Turbine Transmission Systems for Automotive and Industrial Traction Applications

This paper deals with complete turbine traction powerplants, including transmission and auxiliary systems, and briefly compares such systems with piston engine counterparts. The importance of the transmission in overcoming some of the disadvantages of the earlier turbine systems is emphasized. The paper further describes the main characteristics of some new turbine-transmission systems designed and investigated by the author, and underlines the substantial gains possible with such systems when combined with present turbine advancements, thereby making the gas turbine powerplant not only competitive with, but, in several applications, superior to that of the piston engine.