In the previous article, the author talked about a series of stories about the development and construction of China's navy, such as the Type 075 amphibious assault ship, the Type 003 aircraft carrier and so on. Today, let's talk about the development of large gas turbines in our country. It has to be said that the development of gas turbines is crucial for the construction of our Navy. Since October 2023, the domestic new generation CGT40 gas turbine has been unveiled. So, how exactly does this gas turbine perform? Today, we're going to talk about that.
First of all, let's talk about the power vein of China's sea boats. For a long time, due to the limited level of domestic technology and the long-term technological blockade of foreign countries, the power systems of various main ships of the Chinese Navy were basically based on steam turbines, and they were relatively backward models with low power. In the 80s, China and Europe and the United States entered a precious honeymoon period, and China learned a series of advanced technologies and some advanced equipment from Europe and the United States.
For example, China has introduced several models of diesel turbines from France, Germany and other countries, and has begun to localize it. At present, the diesel turbines used in China's Type 054A frigates and other ships basically have French or German technical bloodlines. In addition to diesel turbines, our country has also imported several LM2500 gas turbines from the United States. Please note that there is no absolute good or bad between steam turbines, gas turbines, and diesel turbines.
The key is that the types of ships that need to be carried, taking military ships as an example, are basically gas turbines and diesel-fueled combined. After importing several LM2500 gas turbines from the United States, the construction of Type 052 destroyers quickly began. It has to be said that the LM2500 gas turbine belongs to the classic design of the gas turbine family, and until now, it is still the standard configuration of sea boats in many countries.
After entering the 90s, due to the United States cutting off the export of LM2500 gas turbines, China's construction of Type 052 destroyers had to be put on hold. By the late 90s, the Type 051B destroyer reused the traditional steam turbine, which was also a helpless move in the 90s. A strong country in science and technology is really, really important.
There is no way out of the mountains and rivers, and the willows and flowers are bright and another village. In the late 90s, our country imported 4 DA80 gas turbines from Ukraine. The DA80 gas turbine is a new generation of gas turbines developed in the USSR in the 80s, which was once planned to be used on various capital ships. After China obtained the DA80 gas turbine, in the early 21st century, it quickly started to build 2 Type 052B and 2 Type 052C destroyers, and the 4 main destroyers are known as the Jiangnan Sijie.
However, a problem has arisen, relying on imported gas turbines is very risky, and it is very easy to get stuck in the neck, and reproduce the problem of LM2500. Therefore, as early as the early days of importing DA80 gas turbines, China began to imitate and improve the work, and mobilized the strength of various scientific research institutions. As of 2004, the domestic gas turbine was named GT25000 gas turbine. The GT25000 gas turbine is not just an imitation of the Ukrainian DA80, but a further improved version.
In terms of reliability and power, it surpasses the original. In 2011, the GT25000 gas turbine was fully finalized. Please note that at this point in time, it was after 2011 that the Chinese Navy entered a stage of rapid development, and the subsequent models of the Type 052D destroyer and the Type 052C destroyer began to be built in batches. The Type 052D destroyer uses two GT25000 gas turbines and two MTU-20 V956 TB92 diesel engines, which belong to the diesel-fuel combined power.
As for the 13,000-ton Type 055 destroyer, four GT25000 gas turbines are installed, which are all-fuel powered. Relying on the sufficient power and power provided by 4 gas turbines, the speed and power of the Type 055 destroyer are guaranteed**. However, the GT25000 gas turbine only solves the problem of whether there is a large gas turbine in China and solves the urgent need for the development of the main ships of the Chinese Navy.
In terms of comprehensive performance, the prototype of the GT25000 gas turbine is still the technology of the 80s in the Soviet Union. According to public reports, the GT25000 gas turbine is rated at 267 MW with an efficiency of 365%, the maximum power of a single machine is about 360,000 horsepower. Therefore, after the GT25000 was finalized, the task of developing a new generation of domestic gas turbines began quickly.
Take the latest model of the American LM2500 engine as an example, the American LM2500G4 gas turbine with a rated power of 352 MW, with a single unit with a limit output of up to 4730,000 hp. Rawls, UK. The MT30 gas turbine manufactured by Royce has a power of 36 megawatts, a maximum output of about 50,000 horsepower, a maximum power of 40MW, and a thermal efficiency of about 40%, making it the world's most powerful marine gas turbine.
For example, Japan's top-class frigates, Italy's Trieste-class amphibious assault ships, etc., all use British MT30 gas turbines. It can be seen that China's GT25000 gas turbine, in terms of power, compared with the advanced level of the United States and Britain, there is still a certain gap, after all, China only began to develop its own gas turbine in the late 90s.
In October 2023, the domestic CGT40 gas turbine was unveiled, and according to reports, the CGT40 gas turbine belongs to a new generation of domestic large gas turbines, with a maximum rated power of between 40 and 42 megawatts and a thermal efficiency of 395%。It can be seen that in terms of large gas turbines for ships, China has basically reached the level of advanced gas turbines in the United States and Britain. So, the question arises, on which ships can the CGT40 gas turbine be installed?
At the moment, the exact dimensions of the CGT40 gas turbine have not been announced, so it is difficult to speculate whether ships of the frigate class will be able to install them. The author believes that with the emergence of a new generation of domestic large gas turbines, the Type 076 amphibious assault ship, the subsequent modification of the Type 055 destroyer, the later improvement of the 052D series destroyer, or other domestic new generation of large ships.
At present, China's 40,000-ton Type 901 comprehensive supply ship and Type 075 amphibious assault ship are installed with four 16PC2-6B diesel engines, with a single power of 12 MW and a total power of 48 MW (6about 50,000 shaft horsepower). China's Type 054A frigate is a 4,000-ton frigate and uses four 16PA6V280STC medium-speed diesel engines. In fact, diesel turbines and gas turbines have their own advantages, taking the latest British Type 31 frigate and the latest French FDI frigate as examples, four German-made MTU16V8000 series diesel engines are installed.
From the current situation, the new generation of CGT40 gas turbines, with a larger power output, can better meet the power needs of ships. The problem of insufficient power of the ship was solved, and the CGT40 gas turbine laid a solid foundation for the all-electric propulsion system on the subsequent ships. Especially for all kinds of large capital ships, the comprehensive performance will be greatly improved.
There are many more stories about the development and construction of the PLA Navy. The author will talk to you slowly in future articles.