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 turbine rotor blade made from the spar and shell construction in which the shell formed from a plurality of shell segments each being a thin wall shell segment made from a high temperature resistant material that is formed by a wire EDM process, and where the shell segments are each secured to the spar separately using a retainer that is poured into retainer occupying spaces formed in the shell segments and the spar, and then hardened to form a rigid retainer to secure each shell segment to the spar individually. The spar includes a number of radial extending projections each with a row of cavities that form the retainer occupying spaces in order to spread the loads around. The retainer can be a bicast material, a transient liquid phase bonding material, or a sintered metal. An old shell can be easily removed and replaced with a new shell by removing parts of the retainer and re-pouring a new retainer with a new shell in place.

Abstract: A turbine rotor blade with a series of 3-pass serpentine flow near wall cooling circuits that extend along the airfoil to provide low flow cooling for the blade. the 3-pass serpentine circuits include a first channel positioned along the pressure side wall to provide near wall cooling, a third channel positioned along the suction side wall to provide near wall cooling, and a second or middle channel located between the two near wall channels in the cooler section of the airfoil. The two near wall radial extending cooling channels flow in a direction toward the blade tip so that the centrifugal force developed due to blade rotation will aid in driving the flow while the second channel is without trip strips and has a larger flow area to minimize flow loss. The first channel with cooler air provides near wall cooling to the hotter sections of the airfoil while the third channel uses the heated air to provide cooling to the cooler sections of the airfoil.

Abstract: A electrical power plant with a gas turbine engine that drives two electric high speed generators connected on the two ends of the engine rotor shaft in a direct drive relation without the need for a gear box. The high speed generators can be of the same or different power rating and connected in series such that the total power output can easily be changed without the need to redesign larger high speed generators. Because the generators use permanent magnets, they can be operated as motors to drive two or more compressors. A turbine can be used to drive two or more high speed generators connected in series. Since the high speed generator/motors have thrust bearings, the thrust bearing in the turbomachine can be eliminated.

Abstract: A turbine rotor blade with a brush seal formed between the blade tip and an outer shroud to form a seal for a blade outer air seal. The brush seal includes fibers made from a high temperature resistant material that has long wear life such as fibers of alumina-boria-silicate in order to withstand the temperature environment of a turbine rotor blade and to provide long life due to rubbing of the brush fibers on the relatively rotating brush seal surface.

Abstract: A bearingless floating wind turbine has a tall narrow main support structure with a center of buoyancy located well above the center of gravity to provide stability to the wind turbine while supported for rotation in a body of water, a vertical axis turbine blade extends from the main support structure and rotates together under a wind, and a non-rotating shaft extends through the main support structure with a vertical axis direct drive generator connected between the main support structure and the non-rotating shaft to produce electricity when the main support structure rotates. An anchor line connected to the non-rotating shaft prevents the floating wind turbine from drifting in a body of water.

Abstract: A high temperature heat exchanger for use with a small gas turbine engine to produce a combined cycle power plant, where the heat exchanger includes ceramic heat exchange tubes of SiC that are tightly fitted to the heat exchanger so that no welds or brazing is used and prevent any thermal stresses between the tubes and the heat exchanger end plates or baffle plates. The heat exchanger includes an inner casing and an outer casing with the heat exchange tubes extending through the heat exchanger between the two casings, and the gas turbine engine operating in the space within the inner casing. The tubes are tightly fitted in holes within the end plates and baffle plates, and a molybdenum disulfide coating is used to form a seal.

Abstract: A replaceable leading edge insert for a rotor blade and a process for replacing a damaged leading edge portion of a blade on an integrally bladed rotor. The insert is a fibrous reinforced composite insert with a scarf joint to secure the insert to the blade. The insert includes an aft extending portion that engages with the opposed surface of the blade to hold the insert against radial displacement from the blade during operation. in one embodiment, a plurality of teeth extend from the lower portion of the insert and engage similar teeth on the rotor blade. When the insert is bonded to the rotor blade, the teeth add additional holding force against radial displacement should the bond weaken. The process includes removing a damaged portion from the blade leading edge such that a bonding surface remains for a standard shaped replaceable leading edge insert to fit on. The insert is bonded to the rotor blade to form a completed airfoil portion.

Abstract: A bearingless floating wind turbine has a tall and narrow main support structure with a center of buoyancy located well above the center of gravity to provide stability to the wind turbine while supported for rotation in a body of water, a vertical axis turbine blade extends from the main support structure and rotates together under a wind, and a non-rotating shaft extends through the main support structure with a vertical axis direct drive generator connected between the main support structure and the non-rotating shaft to produce electricity when the main support structure rotates. an anchor line connected to the non-rotating shaft prevents the floating wind turbine from drifting in a body of water.

Abstract: A turbine blade with an airfoil wall having a serpentine flow cooling circuit formed within the wall that includes within each channels that flow toward the blade tip of the serpentine a series of impingement holes and impingement chambers such that the cooling air flowing through the channels of the serpentine forms a multiple impingement cooling passages through the channels. Each channel includes a series of slanted ribs that define the impingement chambers, and each slanted rib includes an impingement cooling hole to direct impingement cooling air onto the backside surface of the wall exposed to the hot gas flow. The channel of the serpentine that flows toward the blade root contains no metering holes and is substantially unobstructed to the cooling air flow. The rotation of the blade produces a centrifugal force on the airflow passing through the channels with the metering and impingement holes to aid in the flow towards the blade tip.

Abstract: A floating wind turbine in which a floating barge having a doughnut shape with an open center rigidly supports a plurality of airfoils such that a wind produces a rotation of the blades and the barge. The airfoil and barge assembly is connected to a rigid shaft that extends into a generator housing that houses a generator. Anti-rotation fins extend from the generator housing and into the water to limit rotation of the generator housing as the blades and barge rotates in the wind. Rotation of the rigid shaft due to the wind also rotates the generator shaft to produce electricity. The floating turbine supports the blades for rotation without the need for bearings so the turbine can be extremely large. The blades are supported by the floating barge so the blades can also be extremely large. The barge is doughnut shaped to limit viscous forces due to rotation of the barge within the water. A second floating wind turbine rotates within the first floating turbine but in an opposite direction.

Abstract: A pressure tap probe having a flexible probe tip that is flexible enough to seal a film cooling hole having a roughened surface such as a TBC applied around the hole. The flexible probe tip is flexible enough to deform around the film cooling hole such that an accurate pressure reading can be observed for the film cooling hole. The flexible pressure tap is used to measure the pressure at a plurality of film cooling holes on a turbine airfoil when a pressure and a flow rate of cooling air is passed through the airfoil. A plurality of film cooling holes are measured by using the flexible pressure tap to determine if the cooling passages and film cooling holes are properly sized to provide adequate cooling for the airfoil.