Rapidly Configurable Turbomachines for Air Cycle Machine Emulation

For aircraft thermal management systems, the air cycle system is powered by an air cycle machine (ACM). The ACM typically consists of a power turbine that utilizes high pressure bleed air, along with a cooling turbine to produce the necessary shaft power for a compressor and starter/generator. To develop a laboratory based ACM, there is a need to develop a system that sufficiently simulates the ACM functionality and dynamics. Mainstream Engineering proposes to emulate the performance of the cooling turbine and compressor by developing a variable speed system that maximizes the amount of testing points available for a given turbine rotor/compressor impeller sets. For the Phase I effort, Mainstream will complete the detailed design of the complete cooling turbine and compressor. In addition to design effort, Mainstream will also fabricate the cooling turbine and experimentally demonstrate its performance prior to Phase II. During the Phase II program, Mainstream Engineering will continue the development of the simulated ACM, including increasing the quantity of matched turbine rotor/compressor impeller sets, investigating the dynamic response of the systems, and delivering prototype units for testing in an Air Force research facility.