Abstract: A turbine rotor blade with a trailing edge region cooling circuit that is formed by three rows of ribs each forming a row of metering and impingement holes followed by a series of exit slots each formed with parallel passages that form a metering section followed by a diffusion section. A forward flowing multiple pass serpentine flow cooling circuit cools the mid-chord region and supplies the cooling air for the trailing edge region circuit. A separate leading edge cooling circuit with metering and impingement cooling followed by film cooling cools the leading edge region.

Abstract: A centrifugal impeller with a single inlet and dual outlets that include a low pressure outlet and a high pressure outlet. The impeller includes low pressure blades with high pressure blades located downstream. The impeller can be shrouded or unshrouded, and can include an inner shroud that forms a flow path for the low pressure fluid and a high pressure flow path for the high pressure fluid. The impeller can include a high pressure volute and a low pressure volute that forms a dual volute with dual diffusers for both fluids.

Abstract: A turbine vane with a low flow near wall multiple impingement cooling circuit in which a thin thermal skin is bonded over a main support spar that together forms a series of chordwise extending collection and impingement chambers extending from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the airfoil. Cooling air from a cooling air supply cavity flows through feed holes and into a first one of the collection chambers located in the leading edge region, and then through impingement cooling holes for backside impingement cooling of the airfoil wall. the series of collection and impingement is repeated along the airfoil wall until the spent impingement air is discharged through exit holes on both sides of the trailing edge region.

Abstract: A turbine blade with small diffusers in the cooling channels and trip strips on the channel walls to produce a very high internal convection. A trailing edge cooling channel includes a diffuser on a lower end of the channel formed by ribs with decreasing width. A forward flowing serpentine flow cooling circuit includes a tip turn and a root turn with a small diffuser formed by the tip turn and a small diffuser formed on a lower end of the third leg of the serpentine formed by ribs with decreasing width.

Abstract: A tapered hydrostatic bearing assembly with a rotor shaft rotating about a stationary shaft in which two tapered hydrostatic bearings are formed to rotatably support the rotor shaft. The stationary shaft includes a bearing fluid passage to channel the bearing fluid to the two tapered hydrostatic bearings. The tapered bearings also function as axial thrust bearings for the rotor shaft.

Abstract: A turbine stator vane with a cooling circuit that improves the cooling effectiveness of the airfoil as well as collects any dirt particles before passing the clean cooling air through the cooling circuit. The airfoil includes a 3-pass aft flowing serpentine circuit with a first leg located along the airfoil leading edge and connected to a showerhead arrangement for film cooling discharge. A cooling air supply channel is located between the first leg and the second leg of the serpentine flow circuit, and the cooling supply channel includes ribs arranged to produce a vortex flow within the cooling air that collects the dirt particles within a center of the vortex flow and deposits the dirt particles at the bottom of the channel. The vortex flow cooling air flows through impingement holes to produce impingement cooling on the backside wall of the leading edge with clean cooling air.

Abstract: A ring segment for a blade outer air seal which includes an array of separated floating wall surfaces each extending from a pedestal and having an inner side with a fibrous metal pad secured and a TBC secured over the pads. The pedestals are formed by diffusion chambers formed between an outer side and an inner side of the ring segment. Purge air holes connect the diffusion chambers to the impingement cavity formed above the ring segment. Thin slots form the separated floating wall surfaces and connect the diffusion chambers to discharge cooling air through the sides of the floating wall surfaces. Cooling air holes also pass through the pedestals to discharge cooling air onto the TBC surfaces.

Abstract: A BOAS segment for a turbine includes an impingement cavity with circular cooling air supply holes adjacent to a leading edge side of the cavity and is connected to main body axial cooling holes that open onto the trailing edge side of the BOAS segment. Cooling supply holes are located at the four corners of the impingement cavity and are connected to multiple cooling holes that open onto both edges of the segment in that corner. Thin metering cooling slots are positioned along the mate face sides in the cavity and are each connected to multiple cooling holes that discharge cooling air onto the mate face edges.

Abstract: A process for designing a labyrinth seal for flutter avoidance in which a computer generated Finite Element model of the lab seal is produced, the geometric parameters of the lab seal is determined, the lab seal flow parameters are determined, the solid model of the lab seal is analyzed using a finite element analysis program for a range of nodal diameters to determine frequencies and mode shapes, an aerodynamic damping and mechanical damping for the labyrinth seal is determined, and if the sum of the aerodynamic and mechanical damping is negative one or more of the labyrinth seal parameters are changed and the analysis is repeated.

Abstract: A film cooling hole for a turbine airfoil having a diffusion section with a convergent wall and two divergent side walls, and with a thin exit slot that opens onto the airfoil surface. The divergent side walls have an expansion of 15 to 25 degrees and the convergent wall converges up to 15 degrees. The film hole is formed by an electrode than is pushed into the metal surface to form the divergent side walls and then pivoted to form the convergent wall.

