Advanced Cooling for IGCC Turbine Blades

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants are an attractive alternative to current coal-fired technologies. However, the higher temperature operation of these systems will impose severe cooling requirements on the gas turbine engines. In order to improve heat transfer and lower cooling air requirements, advanced turbine blade designs will be required. These designs will include more complex internal cooling passages than can be produced using current casting techniques. This project addresses two important aspects of the problem: (1) the need to increase core manufacturing process capability to enable advanced cooling features to be incorporated in future turbines, and (2) the need to rapidly and economically produce tools and prototype hardware for empirically testing and optimizing advanced designs. Phase I will demonstrate an ability to incorporate advanced cooling features at the trailing edge portion of the blade. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The production of airfoils with advanced cooling passages should have a direct and immediate benefit for power plant operations, which will allow the turbine to operate at higher temperatures and will result in improved performance and fuel efficiency