Connie E. Bird

Preliminary Design of Ceramic Components for the ST5+ Advanced Microturbine Engine

Progress in the preliminary design of an axial vane ring and axial turbine rotor composed of silicon nitride structural ceramics is presented. The silicon nitride components allow for significantly increased turbine inlet temperature in the ST5+, an advanced version of the Pratt & Whitney Canada’s ST5, which powers the DTE Technologies ENT400 Distributed Energy Generator. Preliminary aerodynamic and mechanical design, steady state thermal and stress analysis, and life prediction results will be reviewed. Foreign object damage resistance will be compared between ceramic versions of the baseline rotor blade geometry and that developed for the ST5+ engine.© 2002 ASME

Design of Ceramic Components for an Advanced Micro-Turbine Engine

Ceramic components, due to their high temperature capability, allow significantly higher turbine inlet temperatures with minimal cooling. Hot-section engine components, including combustor, integral vane ring, integrally bladed turbine rotor, and turbine tip shroud were designed for an advanced micro-turbine engine, with special attention to attachment methods that minimize thermal stresses due to large differences between coefficients of thermal expansion between metallic and ceramic materials. Detailed aerodynamic, thermal and stress analyses were performed. Both steady state and transient conditions were evaluated to guide design decisions that lead to optimal component reliability and manufacturability. This paper describes the component design, analysis, and fabrication experiences with silicon based monolithic ceramic materials.© 2004 ASME