Turbine Innovation and Energy Research

VISION OF THE CENTER

Improvements in the performance and reliability of gas turbines for aeroengines and power generation is a key challenge facing the gas turbine industry today. The United States currently leads the world in gas turbine technology. In order to maintain this lead, it is critical to aggressively pursue innovation in this area. Conventional technology is unable to address performance and reliability detriments due to localized events such as flow-separation, flutter, instabilities, and transient behavior. If the adverse effects of such local phenomena can not be eliminated through novel science-based passive means (e.g. local design modifications), application of local active control is the only recourse. This is not possible presently due to large size and bandwidth limitations of available sensors/actuators, and their susceptibility to harsh environments. In order to achieve local active control, distributed sensors/actuators and/or passive devices comparable in scale to the local events and able to withstand the harsh environment must be used. Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) can provide a means to this end. The technical mission of the proposed Center for Gas Turbine Innovation and Energy Research (TIER) is to develop novel science-based design improvements and enabling technologies for the effective utilization of high-temperature MEMS and other micro-devices for the active and passive control of incipient phenomena in gas turbine systems. The vision of the TIER is that the development of such technology will lead to order-of-magnitude performance improvements of gas turbine systems. To this end, the Center will emphasize challenging, high-risk projects with high payoff potential.

The TIER Center represents an interdisciplinary group of researchers from several universities with an established track record in gas turbine related areas. The specific thrusts within the center include:
(1) MEMS Sensors and Actuators
(2) Flow, Combustion and Heat Transfer Control
(3) Control Algorithms
(4) High Temperature Materials
(5) Multi-disciplinary Design and Optimization

These thrusts will work in a mutually complementary fashion to develop active control systems for implementation into gas turbine engines.

A major goal of the center is to have active industrial collaboration. The goals of the center will be overseen by an Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) which will periodically review the accomplishments of the Center and set future directions. Companies will be involved on several levels, from providing basic guidance and advice to active research collaboration.

Education and outreach activities will be the cornerstone of the centers development. The center will establish relations with local HBCUs and develop a plan to recruit minority students through summer internships and research scholarships. Educational materials such as multimedia and virtual reality type tours through gas turbine systems using state-of-the-art visualization capabilities will be developed. Also, activities and projects utilizing the web and both Digital and Physical Libraries will be emphasized as a concurrent experience helping to bridge conceptual and physical realities.