General Motors Presents the ABC of the Gas Turbine. This is a 1973, color film created to explain the many benefits of the gas turbine engine, its many uses and efficiencies.

The film opens with footage of a Wilesco toy steam engine. Heat energy from the burning fuel is converted into mechanical energy. The expanding power of steam drives a piston and rod. This is demonstrated with an animation :47. The rod creates rotary motion and the cranking action turn shafts and wheels. Rotary motion can also be achieved by taking steam directly out of the boiler and directing the steam at wings on a wheel. This is shown via animation 1:11. This converts heat energy into mechanical energy. The example given is an external combustion engine with the fuel-burning outside 1:28. Gasoline and diesel engines are internal combustion engines and are displayed in animation 1:36. In these engines, internal combustion is combined with direct rotary motion 1:53. A bladed wheel air pump turns due to the heat exhaust from the internal combustion engine 2:16. The process begins with the intake of air, then compression, then power and finally exhaust. This is a centrifugal of engine 2:35. Some engines use an axial flow where the air is drawn in parallel to the axis of the shaft 3:00. Again the rotating blades like those on an ordinary fan accelerate the air adding velocity 3:15. Stationary blades decrease the air raising pressure 3:25. A fuel nozzle sprays the fuel 3:39. A spark plug fires, igniting the heat source 3:55. Shaft speed can be as high as 50,000 RPMs 4:20. This engine is virtually free of vibration 4:41. The gas turbine has many useful applications. If you taper the exhaust pipe so that it acts like a nozzle and speeds the velocity of the gases, you have a turbo jet engine 4:49. Turbo jet components are easily recognized. Compressor, combustion chambers, turbine and tailpipe 5:17. An actual jet engine is shown 5:22. A balloon is let go and flies by reaction. When the stem is held closed, nothing happens 5:50. In this case the air inside is pressing with equal force on all sides and in all directions 6:05. Animation illustrates thrust. A rocket takes off from a launchpad 6:41. Reaction makes a thrust reverser work on a jet engine 6:57. The thrust opposes the forward motion of the airplane and slows it down 7:15. Some turbo jets are equipped with an afterburner 7:25. The fan jet is a turbojet with modifications 7:45. The fan pushes some of the air coming into the engine to the sides and reactive thrust is produced 8:00. Second turbine is added to drive the fan 8:07. The gas turbine can be combined with a propeller creating a turboprop 8:42. An actual turboprop engine is displayed 9:08. A gas turbine is displayed 9:15. It is usually called a turboshaft engine. These engines can be found in trucks, buses and heavy equipment 9:35. Animated feature shows a gas generator with power turbine and a speed reduction gear that drives the load shaft. It has gears, hydraulic clutch and torque control 10:13. The clutch can be operated partially engaged or fully engaged 10:35. In the braking action, the clutch is fully engaged 10:55. A regenerator or heat exchanger is a flat disc of reinforced steel 11:07. The disc absorbs heat and improves fuel economy 11:33. The engines component include a starter motor driven by a battery that is kept charged by an alternator, a high-voltage coil for the spark, a fuel pump, a fuel control, an air pump supplying suppressed air, a torque control, and a control system that provides protection against the engine exceeding limits. A pump to supply oil to the engines shaft bearings and an engine oil cooler of the radiator type 12:30. A gas turbine engine is displayed 12:45. The gas turbine is making great strides as a versatile power source 13:25.

A gas turbine, aka a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous and internal combustion engine. The main elements common to all gas turbines are: (1) upstream rotating gas compressor, (2) a combustor, (3) a downstream turbine on the same shaft as the compressor. A fourth component is often used to increase efficiency (on turboprops and turbofans), to convert power into mechanical or electric form (on turboshafts and electric generators), or to achieve greater thrust-to-weight ratio (on afterburning engines).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com