Abstract: A hollow cooled turbine airfoil is provided having pressure and suction side walls and a plurality of trailing edge cooling passages that feed cooling air bleed slots at the trailing edge. The suction side wall has a selectively reduced thickness, which allows shortened trailing edge slots, improving trailing edge cooling.

Abstract: A combustor for a gas turbine engine includes outer and inner liners defining a combustion chamber and an igniter mounted to the outer liner. A dome plate is disposed between the outer and inner liners and has a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings formed therein. A fuel-air mixer is disposed in each one of the openings; each fuel-air mixer includes a swirler mounted in the corresponding opening and a fuel nozzle received in the corresponding swirler. Two adjacent ones of the swirlers are low air flow swirlers in general circumferential alignment with the igniter and the rest of the swirlers are higher air flow swirlers. Each one of the fuel nozzles provides a similar amount of fuel so that the two fuel-air mixers having low air flow swirlers produce a local region of increased fuel-to-air ratio in the vicinity of the igniter.

Abstract: Flow control in pulse detonation engines is accomplished using magnetohydrodynamic principles. The pulse detonation engine includes a tube having an open forward end and an open aft end and a fuel-air inlet formed in the tube at the forward end. An igniter is disposed in the tube at a location intermediate the forward end and the aft end. A magnetohydrodynamic flow control system is located between the igniter and the fuel-air inlet for controlling detonation in the tube forward of the igniter. The magnetohydrodynamic flow control system utilizes magnetic and electric fields forward of the igniter to dissipate or at least reduce the ignition potential of the forward traveling detonation flame front.

Abstract: A system and method for radiographic inspection of aircraft fuselages includes a radiation source preferably located inside of the fuselage and a radiation detector preferably located outside of the fuselage. A source positioning system is provided for moving the radiation source longitudinally with respect to the fuselage, and a detector positioning system is provided for positioning the radiation detector in longitudinal alignment with the radiation source. The detector positioning system also moves the radiation detector circumferentially with respect to the fuselage. In operation, the radiation detector is moved over the fuselage in a circumferential direction while the radiation source illuminates an adjacent region of the fuselage with radiation.