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, an ...
engine developed for use in
cruise missiles
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
and small
unmanned aerial vehicles
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...
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 3.5 - 5.3 kN (800 - 1200 lbf) of thrust. The e ...
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 ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...
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 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 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