HIGH-TEMPERATURE TURBINE--ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT

THE PHASE I PROGRAM WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF A HIGH-TEMPERATURE, HIGH-SPEED TURBINE WHEEL DRIVEN BY HIGH-TEMPERATURE COMPRESSED AIR. CONCEPTS AND DETAILS WILL BE FORMULATED AND DESIGNED WITH REGARD TO EFFICIENCY, WEIGHT, COST, OPERATING PARAMETERS, AND RELIABILITY. OVERALL SIZE OF THE TURBINE WHEEL WILL BE LESS THAN 8 INCHES IN DIAMETER. TURBINE WHEEL/NOZZLE CONFIGURATIONS WILL BE ANALYZED AND EVALUATED INCONJUNCTION WITH OPERATING PARAMETERS (12KW NOMINAL, 100 KRPM, EFFICIENCY GREATER THAN 50%, AND INLET AIR TEMPERATURE FROM 2,500-3,500 DEGREES F, AND AN OPERATIONAL LIFE OF MORE THAN 100 HOURS AT DESIGN SPEED. VARIOUS CERAMIC AND COMPOSITE MATERIALS WILL BE REVIEWED AND SELECTED BASED UPON OPERATING STRESSES AND THERMAL/FLUID COMPATIBILITY COMMENSURATE WITH PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, AVAILABILITY, COST AND MANUFACTURING EASE. COMPUTER ANALYSES WILL BE UTILIZED IN MODELING STEADY STATE TURBINE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS,DYNAMIC BALANCE/STABILITY, DAMPING, BEARING PRELOAD, AND STRESS SURVEYS, TO ESTABLISH COMPLETE DESIGN CRITERIA. IN ADDITION, AIR TURBINE TECHNOLOGY EXPERIENCE WITH HIGH-SPEED SPINDLES AND HIGH HORSEPOWER TURBINES WILL BE USED TO ADVANCE THE ABILITY TO MACHINE HIGH ABRASIVE OR SUPER HARD MATERIALS USING HIGH SURFACE SPEED DIAMOND CUTTERS.