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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Water separator for turbine engine

A turbine engine is provided that includes a turbine engine core, a water separate and a core flowpath. The turbine engine core includes a core compressor section, a core combustor section and a core turbine section. The water separator includes a flowpath duct and a collector duct. The flowpath duct extends axially along and circumferentially about an axis. The collector duct extends axially along and circumferentially about the flowpath duct. The collector duct is fluidly coupled with the flowpath duct through a water permeable region in an outer wall of the flowpath duct. The core flowpath extends through the core compressor section, the core combustor section, the core turbine section and the flowpath duct from an inlet into the core flowpath to an exhaust from the core flowpath. The core flowpath extends axially along the water permeable region within the flowpath duct.

Alahyari, Abbas A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Heat exchanger(s) for recovering water and/or heat energy from turbine engine combustion products

A turbine engine is provided that includes a fan section, a turbine engine core and a recovery system. The turbine engine core is configured to power the fan section. The turbine engine core includes a core compressor section, a core combustor section and a core turbine section. A centerline axis of the turbine engine core is offset from a centerline axis of the turbine engine. The recovery system includes an evaporator module and a condenser module. A core flowpath extends sequentially through the core compressor section, the core combustor section, the core turbine section, the evaporator module and the condenser module from an inlet into the core flowpath to an exhaust from the core flowpath.

Sobanski, Jon E.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ammonia Combustion for Gas Turbine Engines

Presentation given at the 2024 University Turbines System Research conference describing NETL Research and Innovation Center work associated with ammonia combustion for gas turbine engines.

Bedick, Clinton↗
DOE OSTI2023

Efficient turbine engine using integrated ammonia fuel processing

A gas turbine engine includes a core engine that includes a core flow path where air is compressed in a compressor section, communicated to a combustor section, mixed with an ammonia based fuel and ignited to generate a high energy combusted gas flow that is expanded through a turbine section. The turbine section is mechanically coupled to drive the compressor section. An ammonia flow path communicates an ammonia flow to the combustor section. A cracking device is disposed in the ammonia flow path. The cracking device is configured to decompose the ammonia flow into a fuel flow containing hydrogen (H2). At least one heat exchanger is upstream of the cracking device that provides thermal communication between the ammonia flow and a working fluid flow such that the ammonia fluid flow accepts thermal energy from the working fluid flow.

Smith, Lance L.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Computational Design to Advance AM Fabrication of High Gamma Prime Alloys for Hot Gas Path Components in Gas Turbine Engines: A Pathway to Enhanced Gas Turbine Efficiency and Energy Saving (Final CRADA Report)

Raising turbine inlet temperature is a key lever for improving industrial gas-turbine efficiency and power output, but it increases thermo-mechanical demands on hot-gas-path components. Additive manufacturing (AM), particularly laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), enables complex internal cooling features in critical components such as turbine tip shoes that are difficult to produce by conventional casting. However, qualification of new high-temperature AM alloys and aggressive geometries is often limited by trial-and-error iteration of build parameters and post-build heat treatments, with cracking during stress relieving or hot isostatic pressing (HIP) being a recurring failure mode.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Modeling Study on Ammonia and Ammonia/Hydrogen Kinetics for Gas Turbine Engines

The use of ammonia as a fuel source in gas turbine engine power cycles represents an attractive means to decarbonize the energy sector due to higher energy density and achieving liquid state at far lower pressures compared to pure hydrogen. However, due to low flammability and a propensity for high NOx emissions, its use is not without challenge. Here, a number of 0D and 1D modeling tools were utilized to study the combustion characteristics of ammonia and ammonia/hydrogen mixtures, examining basic fundamental properties such as laminar flame speed, variability among existing chemical kinetic mechanisms, and considering the use of two-stage rich-lean combustion strategies to achieve low NOx emissions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fault Characterization and Diagnostics Supporting Condition-Based Operation and Maintenance of Gas Turbine Engines

