GG those numbers for steady state gas turbines (usually used in power stations) are a little old. The latest generation add 5 or 6% onto that number.gruntguru wrote:No. The best gas turbines are at currently at 42 - 43% TE and these are monsters designed to run at constant speed. A small automotive GT with some speed flexibility would struggle to exceed 30%.bill shoe wrote:great discussion. The Lotus F1 had extra-large fuel tanks, and someone earlier in thread said part-load fuel efficiency of turbines was bad. If a turbine was modified or designed from scratch in 2016 to be a plausible power unit in F1 or other top-level racecar, would it be competitive for fuel efficiency compared to a piston-turbo engine? (ignore hybrid stuff for now).
OTOH it appears Mercedes are at 45% (or 50%) already.
As far as small scale gas turbines go then yes, the (lack of) development money for them combined with the smaller scale and design to work well in transient conditions means that their efficiency level isn't close. However if a turbine was placed in an F1 car that had the same weight then it would make far more power than the current PU's (ignoring the fuel flow).
The main benefits of turbines have always been low maintenance, for modern gas turbines once service schedules are adhered to properly and good fuel is used engine failures are extraordinarily rare and 2. Very high power to weight ratios.