What is a turbine drive?
The turbine drive is a vehicle drive using a turbine. Due to the low torque of the turbine, ground vehicles are rarely driven by a turbine. Since their invention at the end of the 19th century, naval vessels have used drive turbines. The most common types of turbines used for drive are steam and gas turbines that have their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Today, many modern military ships use steam turbines for their high speed and efficiency.
The first practical steam turbine used for drive and energy production was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884. The Parsons turbine improved over time and was eventually installed in a specially built ship. This ship, known as "Tubrinia", was the first vessel ever powered by a turbine. Launted in 1894 could reach a speed of 34.5 nodes (39.7 mph, 63.9 km/h) and was used to prove the potential for steam turbine in the sea.
Since then, the use of a steam turbine has become the use of a steam turbine. The turbines were preferred over large reciprocal steam engines in the period due to their higher thermal efficiency, speed and power ratio to weight. Cruise ships, such as Cunarder "Lusitania", employed steam turbines as their main drivers, allowing them to travel significantly faster than their counterparts driven pistons. The SS "United States" driven by steam turbine still holds blue ribs for the fastest transatlantic crossing in the west with a maximum speed of about 38 knots (43.8 mph, 71 km/h).
In the development of nuclear energy, the steam turbine drive continues to be a widely used energy source. The core of the driven vessel, including submarines, employ steam turbines as their main tractors. Nuclear reactors replace the boilers to warm up boiling water into the super-Horpiece. The steam then flows through the turbine, where it is then exhausted and condensed for future use.
Despite JEjich low torque saw steam turbines some use in land vehicles. Nucleon Ford was a suggested nuclear car where a small nuclear reactor powered the turbine. In 2009, the British team of engineers interrupted a record in the soil speed for steam cars using steam turbines. There were also some locomotives operated by steam turbines.
One of the falls of steam turbines is their low torque. To overcome this problem, however, reduction gears are used to increase torque at the expense of revolutions per minute (RPM). While the torque requirements vary according to the application, almost all steam turbine vehicles require a certain torque that cannot be achieved by direct drive. Most vehicles driven by steam turbines therefore use reduction gears.
The alternative to the reduction gear is the turbo -electrical unit where the turbine is making a generator that drives an electric motor. The electric motor is then served as the main HybaTel for the vehicle, while the steam turbine provides its strength. Due to their costs, however, turboelectric systems were used only in a small number of ships and locomotives.
Gas turbines also play a very important role in the modern turbine drive. Unlike a steam turbine whose high -speed steam rotates multiple rotors, gas turbines use combustion to create thermal expansion necessary for rotation. Gas turbines are not only much stronger than steam turbines, but can also rotate at much higher speeds. For this reason, gas turbines were used for aircraft, locomotives, ships and even heavier military vehicles.