Condition-Based Operation and Maintenance (CBOM) is the state-of-the-art in maintenance approaches for gas turbine engines. CBOM applies engine sensor information to the optimization of future operation and maintenance procedures; this technique reduces costs for engine operators by minimizing unplanned outages and catastrophic engine degradation. However, due to the complexities of gas turbine operation and the lack of available engine sensors, further development is required to fully realize the benefits of CBOM. In the turbine section, rotating components interact with high temperature flows, which creates intense thermal and mechanical stresses. As a result, there are numerous mechanisms of component degradation in the turbine section. Furthermore, turbine components – like stator vanes and rotor blades – are among the most expensive in the engine because they are complex to design and manufacture. For these reasons, this dissertation addresses two main questions: (i) which parameters or faults within the turbine section are most important to monitor, and (ii) how can these parameters or faults be monitored in an engine-relevant environment? Although many turbine parameters and faults have been investigated in the open literature, there are some faults that are still not well understood. Rotor-casing eccentricity, which causes a non-constant blade tip clearance around the annulus, has not been investigated in terms of its effects on turbine efficiency. Therefore, the first study in this dissertation quantifies overall and local turbine efficiency for varying levels of rotor-casing eccentricity. Results showed negligible variations to overall turbine efficiency, meaning rotor-casing eccentricity only becomes relevant to CBOM when its severity causes rotordynamic issues. Purge flow is critical to turbine hardware longevity because it prevents ingestion of hot main gas path (MGP) flow into the under-platform regions. Despite its importance, there are currently no methods for monitoring purge flow performance in an engine environment. Therefore, the second study in this dissertation develops a predictive model for sealing effectiveness using inputs from two fast-response pressure sensors. Results exhibited low prediction errors across a full range of purge flow rates, which supports the viability of the modelling approach for CBOM. The final two studies in this dissertation address blade coolant flow monitoring. This cooling flow is responsible for protecting the turbine blades from the MGP flow, which exits the combustor at temperatures greater than the blade melting point. These studies showed that temperature measurements on the blade surface can be used to accurately predict blade coolant flow rate, and that defining the candidate features relative to the coolant trajectory is important for maintaining accuracy as coolant flow rate degradation occurs. This work enables blade coolant flow monitoring, which is currently not possible through existing condition monitoring techniques.

condition-based, gas turbines, diagnostics,↗
DOE OSTI2021

Process for retrofitting an industrial gas turbine engine for increased power and efficiency

A process for retrofitting an industrial gas turbine engine of a power plant where an old industrial engine with a high spool has a new low spool with a low pressure turbine that drives a low pressure compressor using exhaust gas from the high pressure turbine, and where the new low pressure compressor delivers compressed air through a new compressed air line to the high pressure compressor through a new inlet added to the high pressure compressor. The old electric generator is replaced with a new generator having around twice the electrical power production. One or more stages of vanes and blades are removed from the high pressure compressor to optimally match a pressure ratio split. Closed loop cooling of one or more new stages of vanes and blades in the high pressure turbine is added and the spent cooling air is discharged into the combustor.

Jones, Russell B.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Novel Hot Gas Components for Gas Turbine Engines Enabled by Materials and Additive Manufacturing Process Development

Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, has emerged as a manufacturing method that enables new design freedom for gas turbine engine manufacturers. However, the material selection for AM processable high-temperature super alloys is currently limited. Additionally, the heat transfer performance of AM enabled micro-cooling architectures is not yet well understood. Accordingly, in support of advanced manufacturing and engine performance development, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)and Solar Turbines (Solar) conducted a multidisciplinary project to generate both AM super alloy material properties data and micro-channel performance data for two AM super alloys. The data supported the design and analysis of an internally cooled turbine hot section AM tip shoe component. This data was used to analytically predict the reduction in operating temperature of a gas turbine tip shoe. The work concluded that the cooling flow required to cool the tip shoe can be tuned to suit the efficiency improvements desired in an industrial gas turbine.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design of Novel Hot Gas Component for Gas Turbine Engines Enabled by Materials and Additive Manufacturing Process Development

