The Microturbo TRI-40 is a small
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
engine developed for use in
cruise missiles
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
and small
unmanned aerial vehicles
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
in the 2.2 - 3.6 kN (500 - 800 lbf) thrust class.
Development and Design
The TRI-40 engine is a modified version of the
Microturbo TRI 60
The Microturbo TRI 60 is a small, expendable turbojet engine developed for use in cruise missiles, target drones, and other small unmanned air vehicles. Variants of this engine produce from of thrust. The engine first ran in 1974.
Development ...
class of small turbojets, designed to be smaller and lighter for new missiles. It is currently being used on the
Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for the
Royal Norwegian Navy
The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...
and the updated
MM-40 Exocet Block 3 anti-ship missile.
[Microturbo TRI 40/TRI 60 (2008). ''The Market for Missile/Drone/UAV Gas Turbine Engines'']
Forecast International
Accessed 20 Oct 2009.
There are several differences between the TRI-40 and the older TRI-60 engines. One is that the -40 uses a 4-stage
compressor
A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor.
Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...
rather than the 3 stage compressor that the original TRI-60 models use (although several newer variants of the TRI-60 use a 4-stage compressor as well).
Another major difference is that the bearing system is lubricated by fuel rather than a separate oil system. Finally, the engine is much more "electric" than the TRI-60. It has a
permanent magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, c ...
based generator (270 V DC) mounted directly on the engine shaft, which older engines lacked, as well as an
ECU controlled fuel metering system.
[RIDEAU, Jean-François, GUYADER, Gilles, CLOAREC, Alain (2008). ''MICROTURBO Families of Turbojet Engine for Missiles and UAV’s From the TR60 to the new bypass turbojet engine generation''. 44th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit. 21–23 July 2008, Hartford, CT. AIAA 2008-4590.]
Specifications (TRI-40)
See also
References
{{Microturbo aeroengines
1990s turbojet engines