AEROSPACE


A COOLER WAY TO FLY H


Turbines are being designed to run at higher temperatures to improve fuel efficiency. Advances in cooling techniques rely heavily on laser technology, not just in making jet engines but also in monitoring air flow, as Jessica Rowbury discovers


ow can you take the temperature of a jet engine? At the Optical Instrumentation for Energy and Environmental Applications conference in the USA in


November, Dr Frank Beyrau from Imperial College London outlined one technique: high-speed thermographic particle imaging velocimetry, which uses lasers to measure gas-phase temperatures, potentially for investigating cooling performance in jet turbine engines. His work highlights the increasingly important role of lasers – in the manufacture of more efficient jet engines, and


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also in research to monitor and improve that efficiency. Te demand for more fuel-efficient jet


engines is growing. In September, the European aeroplane manufacturer Airbus forecast that more than a third of aircraſt to be produced over the next decade would be fuel-efficient replacements for older, inefficient planes. Growth in air travel, rising fuel prices, and environmental pressures have all combined to increase the requirement for more fuel-efficient engines. Monitoring temperatures, as Dr Beyrau’s


technique is intended to do, is vital because new engines are being designed to run at higher temperatures – in order to improve thermal efficiency and power output, and to reduce pollutants such as nitrogen oxide gases. However, combustion temperatures can oſten exceed the melting point of the metal alloys used in the turbine engine. To overcome this, lasers are used to produce hundreds of cooling holes in the turbine blades, shaped specifically for heat removal. Tis allows cold air from the compressor of the engine to keep these parts at a temperature where they remain stable and can still operate. Advanced cooling allows for higher


operating temperatures, which helps drive efficiency and extend part life and performance. Matt Benvie of GE Aviation remarked: ‘Our advanced designs and current new product introduction (NPI) engines are


ISSUE 21 • WINTER 2013 LASER SYSTEMS EUROPE 13


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