History of Propulsion Devices and Turbomachines

Manmade propulsion devices have existed for many centuries, and natural devices have developed through evolution. Most modern engines and gas turbines have one common denominator: compressors and turbines or “turbomachines.” Several of the early turbomachines and propulsive devices will be described in this brief introduction before modern engines are considered. Included are some familiar names not usually associated with turbomachines or propulsion. Many of the manmade devices were developed by trial and error and represent early attempts at design engineering, and yet some were quite sophisticated for their time. Wilson (1982), Billington (1996), ASME (1997), Engeda (1998), St. Peter (1999), and others all present very interesting introductions to some of this history supplemented by photographs.

One of the earliest manmade turbomachines was the aeolipile of Heron (often called “Hero” of Alexandria), as shown in Figure 1.1. This device was conceived around 100 B.C. It operated with a plenum chamber filled with water, which was heated to a boiling condition. The steam was fed through tubes to a sphere mounted on a hollow shaft. Two exhaust nozzles located on opposite sides of the sphere and pointing in opposite directions were used to direct the steam with high velocity and rotate the sphere with torque (from the moment of momentum) around an axis – a reaction machine. By attaching ropes to the axial shaft, Heron used the developed power to perform tasks such as opening temple doors.