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National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Technology Transfer 1999 Program Solicitation

NASA Field Installation: Glenn Research Center (GRC)

In the Center of Excellence context, turbomachinery refers to turbine driven systems for propulsion, power generation, and energy conversion. These systems include rotating and related components, and associated enabling technologies. Turbomachinery technology is central to propulsion, power, and energy conversion systems for aeronautics, space, and terrestrial applications. The components and technologies associated with the Turbomachinery are broad in scope. For rotating components, it includes fans, compressors, turbines and pumps. Related components are inlets, ducts, combustors, mixers, nozzles, nacelles, actuators, sensors, bearings, gears and seals. The associated enabling technologies are acoustics, combustion, cryogenics, icing, dynamics, tribology, mechanical systems, controls, heat transfer, instruments, materials and structures, simulation systems/models, fluid mechanics, turbulence and transition.

Core technology challenges to support the Center of Excellence for this Solicitation includes the development of computational and experimental tools as follows:

Engine Systems

Innovative aeropropulsion concepts such as pre-cooled turbomachinery systems, exo-skeletal (reduced structural loadings) engine and combined cycle systems.

Aeroacoustics

• Active Noise Control: Development of durable, high-power actuators, advanced control and sensor systems for broadband and/or tone noise reduction, and novel methods for reducing engine noise.
• Computational Aeroacoustics: Development and application of computational methods capable of efficiently modeling acoustic sources for turbofan engines.
• Fan/Jet Flow Management: Methods for modifying fan or jet flows to reduce noise and analyses needed to develop flow management methods.

Bearing Systems

The development of flight weight, low power, magnetic bearing systems for flexible high-speed shafts for reliable long-life maintenance free application.

Materials

Advanced long-life high temperature structural materials for turbomachinery components that reduce manufacturing costs.

Turbomachinery Geometry

Software for rapid generation of detailed turbomachinery geometry to reduce engine design time and cost.

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