Abstract: A blade outer air seal with ring segments forming a mate face gap in which a riffle seal is placed to seal the axial gap. The riffle seal includes a horizontal plate and a vertical plate extending from a bottom surface of the horizontal plate and occupies the axial gap space. The bottom end of the vertical extending plate is angled in a direction of rotation of rotor blades and includes ribs that form open slots in the riffle seal. The ring segments include metering holes that discharge cooling air into the slots to discharge film cooling air onto the hot gas surface of the BOAS and cool the ring segments.

Abstract: A turbine rotor blade with a dual triple pass serpentine flow cooling circuit in which a first triple pass serpentine circuit flows along the pressure side wall and the second triple pass serpentine circuit flows along the suction side wall to provide near wall cooling to the two walls. The legs of the serpentine flow cooling circuits have slanted ribs that form diamond shaped mixing chambers such that a criss-cross flow path for the cooling air is formed. In one embodiment, the last leg of the first serpentine circuit provides cooling to the leading edge region with showerhead film holes while the last leg of the second serpentine provides cooling to the trailing edge region with a row of exit holes. In other embodiments, the two serpentine circuits flow in a forward or a rearward direction with two trailing edge cooling channels arranged in the trailing edge and with a separate leading edge cooling supply channel to provide cooling air form the leading edge region.

Abstract: A turbine stator vane with endwall cooling that includes a row of submerged cooling air channels or slots that include a metering hole at an inlet end, a diffusion chamber downstream from the metering hole, and an open slot that channels and discharges the cooling air from the slots as film cooling air for the endwalls. Each submerged cooling air slot can be customized for pressure and flow to control metal temperature and cooling capability.

Abstract: A rocket propulsion system having a liquid fuel tank and a liquid oxidizer tank, where a liquid inert gas tank supplies liquid inert gas to a liquid inert gas pump driven by a turbine of the engine to pressurize the liquid inert gas, which is passed through a heat exchanger around the nozzle to vaporize the inert gas, that is then used to pressurize the liquid oxidizer tank so that a liquid oxidizer pump is not needed, or to pressurize both the liquid oxidizer tank and the liquid fuel tank so that a liquid oxidizer pump and a liquid fuel pump are not needed in the rocket engine.

Abstract: A test rig that reproduces high temperature and high pressure conditions found in a gas turbine engine for testing materials under these conditions. The test rig includes a combustor surrounded by an upper plenum chamber and an exhaust plenum that receives a hot gas stream from the combustor. A transparent channeling vessel guides the hot gas stream from the combustor over a test specimen on which a material to be tested is mounted. The hot gas stream exits the clear channeling vessel and into the exhaust plenum where the stream is cooled by diluting the stream with cooling air. A viewing portal is located in the exhaust plenum so that the material can be observed through the clear vessel.

Abstract: A turbine rotor blade with a 5-pass serpentine aft flowing cooling circuit having first and second tip turns under the blade tip floor, and a core print-out hole having two inlets and one common outlet that discharges cooling air from the two tip turns out from the blade tip. A first inlet of the core print-out hole opens into the first tip turn, and a second inlet of the core print-out hole opens into the second tip turn. The core print-out hole is formed by a T-shaped ceramic core connector that also positions the core or cores used to cast the serpentine flow cooling circuit within the blade.

Abstract: A turbine rotor blade formed from three pieces with a pressure wall side piece and a suction wall side piece bonded to an intermediate piece so that a pressure side cooling circuit can be formed as a separate cooling circuit from a suction side cooling circuit. The intermediate piece has film cooling holes and blade tip cooling holes and trailing edge exit slots formed in it that are enclosed when the outer two pieces are boded to it.

Abstract: A micro gas turbine engine in which the turbine rotor blades are formed as an integral bladed rotor with cooling air passages formed within the blades and the rotor disk by an EDM process. an adjacent stator vane includes an air riding seal with an air cushion supplied through the vanes to provide cooling, and where the air cushion is then passed into the turbine blades and rotor disk to provide cooling for the turbine blades. With cooling of the turbine blades, higher turbine inlet temperatures for micro gas turbine engines can be produced.

Abstract: A flexible seal having an X-shaped cross section that forms four contact points on four contact surfaces of two opposed seal slots. The flexible seal is used for a component in which the two seal slots undergo a large deflection such that the opposed slots are not aligned and a rigid seal will not form an adequate seal. The flexible seal can be used in a component of a combustor or a turbine in a gas turbine engine where opposed seal slots undergo the large deflection during operation.

Abstract: A turbine rotor blade with a showerhead arrangement of film cooling holes arranged in three zones with a lower span zone and a middle spa zone and an upper span zone. The film cooling holes in the lower zone have a greater ejection angle than the film holes in the middle span zone, and the middle span zone film holes have a greater ejection angle than the film holes in the upper span zone.