Teaching Gas Turbine Technology to Undergraduate Students in Sweden

Abstract

This paper addresses the teaching of gas turbine technology in a third-year undergraduate course in Sweden and the challenges encountered. The improvements noted in the reaction of the students and the achievement of the learning outcomes is discussed. The course, aimed at students with a broad academic education on energy, is focused on gas turbines, covering topics from cycle studies and performance calculations to detailed design of turbomachinery components. It also includes economic aspects during the operation of heat and power generation systems and addresses combined cycles as well as hybrid energy systems with fuel cells. The course structure comprises lectures from academics and industrial experts, study visits, and a comprehensive assignment. With the inclusion of all of these aspects in the course, the students find it rewarding despite the significant challenges encountered. An important contribution to the education of the students is giving them the chance, stimulation, and support to complete an assignment on gas turbine design. Particular attention is given on striking a balance between helping them find the solution to the design problem and encouraging them to think on their own. Feedback received from the students highlighted some of the challenges and has given directions for improvements in the structure of the course, particularly with regards to the course assignment. This year, an application developed for a mobile phone in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for the calculation of engine performance will be introduced in the course. The app will have a supporting role during discussions and presentations in the classroom and help the students better understand gas turbine operation. This is also expected to reduce the workload of the students for the assignment and spike their interest.

Updating Turbomachinery Aerodynamics Teaching on an Undergraduate Course Using Three-Dimensional Design Tools

“…A consistent theme in student feedback has been that the course is very high workload for the students. This has also been reported by other authors making syllabus changes such as [13]. There are a number of causes for this: Firstly, the course is a highly technical and open ended problem and students struggled to stop work as there are always more design iterations that they could attempt.…”

“…A particular feature of this syllabus is that the design task is actually impossible requiring students to negotiate with the (simulated) customer to come up with a tractable solution. An outline of the syllabus and course structure at Malardalen University in Sweden is provided by [13] a key point being the need to keep the valuable assignment based activity to a manageable level for the students.…”

Reforming heat and power technology course using student feedback to enhance learning experience

“…At the early stages of the course, the app can be introduced as a user-friendly design tool, easily accessible by the students either from a computer or on their mobile phones. 40 This will help the students become more familiar with key parameters of the thermodynamic cycle, experiment with possible engine configurations and understand the sensitivity of key engine performance parameters to different choices during the conceptual design process. When the students are introduced to the thermodynamic cycle and discuss the sensitivity of the engine performance to different parameters, they can have an interactive tool with which they can vary the specific thrust and see the effect it has on the fuel consumption.…”