The Avco-Lycoming AGT1500 is a
gas turbine engine
A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of Internal combustion engine#Continuous combustion, continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas gene ...
. It is the main powerplant of the
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...
series of
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
s. The engine was originally designed and produced by the
Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in the
Stratford Army Engine Plant. In 1995, production was moved to the
Anniston Army Depot
Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) is a major United States Army facility for the production and repair of ground combat vehicles, overhaul of Small Arms Weapon Systems and the storage of chemical weapons, a.k.a. the Anniston Chemical Activity. The depot ...
in
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...
, after the Stratford Army Engine Plant was shut down.
Specifications
Engine output peaks at , with of torque at that peak,
[AGT1500 page](_blank)
, Honeywell. which occurs at 3,000 rpm. The turbine can provide torque in excess of at significantly lower RPMs. The engine weighs approximately and occupies a volume of , measuring .
[
The engine can use a variety of fuels, including ]jet fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...
, gasoline
Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...
, diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...
and marine diesel
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine current power
* Marine debris
* Marine energy
* Marine habitats
* Mar ...
.[
# Recuperator – a fixed cylindrical ]regenerative heat exchanger
A regenerative heat exchanger, or more commonly a regenerator, is a type of heat exchanger where heat from the hot fluid is intermittently stored in a thermal storage medium before it is transferred to the cold fluid. To accomplish this the hot fl ...
that extracts waste heat from the exhaust gases and uses it to preheat the compressed air
# Rotating Gas Producer – the five-stage, dual-spool compressor which achieves a 14.5:1 compression ratio at full power, driven by the compressor turbine, which operates with a maximum turbine inlet temperature of
# Accessory Gearbox – bevel gear
Bevel gears are gears where the axes of the two shafts intersect and the tooth-bearing faces of the gears themselves are conically shaped. Bevel gears are most often mounted on shafts that are 90 degrees apart, but can be designed to work at ot ...
s that extract from the high-pressure spool to operate the fuel control unit, starter, oil pump, and vehicle hydraulic pump
# Power Turbines – the first stage of the two-stage power turbine is driven by a variable-geometry nozzle to improve efficiency
# Reduction Gearbox – reduces power turboshaft speed
History
Development had started by 1964 with a contract given to Chrysler
FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
in 1976, originally as an engine for the later cancelled MBT-70
The MBT-70 (German: or ) was an American–West German cancelled joint project to develop a new main battle tank during the 1960s.
The MBT-70 was developed by the United States and West Germany in the context of the Cold War, intended to counte ...
.[Leyes, p. 218] Serial production of the AGT1500 began in 1980; by 1992, more than 11,000 engines had been delivered. In 1986, with the Cold War about to wind down, Textron Lycoming began developing a commercial marine derivative, which they called the TF15.
See also
* Anselm Franz
Anselm Franz (January 21, 1900—November 18, 1994) was a pioneering Austrian jet engine engineer known for the development of the Jumo 004, the world's first mass-produced turbojet engine by Nazi Germany during World War II, and his work on turb ...
, lead designer of AGT1500 at the early stage
References
*
External links
AGT1500 Gas Turbine Engine
AGT1500 Turbine Technology pdf on Honeywell.com
*
Gas turbines
Tank engines
Honeywell Aerospace aircraft engines
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