xx Preface to the Fourth Edition

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 detail in this edition.
Hot gas turbine expanders, both axial and radial, have been dealt with in great detail
in this edition. The new expanded chapter on radial turbines gives the reader much
more insights into the design of these radial gas expanders and radial turbines. These
turbines are getting more important as plant gases are being used to power turbines in
refineries and other chemical plants.
The author thanks Ms. Lisa Ford, Director of Engineering, Power Transmission
Division, Lufkin Industries Inc., who helped to rewrite this chapter so that the readers
are exposed to the latest in gear technology as used in gas turbines. Detailed descrip-
tions of the tools that make these gears and the gear characteristics are given in this
expanded chapter.
This book deals with case histories of gas turbines from deterioration of the perfor-
mance of gas turbines to failures encountered in all the major components of the gas
turbine. The chapter on Maintenance Techniques has been completely rewritten and
updated. These chapters deal with Long-Term Service Agreements (LTSAs), which
have become the major service agreements for new advanced gas turbines, as lend-
ing institutions have more faith in the original equipment manufacturer for dealing
with problems. Special maintenance tables have been added, so that the reader can
troubleshoot problems on gas turbines they may encounter in the field.
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 tur-
bines. This has led to the enhancement of axial flow compressor design; to fully under-
stand the operating mechanics of these high-pressure-ratio axial-flow compressors, the
reader must carefully read Chapter 7. 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 gas turbines.
Advances in materials and coatings have spurred the technology of compressor and
turbine design, and the new editions have treated this new area in great detail. The last
two editions have dealt with an upgrade in the design and maintenance of advanced
gas turbines and with most of the applicable codes in the area of both performance and
mechanical standards.
The last two new editions have been written with the experienced engineer in mind
who is working in power plants and in petrochemical and offshore installations. These
two editions should help him or her to understand more clearly problems encountered
in the field and how to prevent them.
This new edition will give the manufacturer a glimpse of some of the problems
associated with gas turbines in the field and help users to achieve maximum perfor-
mance efficiency and high availability of their gas turbines.
I have been involved in the research, design, operation, and maintenance of gas tur-
bines since the early 1960s. I have had the privilege of teaching courses at the graduate
and undergraduate levels at the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University,
and have lectured at universities in the United Kingdom, Japan, and India, and now,
in general, in the industry. There have been over 4500 students through my courses,
designed for the engineer in the field, representing over 520 companies from around
Preface to the Fourth Edition xxi

the world. They have used the book, and their comments and my field troubleshoot-
ing experiences have been very influential in the updating of material in these four
editions. 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
40 years have been an educational experience for me, and, I hope, have been satisfying
for my students. The discussions 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 treat-
ment 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 the reader to sources
of information that will help to investigate and solve specific problems. I hope that
this book will serve as a reference text after it has accomplished its primary objective
of introducing the reader to the broad subject of gas turbines.
I thank the many engineers whose published work and discussions I have had the
privilege of using in the book, and whose articles make a cornerstone to this work.
The Turbomachinery Symposium, which I have had the distinct honor of founding
and chairing for eight years, and the proceedings of the Symposium have contributed
many interesting technology issues from a design and maintenance point of view to
this book. Special thanks to my colleagues on the Advisory Committee of the Texas
A&M University Turbomachinery Symposium, of which I have been a member for 40
years, and to Dr. Dara Childs, who is now the chairman of the Advisory Committee.
My very special thanks to my wife, Zarine, for her readiness to help and her con-
stant encouragement throughout this project.
I sincerely hope that my readers from all over the world, who have made this the
most read book in the field over the past 35 years, find this new edition as interesting
as the past three editions. I hope that my 50 years of experience in the field will be
beneficial to all who read this book.

Meherwan P. Boyce
Houston, Texas
This page intentionally left blank
Preface to the Third Edition

Gas Turbine Engineering Handbook discusses the design, fabrication, installation,

operation, and maintenance of gas turbines. The third edition is not only an updat-
ing 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 chapter 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 under-
graduate or graduate turbomachinery courses as well as for in-house company training
programs related to the petrochemical, power generation, and offshore industries.
The use of gas turbines in the petrochemical, power generation, and offshore indus-
tries 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 tur-
bines are at the center of this growth segment of the industry. However, due to the
xxiv Preface to the Third Edition

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 associ-
ated 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 under-
graduate 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 companies from around
the world. They have used the book, and their comments and my field troubleshoot-
ing 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 discus-
sions 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, and the
proceedings of the Symposium, have contributed many interesting technology 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 Turbomachin-
ery 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.