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 CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT 2

Gas Turbine Research Establishment is one of the pioneering Research and Development
Laboratories of Defence R&D Organisation under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. The charter
of the establishment is to design and develop aero gas turbine engines for defence applications, besides
carrying out research work in the area of aeroengine sub systems. In addition, GTRE is responsible for
establishing the requisite testing and prototype manufacturing facilities for components and full scale
engines.
GTRE is entrusted with design and development of Kaveri Engine which is an augmented low bypass
twin spool turbofan engine of 80 kN thrust class. The engine cycle is based on detailed system-analysis
culminating into potential power plant for Tejas. The engine incorporates flat rated characteristics to pre-
empt/mitigate the thrust drop due to high ambient intake temperature and/or high forward speed. Twin lane
full authority digital engine control with adequate manual backup is a salient design feature of Kaveri Engine.
GTRE has set up state-of-the-art test facilities wherein the core and Kaveri engines have been tested in
normally aspirated and with limited high pressure/temperature entry conditions for more than 1500 hours.
Stringent structural (safety and life) and aerodynamic tests are taken up as a prelude to official altitude test,
flying test bed trials and accelerated mission tests leading to engine certification for airworthiness.

Some of the leading parameters of the Kaveri Engine includes:

Air mass flow: 78 kg/s

By-pass ratio: 0.16-0.18
Overall pressure ratio: 21.5
Turbine entry temperature: 1487-1700 K (flat rated)
Max. Thrust(dry): 52 kN
Max. Thrust with After burner: 81 kN

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT

GTRE is implementing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

framework for design and development of Kaveri engine and its
derivatives. Teamcenter suite of product is used for PLM implementation
with customization for product design, configuration management,
change management, CAD management and program management.
High performance computing facility (P690) and ESS800 based data
centre from IBM forms the core hardware infrastructure.

KAVERI MARINE GAS TURBINE (KMGT)

The Kaveri Marine Gas Turbine (KMGT) engine is being
developed as a power plant for propelling an Indian Navy ship with the
following leading parameters:

Output: 15 MW at ISA SLS

SFC: 0.3 kg/kW-hr
Power Turbine Speed: 5800 rp)m
T E T: 1560 K (Max
Fuel: Low Sulphur High Speed Diesel (LSHSD)

The Gas Generator is derived from the Kaveri Engine and a

two stage free turbine is designed to translate the gas power into mechanical output to drive the
3 CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT

COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS

CFD codes are extensively used in the aero thermal analysis of LP & HP compressor,
combustor, LP & HP turbines and convergent divergent nozzle.

Multiple seats of CFD softwares (CFX, FLUENT, STAR-CD, Fine 3D & ANSWER) are

MANUFACTURING, PROTOTYPING & QC

GTRE has extensive manufacturing facilities consisting of CNC systems (Machining centre,
EDM wirecut and vertical turn mill centre), Investment casting, Electron beam welding, Vacuum heat
treatment and Jig boring. State-of-the art rapid prototyping facilities such as stereolithography, fused
deposition modeling and thermojet rapid prototyping for accelerated prototype development along
with Quality assurance, inspection facilities consisting of 3D CMM, x-ray diffraction, ultrasonic testing,
non-contact 3D scanning system, X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and hard bearing balancing.
 CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT 4

KAVERI ENGINE FOR TEJAS : Primary Modules

Low Pressure (lp) And High Pressure (hp) Compressor

Three stage axial flow LP Compressor with mass

flow rate of 78 kg/sec, Pressure ratio of 3.4, Isentropic
efficiency of 85% and Surge margin in excess of 20%.

Six stage axial flow HP compressor with mass flow

rate of 66 kg/sec, Pressure ratio of 6.4, isentropic
efficiency of 85% and Surge margin in excess of 23%.
Design methodology is based on 3D Navier Stokes codes.

Design validation of LP and HP compressors are

done through aerodynamic and structural tests with bird
impact characterization of fan (LP) rotor.

ANNULAR COMBUSTOR

High Intensity Annular Combustor is designed for

c o m b u s t i o n e f f i c i e n c y g r e a te r t h a n 9 9 % ,
circumferential pattern factor of 0.35 and radial pattern
factor of 0.14.

Design and development is based on CFD,

empirical relations, water analogy and aero-thermal
tests at high pressure & temperature and altitude
conditions besides extensive structural analysis.

LOW PRESSURE (LP) AND HIGH PRESSURE (HP) TURBINE

Single stage cooled HP turbine is designed for an

Isentropic efficiency of 85% and a max Turbine entry
temperature of 1700 K. Single stage LP turbine is designed for
an Isentropic efficiency of 85%.

Navier Stokes codes such as CFX TASC Flow and

NUMECA are used in design and analysis.
5 CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT
ENGINE GEAR BOX (EGB)

EGB with a power rating of about 700 HP provides

drive to 12 accessories of aircraft & engine in speed range of
5600-30000 rpm.

