With the recently discovered 
abundant natural gas resources in Israel, the development and manufacturing of national micro gas turbines is the natural subsequent challenge, however, this effort is heavily impeded due to lack of relevant scientific and engineering knowledge of the gas turbine’s hot section, which is commercially confidential and export-controlled for most nations. The Advanced Micro Gas Turbine Technology Center at Technion will address the void of scientific development in turbine aerodynamic-thermal coupling, heat transfer and thermal management, geared specifically towards small gas turbine development. Therefore, as the only turbine research laboratory of the nation, it will act as a center of excellence for turbomachinery research, cultivating scientific growth for a large network of gas turbine engine related fields. To this end, a new test facility is under development to allow experimental unsteady high/low pressure turbine investigations to be conducted in engine-similar environments. The objective is structuring several developmental projects around a versatile closed-loop pressurized continuous high speed turbine facility, which will provide unique research capabilities. It will incorporate an interchangeable test section to provide hot (~600K) transonic conditions for fixed blade cascade and rotating high/low pressure turbine stages of micro-engines. In light of micro turbine operating conditions, the final capabilities are:
Operating Conditions
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Turbine Pressure Ratio (Differential - Closed Loop) | 6:1 |
| Mass Flow Rate [kg/sec] | 1 |
| Turbine Inlet Temperature [K] | 600 |
| Rotational Speed [RPM] | 120,000 |
| Temperature Ratio (Flow to Blade) | 2:1 |
| Test Section Diameter [mm] | 200 |
- Aero-Thermal blade/wake interaction effects on stage performance
- Pulsated rotor/stator purge cavity flows
- Minimization of shaft conduction
- Novel turbine micro-film/effusion/transpiration cooling
- Miniaturized air system design
- Conjugate (coupled conduction and convection) heat transfer analysis of turbine stage.