This CRADA project was the result of a project award under FOA-DOE-0001980. The overarching FOA project team consisted of researchers from Carpenter Technology Corporation (CTC), Solar Turbines Incorporated (Solar), Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Evaluations were conducted on two high-γ’ superalloys that were designed by CTC and the UCSB. One alloy named GammaPrint-700 (GP-700) is a cobalt-base superalloy. The other alloy named GammaPrint-1100 (GP-1100) is a nickel-base (Ni-base) superalloy. PSU provided expertise and experimental testing of the thermal performance of AM micro-cooling architectures. ORNL provided expertise with the AM superalloy materials characterization and AM processing science. Solar provided turbine component design expertise. The focus of this CRADA report is to document the efforts between ORNL and CTC towards the development of superalloys designed for AM. The project goal was to use an AM processable high-temperature superalloy and design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) techniques to design an efficient turbine component (i.e. a turbine tip shoe) with enhanced cooling features that can only be fabricated through additive manufacturing (AM). The efficiencies of existing combined heat and power (CHP) engines are capped by both component design and materials limitations. However, AM of a tip shoe component from a γ’strengthened superalloy offers the design flexibility to increase the efficiency and power of an industrial gas turbine. This project brought about advancements in the DfAM tip shoe design space and in the area of high temperature superalloys processable through laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) AM. State of art computation design tools were utilized to optimize unique cooling features into a tip shoe component design. A two-prong materials development approach was taken to support development of the AM tip shoe geometry. The first approach centered on investigating the processability and the appropriate process science for the industry standard high-γ’ nickel-base (Ni-base) superalloy Mar-M247. This superalloy is typically cast and considered non-weldable by traditional welding standards. In the course of this work, the alloy was not deemed feasible for process scale-up due to significant cracking issues during printing. The second approach focused on the development and evaluation of a novel cobalt-base superalloy, GammaPrint™-700 (GP-700 and a Ni-base superalloy, GammaPrint™-1100 (GP-1100) designed to mitigate the significant AM processing issues with Mar-M247. The processability of these two alloys were investigated through electron beam melting (EBM) binder-jet AM (BJAM), and LPBF as a risk mitigation for manufacturability. To be considered a candidate material for down-selection to proceed to fullscale AM tip shoe engine testing trials, the high temperature creep rupture strength was required to achieve at a minimum, a Larsen Miller Parameter (LMP) increase of 10.9% over the baseline material LPBF AM Hastelloy X.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Design of Novel Hot Gas Component for Gas Turbine Engines Enabled by Materials and Additive Manufacturing Process Development

This CRADA project was the result of a project award under FOA-DOE-0001980. The overarching FOA project team consisted of researchers from Carpenter Technology Corporation (CTC), Solar Turbines Incorporated (Solar), Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Evaluations were conducted on two high-γ’ superalloys that were designed by CTC and the UCSB. One alloy named GammaPrint-700 (GP-700) is a cobalt-base superalloy. The other alloy named GammaPrint-1100 (GP-1100) is a nickel-base (Ni-base) superalloy. PSU provided expertise and experimental testing of the thermal performance of AM micro-cooling architectures. ORNL provided expertise with the AM superalloy materials characterization and AM processing science. Solar provided turbine component design expertise. The focus of this CRADA report is to document the efforts between ORNL and CTC towards the development of superalloys designed for AM. The project goal was to use an AM processable high-temperature superalloy and design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) techniques to design an efficient turbine component (i.e. a turbine tip shoe) with enhanced cooling features that can only be fabricated through additive manufacturing (AM). The efficiencies of existing combined heat and power (CHP) engines are capped by both component design and materials limitations. However, AM of a tip shoe component from a γ’strengthened superalloy offers the design flexibility to increase the efficiency and power of an industrial gas turbine. This project brought about advancements in the DfAM tip shoe design space and in the area of high temperature superalloys processable through laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) AM. State of art computation design tools were utilized to optimize unique cooling features into a tip shoe component design. A two-prong materials development approach was taken to support development of the AM tip shoe geometry. The first approach centered on investigating the processability and the appropriate process science for the industry standard high-γ’ nickel-base (Ni-base) superalloy Mar-M247. This superalloy is typically cast and considered non-weldable by traditional welding standards. In the course of this work, the alloy was not deemed feasible for process scale-up due to significant cracking issues during printing. The second approach focused on the development and evaluation of a novel cobalt-base superalloy, GammaPrint™-700 (GP-700 and a Ni-base superalloy, GammaPrint™-1100 (GP-1100) designed to mitigate the significant AM processing issues with Mar-M247. The processability of these two alloys were investigated through electron beam melting (EBM) binder-jet AM (BJAM), and LPBF as a risk mitigation for manufacturability. To be considered a candidate material for down-selection to proceed to full-scale AM tip shoe engine testing trials, the high temperature creep rupture strength was required to achieve at a minimum, a Larsen Miller Parameter (LMP) increase of 10.9% over the baseline material LPBF AM Hastelloy X.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Water separator for hydrogen steam injected turbine engine

