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282 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 29TH TURBOMACHINERY SYMPOSIUM • Development of gas turbines and the subsequent turbojet revolution required antecedent developments in the areas of hydraulic turbines, thermodynamics, steam turbines, compressors, aerodynamics, and rotordynamics. Hence, in covering gas turbines, one can also focus on these antecedents. Technology Changes and Development Technology can be categorized into “Normal Technology” and “Revolutionary Technology.” Normal Technology Development The most prevalent change has been normal (incremental or gradual) technological change, which consists of innovations that improve the efficacy and efficiency of technology. A lot of development in the turbomachinery arena has been of this nature. Characteristics of such normal change include: • Engineering refinements as the result of careful testing and experience • Manufacturing process optimization • Development of new metallurgy (stronger, higher temperature) • Development of new configurations (variations and optimi- zations of existing schemes) An example of normal change is the growth in power of reciprocating aircraft engines in the 1925 to 1945 timeframe where power increased tenfold, from under 350 hp to over 3500 hp. This development came at great cost and effort but would still be considered normal technology as no step changes occurred. The introduction of the prony brake, which allowed the scientific testing of hydraulic machines and a consequent improvement in their efficiency, was an important step in technology but would also be considered a normal technology change. Technological Revolutions Radical or revolutionary change on the other hand, involves a step jump in technology. Kuhn (1962), has documented the dynamics of scientific revolution in his classic book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. A classic example of such a revolution is the introduction of jet engines, which within a few years rendered reciprocating aircraft engines essentially obsolete. There are some common factors that occur in technological revolutions: • They occur outside the affected sectors and are often instituted by outsiders. For example turbojet development in both Great Britain and Germany was not initiated by any major engine manufacture but was initiated by “outsiders.” • They are initially opposed or treated with contempt by the ruling establishment who, after the concept is proven and established, embrace it with great enthusiasm often taking control of the ongoing developments and displacing the innovator. • Entities that continue to resist change cease to exist. An example being Curtis-Wright, which resisted jet engine technology till the 1950s before it reduced itself from the greatest aeroengine company to a subcontractor that ultimately left the aeroengine business. • Upon establishment of the new technology, control often passes from the innovator to the more traditional companies. For example, Sir Frank Whittle’s Power Jets Limited, was asked to stop work on new gas turbine engines and concentrate on research. • The innovators often (but not always) had some knowledge of history and previous attempts that were made along the lines of their inventions. • There is always an underlying dynamic that “forces” the radical invention, i.e., there is, at least in the mind of the innovator, a clear technological need for the invention. Both Whittle and von Ohain, for example, clearly saw the need for replacement of propellers in the quest for high-speed flight. To indicate how technological change is strongly opposed, it is interesting to note the following pronouncements (Augustine, 1983): • “As far as sinking a ship with a bomb is concerned, it just can’t be done.” –Rear Admiral Clark Woodward, 1939, US Navy. • “I have not the smallest molecule of faith in aerial navigation (flight) other than ballooning.” –Lord Kelvin, circa 1870. • “The energy produced by the breaking down of atoms is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine.” –Ernest Rutherford, circa 1930. • “Fooling around with alternating currents is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it.” –Thomas Edison, circa 1880. • “X-rays are a hoax.”–Lord Kelvin, circa 1880. • “That is the biggest fool thing we have ever done.... The atomic bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.” –Admiral William Leahy, US Navy, to President Truman, 1945. • “Space travel is utter bilge.” –Sir Richard van der Riet Wooley, Astronomer Royal, 1956. We will see statements such as these made by eminent scientists and engineers in the course of the evolution of turbomachinery development. For example, opposition to Sir Frank Whittle, when he proposed the turbojet concept, delayed turbojet development for years. There is some conjecture that had the British government supported Whittle, the balance of air power at the onset of World War II may have been radically different, possibly affecting the course of the war. To compound the institutional challenges and resistance, Whittle also faced significant technical challenges including developing centrifugal compressor pressure ratios of 4:1 from the prevailing technology level of 2.5:1, increasing compressor efficiencies from 65 to 80 percent, and designing for combustion intensities that were 10 times the prevailing state-of- the-art in boiler technology. Another factor in a technological revolution is that the group or person that creates the new development must have the skill to sell it. There is an interesting anecdote (Chandrasekhar, 1987) relating to Faraday who discovered the laws of electromagnetic induction, which then led him to development of theories of lines of force and force fields that were, at that time, totally foreign to the prevailing modes of thought. When Gladstone, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, impatiently interrupted Faraday’s description of his work on the generation of electricity by the inquiry, “But after all, what use is it?” Faraday’s response was, “Why Sir, there is every probability that you will soon be able to tax it.” This is an excellent example of presenting the benefits of a new technology in terms that the recipient appreciates! HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS TO TURBOMACHINERY DEVELOPMENT One of the earliest developments of turbomachinery is attributed to Hero of Alexandria, circa 100 BC (other sources place the time as 62 AD), where, in his book Pneumatics, he described a device known as the Aeolipile, shown in Figure 1, which could rotate using the reaction principle. The bowl held a supply of water and served as a boiler. Two hollow tubes extended from the boiler and entered a sphere that had two jets, which caused the sphere to spin. This was just one of several innovative inventions attributed to Hero. The Romans introduced pure impulse type paddle wheels in around 70 BC used for grinding grain.PDF Image | THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF TURBOMACHINERY
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