Bangalore-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment, part of the chain of laboratories operating under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has achieved a significant breakthrough by developing a modified marine version of the Kaveri engine, which it has been developing for the country's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme.
The marine version is a spin-off, which is capable of generating shaft power for Indian naval ships. Using the Kaveri engine core, GTRE scientists have added low pressure compressor and turbine as a gas generator and designed a free power turbine to generate shaft power.
The Kaveri Marine Gas Turbine (KMGT), as it has been named, has been transported to the naval dockyard at Vishakhapatnam and installed on the marine gas turbine test-bed. This is an Indian Navy facility, capable of testing gas turbines of up to 25 MW of shaft power through a reduction gearbox and a water brake dynamometer.
The Indian Navy has been involved in the development of the engine and has participated in the test phase.
The engine has been tested to its potential of 12 MW at ISA SL 35°C condition, which is the requirement of the Indian Navy to propel the Rajput class of ships. The engine has also been demonstrated before the prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
With this development, India becomes self-reliant in the technology of gas turbines for ship propulsion, and puts the country in the same league of nations as the USA, Russia, UK and Ukraine, who posses the capability to design and manufacture marine gas turbine engines.