A propulsion system for an aircraft includes a core engine that includes a core flow path where air is compressed in a compressor section, communicated to a combustor section, mixed with a hydrogen based fuel and ignited to generate a core gas flow that is expanded through a turbine section. The propulsion system includes a hydrogen fuel system that is configured to supply hydrogen fuel to the combustor through a fuel flow path, a condenser that is arranged along the core flow path and configured to condense water within the core gas flow, and a separator that includes an inlet, a primary water outlet and an exit that includes a plurality of exit guide vanes for straightening the core gas flow that proceeds through the exit. The exit guide vanes include a secondary water outlet for removing condensed water in the core gas flow that proceeds through the exit.

Terwilliger, Neil J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Transition to High-Hydrogen Fueled Advanced Gas Turbine Engines for Land-Based Power Generation and Industrial Applications

Invited lecture presented as part of the 2023 University of Central Florida - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Seminar Series. These slides discuss the role of multi-sourced hydrogen for electrical power generation. Particular focus is given to the combustion of hydrogen for the purpose of chemical to thermal energy. Pressure gain combustion is given as an example technology that could leverage hydrogen as a fuel source ultimately leading to higher rates of energy conversion (chemical to electrical) resulting in greater energy security and reduced cost of electricity.

advanced gas turbines↗
DOE OSTI2020

Impact of Biofuel Blends on Black Carbon Emissions from a Gas Turbine Engine

With a view towards renewable feedstock while decreasing the CO2 footprint associated with jet travel, biofuels are receiving increasing interest. Presented here is an overview of non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) emissions, i.e. “soot” as gauged by varied TEM analyses for a J-85 turbojet fueled with Jet-A as well as with blends of Jet-A using Camelina biofuel. A unifying explanation is provided encompassing fuels and spanning length scales across three orders of magnitude. The variation of primary particle size, aggregate size and nanostructure are analyzed as a function of biofuel blend across range of engine thrust levels. The postulate is based on where fuels start along the soot formation pathway. Increasing biofuel content lowers aromatic concentration while placing increasing dependence upon fuel pyrolysis reactions to form the requisite concentration of aromatics for particle inception and growth. The required “kinetic” time for pyrolysis reactions to produce benzene and multi-ring PAHs allows increased fuel-air mixing by turbulence, diluting the fuel-rich soot-forming regions, effectively lowering their equivalence ratio. With a lower precursor concentration, particle inception is slowed, the resulting concentration of primary particles is lowered and smaller aggregates. The lower equivalence ratio also results in smaller primary particles given the lower concentration of growth species.

Kumal, Raju R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design of Novel Hot Gas Path Component for Gas Turbine Engines Enabled by Materials and Additive Manufacturing Process Development

This report covers the activities associated with the development and evaluation of two high-γ’ superalloys that were designed by external partners on this project, namely Carpenter Technologies Corporation and the University of California-Santa Barbra. One alloy was GammaPrint-700, a cobalt-base superalloy, and the other a nickel-base (Ni-base) superalloy GammaPrint-1100. Both were found to be printable through laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing, with optimal process parameter sets being identified for each alloy. Further, high temperature mechanical testing was conducted on each alloy that showed both materials performed better than the comparative baseline (LPBF Hastelloy X), with the Ni-base superalloy being down-selected for scaling and printing of the tip shoe components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