Gas Turbine Course's Teaching Process at Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica: Theory and Laboratory

ABSTRACT: The Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) is an Engineering school maintained by the Air Force Command, Ministry of Defense. The aim of the Turbomachines Department at ITA is the human resources training for design and development of aeronautical and industrial gas turbines, necessary for the Gas Turbine Program of the Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial (DCTA). The human resources training is carried out in undergraduate and graduate courses at ITA, where topics in gas turbine and turbomachinery are taught. The gas turbine topic is taught in the undergraduate degree, in Mechanical-Aeronautical Engineering course, and focuses on gas turbines' performance for different configurations (turboshaft, turbojet and turbofan). Lecture notes containing the essential elements of the course are made available for the students, addressing the basic theory of the gas turbines required for the performance study at the design and off-design point. The technological aspects are presented and discussed during detailed studies of the actual cycle. Simple gas turbines and more sophisticated ones are studied, for both aeronautical and industrial application. Performance calculations at design and off-design point of the main engine's components and the cycle are done manually, encouraging students to develop spreadsheets. The theory is complemented with laboratory classes and technical visits, when the practicalities involving gas turbines operation and tests are presented to the students. As an activity laboratory class, the students perform disassembly-assembly of a small industrial gas turbine.