Endo Presents at 2015 PSAR Conference

June 1, 2015

Test Devices’ Chief Technology Officer Hiro Endo recently made a presentation at the Propulsion Safety Affordability Readiness (PSAR) Conference.
With Endo’s expertise, Test Devices is developing techniques to advance the industry’s efficiency in implementing new materials and disk designs.

The presentation “Development of Highly Simulative Subscale Testing (HSST)”, as well as the testing that was the basis for the talk, aim to reduce the risk in developing and using new materials for turbine disks.

“Subscale components are less expensive to fabricate and to test because of their smaller size,” Endo said. “The trick is to design the subscale component so its behavior is representative of the full-size component. Ideally, one can develop a standard subscale design that will contain the range of stress states that will be found in a full-size component of any geometry.”

HSST designs can reduce costs because subscale disks do not need to be designed every time. Furthermore, they also provide a more accurate comparison of different materials under different conditions (such as bore-to-rim temperature gradients) which is hugely valuable.

“Test Devices and our partners are committed to the development of innovative methods to create more realistic engine conditions in a spin test environment.”

Endo’s work and presentation represented successful development in Phase I of the Test Devices work for the U.S. Navy’s Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR). In 2012, the Navy awarded Test Devices a contract for advanced High Cycle Fatigue (HCF) excitation methods and instrumentation. The testing capability provided military and commercial OEMs with improved designs to address temperature and fatigue issues. This SBIR project pursues the important goal of developing new testing techniques to expand the solutions for HCF characterization for the development of new materials and components. Development of more advanced HCF testing methods is also critical for solving issues with fielded engines, confirming field repairs for military fleet aircraft and helping to resolve issues related to mistuning. The company is now at work on a Phase-II SBIR project.

HSST efforts serve an important function in advancing testing capabilities for Ceramic Matrix Composite (CMC) parts and high-temperature HCF. CMC is of strong interest because it operates at one-and-a-half to two times the temperature of current metal turbine blades, which allows for improved engine durability. Most major engine manufacturers are in the R&D phase for CMC components.

PSAR provides a forum in which researchers and OEMs working on advancing the safety and technology of gas turbine engines, with a particular focus on improving the affordability of the equipment maintenance and the critical components durability, can share their progress. Test Devices often presents at the conference, to share relevant engineering data gained through innovative testing.

“Test Devices and our partners are committed to the development of innovative methods to create more realistic engine conditions in a spin test environment, especially for testing of high order closely coupled modes commonly found in gas turbine hot sections,” Executive Vice President Dave Woodford added. [test-devices-icon]