Design and performance of a gas-turbine engine from an automobile turbocharger

Abstract

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Mechanical Engineering teaches thermodynamics and fluid mechanics through a pair of classes, Thermal Fluids Engineering I & II. The purpose of this project was to design and fabricate a gas-turbine engine for demonstration use in these two classes. The engine was built from an automobile turbocharger with a combustion chamber connected between its compressor and turbine. Pressure and temperature sensors at different points of the engine cycle allow students to monitor the performance of the individual engine components and the complete engine cycle.