, there are usually rotating bodies with consider- 
 able mass geared to the shaft, and the inertia of these serves to 
 prevent any appreciable angular acceleration. 
 
 Substituting our value of a in the force equations above, and 
 taking a as small so that we can put cos a=r i sin a = a, we have 
 
 5 -f ^ x if/ 2 a cos w t H- V 2 # *\ cos < t sin w / 
 
 d 2 v 
 
 5 + "fy ^ 2 # sin <o / i/r 2 a-c^ cos <f> t cos o> t g. 
 
 These are linear differential equations which are integrated by 
 well known methods which we need not consider here. The form 
 to which we reduce the integrals has been arranged to exhibit 
 the various individual vibrations already discussed. 
 
 The integrals are 
 x = R cos o> / -f c 3 cos ft cos O / + ft ) + <: 3 sin ft sin O t + ft) 
 
 -f- B \ ( i/f 2 to 2 < 2 ) sin co t cos <f> t + 2 co < cos co / sin ^> / ! 
 <o t + ^ 2 sin ft cos (i/' / + ft) + ^ 3 cos ft sin ($ t -\- ft) 
 
 co 2 < 2 ) cos <o / cos < / 2 co c/> sin co t sin </)/[ 
 
 3 K 
 
 the arbitrary constants of the initial displacements. These are 
 evidently the projections on the J^and Y axes of the following : 
 A rotation in a circle of radius R with a constant angular velocity 
 o>, an elliptica 1 vibration with axes fixed in space and angular 
 velocity ^, an elliptical vibration with axes along and perpendic- 
 ular to the moving reference axis and angular velocity <, and a 
 displacement vertically downward. These are the motions already 
 found otherwise the coefficients also agreeing. Hence, we con- 
 clude finally that the most general possible motion will consist of 
 vibrations about the position of Fig. 5, which will die out ow- 
 ing to molecular friction so that the actual position of Fig. 5 will 
 always be reached. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 EXPERIMENTS WITH A GAS TURBINE. 
 
 This portion of the investigation of the gas turbine, really the 
 most important of all, has unfortunately turned cfUt in a very un- 
 satisfactory manner. So far as principles are concerned all of the 
 statements previously made were found correct, but no actual re- 
 sults were obtained. After many failures a gas turbine was 
 actually operated, but the net output was negative. That is to 
 say, the turbine wheel did not even yield enough power to com- 
 press the air required. This result is to be attributed solely to 
 the crudness of the apparatus used. The apparatus was arranged 
 very much like the diagram of Fig. 2, except that the air was 
 supplied by an independent source and the whole output of the 
 wheel measured by a brake. 
 
 Considerable difficulty was found in igniting the air and oil and 
 starting the continuous combustion under pressure. A successful 
 method of doing this was finally found however. Next trouble 
 occured in securing smokeless combustion, which was also over- 
 come. After this the combustion gave no further trouble, and 
 gases at a white hot temperature issued from the nozzle with per- 
 fect regularity. However, the nozzles first used were soon de- 
 stoyed. After many experiments a nozzle was built which lasted 
 a reasonable time. Permanent success was not attained, however. 
 
 The turbine wheel used was that from a very small DeL,aval 
 steam turbine and was about 5 inches mean diameter. The best 
 speed was found to be about 19,000 revolutions per minute, and at 
 this speed about 3 horsepower was developed. About 4 horse- 
 power was theoretically required to compress the air. 
 
 No experimental work was done in the way of varying the 
 pressure, the shape of the nozzle, and the shape of wheel buckets. 
 There is of course an almost infinite field for variation in these 
 particulars and the writer has no doubt that experiments in these 
 directions will ultimately be crowned with success. 
 
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