Cast out of Aluminium alloy, the EGB weighs less than

57 kgs. It is tested for endurance and performance under
vibration, 'g' loads, attitude, high and low temperature
environmental conditions.

AFTER BURNER

The after burner system is designed to provide a

thrust boost of 50% over and above max dry thrust at an
efficiency of 88%, consistent light up and stability
besides buzz and screech free operation.

After burner design is carried out using CFD tools

such as FLUENT and Star-CD.

HYDRO MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Integrated Nozzle Actuating System (INAS) is used for varying the exhaust nozzle area to achieve
optimum engine performance (thrust and specific fuel consumption). INAS has four actuators (each actuator
can carry 50 kN load) and an engine gearbox driven Integrated Hydraulic Power Pack.

Variable geometry actuating system is used for varying the stator blade angle and thus control the air
flow orientation to optimise the engine performance.

SIMULATION & ANALYSIS FACILITIES

GTRE has set up extensive analysis and

simulation facilities to enable design evaluation,
prototyping, digital manufacturing, optimisation and
assembly integration. These facilities consist of high
end hardware, in-house developed and commercial
software tools.
 CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT 6

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN & VIRTUAL REALITY

3D CAD modeling of Kaveri engine for finite element

analysis, mass property calculations, assembly integrity
evaluations, automated drafting, rapid prototyping and digital
assembly manual preparation.

Virtual reality laboratory for Enhanced Visual Feel of the

components and virtual walkthrough of assemblies.

ENGINE TEST FACILITIES

GTRE has set up four engine test cells for normally aspirated
condition and one test cell capable of simulated inlet flight conditions
upto 0.4 Mach number for carrying out acceptance tests. Test cells are
designed for normally aspirated testing (thrust upto 20000 kg) capable
of carrying out engine testing with after burner system (exhaust gas
temperature of >2000 K).

S a l i e n t fe a t u r e s a r e
acoustically attenuated
vertical intake and exhaust
systems, roof mounted
cradle with online thrust
calibration and automatic
DAS with provision for remote test operation

Test cells are provided for engine bleed and power take-
off and customer bleed measuring facilities and emergency fuel
supply.

K AV E R I D I G I TA L E L E C T R O N I C C O N T R O L
UNIT (KADECU)

Microprocessor based real time embedded Full

Authority Digital Engine controller which executes the engine
control laws to get optimum thrust within safety limits. Two such
units are mounted on the engine with one under control and the
other in hot standby mode.

Extensive built-in test and sensor data validation to

detect any failure.

Real time monitoring to allow the acquisition of data

from the control units and to enable the study of the control
system performance vis-à-vis the engine behaviour.
7 CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT
S T R U C T U R A L T E S T FA C I L I T I E S
GTRE has set up extensive structural test facilities for structural
integrity and life valuation of various components and subsystems such as fan
/ compressor / turbine rotor discs and blades, transmission shafts, casings,
piping and engine gear box.
Cyclic spin test facility is used for low cycle fatigue life evaluation of
engine rotor discs and it incorporates fully automated motor-driven system
that can provide variable speeds. This facility simulates design rated
combinations of speed and temperature.
Torsional test facility is used to evaluate fatigue life of rotor shafts under
simulated torsion, axial and temperature load conditions. The facility is capable of
applying desired load profile along with minor cycles on the engine components.

Dynamic foreign body impact test

facility is used for impact tests with simulated
bird models fired at various speeds on rotor
blades, discs and casings. It incorporates a
compressor air operated bird gun and high-
speed photography for monitoring the tests
under static and dynamic conditions.

Full scale power absorption test facility is used

for performance and endurance testing of
engine accessory drive gearboxes and other LRUs. This facility simulates engine
rated speeds and employs water-brake dynamometers for absorbing the accessory
powers.

The casing structural test facility equipped with fatigue rated

actuators is used for structural integrity assessment of engine frames, rotor
support structures and engine mount points. The system facilitates
programming of desired load spectrum, execution and monitoring of the test
in both static and dynamic modes.

AERODYNAMIC TEST FACILITIES

GTRE has established in-house facilities for aero-thermodynamic
performance evaluation of critical modules such as fan, compressor, turbine,
combustor and afterburner. These facilities are equipped with extensive
instrumentation and data acquisition systems for online monitoring as well as
analysis.

Compressor test facility is used to evaluate the performance of

fan and compressor modules under design and off design
conditions.

Combustor test facility is used for evaluation of

combustor system performance under design and off
design conditions of pressure, temperature & air flow.

Cold turbine test facility is used for evaluation of

turbine module performance under design and off
design conditions of pressure, temperature and air flow. It employs an
electro-hydraulic dynamometer for power absorption.
CAS TURBINE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT

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GAS TURBINE RESEARCH

ESTABLISHMENT
Defence Research & Development
Organisation
Ministry of Defence
P.B.No. : 9603, Suranjandas Road
C. V. Raman Nagar, Bangalore - 560 093
Tel : 01 80 25240698 Fax : 91 08
25241507 www.drdo.org