Preface

Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook discusses the design, fabrication, installa-

tion, operation, and maintenance of gas turbines. The third edition is not only an
updating of the technology in gas turbines, which has seen a great leap forward
in the 2000s, but also a rewriting of various sections to better answer today’s
problems in the design, fabrication, installation, operation, and maintenance of
gas turbines. The third edition has added a new chapter that examines the case
histories of gas turbines from deterioration of the performance of gas turbines to
failures encountered in all the major components of the gas turbine. The chap-
ter on Maintenance Techniques has been completely rewritten and updated. The
revised chapter deals with Long Term Service Agreements (LTSAs), and special
maintenance tables have been added so that you can troubleshoot problems on
gas turbines that you may encounter.
The new advanced gas turbines have firing temperatures of 2600 ◦ F (1427 ◦ C),
and pressure ratios exceeding 40:1 in aircraft gas turbines, and over 30:1 in
industrial turbines. This has led to the rewriting of Chapter 7, to fully understand
the operating mechanics of these high pressure ratio axial-flow compressors.
The chapter covers in detail the advent of surge, and describes in great detail the
different mechanisms of surge, rotating stall, and choke flow conditions in the
compressor of the gas turbine. Advances in materials and coatings have spurred
this technology, and the new edition has treated this new area in great detail. The
emphasis on low NOx emissions from gas turbines has led to the development of
a new breed of Dry Low NOx combustors, and their problems are dealt with in
depth in this new edition. The third edition deals with an upgrade in the design
and maintenance of advanced gas turbines and deals with most of the applicable
codes both in the area of performance and mechanical standards.
The new edition has been written with the experienced engineer in mind who
is working in power plants, and in petrochemical and offshore installations. This
edition should help him or her understand more clearly problems encountered in
the field, and how to prevent them.
The book also provides the basic fluid mechanics and thermodynamics for the
young engineering graduate or undergraduate student who is being exposed to
the turbomachinery field for the first time. The book is very useful as a textbook
for undergraduate or graduate turbomachinery courses as well as for in-house

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company training programs related to the petrochemical, power generation, and

offshore industries.
The use of gas turbines in the petrochemical, power generation, and offshore
industries has mushroomed in the past few years. The power industry in the past
ten years has embraced the combined cycle power plants, and the new high-
efficiency gas turbines are at the center of this growth segment of the industry.
However, due to the spiraling costs of natural gas, many of these plants designed
for base load service have been cycled on a daily basis from part loads of 50%
to full load, and in many cases have had to be shutdown on weekends. The new
maintenance chapters, with their case histories, should be of great assistance to
the engineers in the field who have to operate their plant at other than design
conditions of base loaded operation. Investigation of operating these plants on
other fuels is also handled in this edition.
The book will give the manufacturer a glimpse of some of the problems
associated with gas turbines in the field and help users to achieve maximum
performance efficiency and high availability of their gas turbines.
I have been involved in the research, design, operation, and maintenance of
gas turbines since the early 1960s. I have also taught courses at the graduate and
undergraduate level at the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University,
and now, in general, to the industry. There have been over 4000 students through
my courses designed for the engineer in the field, representing over 450 compa-
nies from around the world. They have used the book, and their comments and
my field troubleshooting experience have been very influential in the updating
of material in this edition. The enthusiasm of the students associated with these
courses gave me the inspiration to undertake this endeavor. The many courses
I have taught over the past 35 years have been an educational experience for
me as well as for the students. The discussions and consultations that resulted
from my association as a consultant to the power, petrochemical, and aviation
industries with highly professional individuals have been a major contribution to
both my personal and professional life as well as to this new edition of the book.
In this edition I have tried to assimilate the subject matter of various papers
(and sometimes diverse views) into a comprehensive, unified treatment of gas
turbines. Many illustrations, curves, and tables are employed to broaden the
understanding of the descriptive text. I have provided extensive new charts that
can be used to diagnose problems. In addition, the references direct you to sources
of information that will help you investigate and solve your specific problems.
I hope that this book will serve as a reference text after it has accomplished its
primary objective of introducing you to the broad subject of gas turbines.
I wish to thank the many engineers whose published work and discussions
have been a cornerstone to this work. The Turbomachinery Symposium, of which
I had the distinct honor and pleasure of founding and chairing for eight years,
xii Preface

and the proceedings of the Symposium, have contributed many interesting tech-
nology issues from both a design and maintenance point of view. A special
thanks also goes to my colleagues on the Advisory Committee of the Texas
A&M University Turbomachinery Symposium, of which I have been a member
for 34 years, and to Dr. Dara Childs, who is now the chairman of the Advisory
Committee.
I wish to acknowledge and give a very special thanks to my wife, Zarine, for
her readiness to help and her constant encouragement throughout this project.
A special thanks also to my secretary and executive assistant Donna Masters for
the hours she has spent working with me on this new edition.
I sincerely hope that this new edition will be educational and will enable you
to get a new updated look at gas turbine technology and enhanced maintenance
practices, while retaining the basic theory that governs the development of gas
turbines.

Meherwan P. Boyce
Houston, Texas
September 2005