PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Novel capability enables first test of real turbine engine conditions

2014-09-16
(Press-News.org) Manufactures of turbine engines for airplanes, automobiles and electric generation plants could expedite the development of more durable, energy-efficient turbine blades thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, the German Aerospace Center and the universities of Central Florida and Cleveland State.

The ability to operate turbine blades at higher temperatures improves efficiency and reduces energy costs. For example, energy companies estimate that raising the operating temperature by 1 percent at a single electric generation facility can save up to $20 million a year. In order to achieve the highest temperatures of 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit in engines, metallic turbine blades are coated with ceramic thermal-barrier coatings and actively air cooled, which together allows operating temperatures exceeding the metal's melting point. Adding to these extreme conditions, during high-temperature operation, blade rotation induces thermo-mechanical stresses throughout the blade components.

Because of the difficulty of monitoring engines in operation, most manufacturers test blades either after flight or rely on simulated tests to give them the data on how the various coatings on the blades are performing. Until now, creating an accurate simulation has been out of reach, but the team knew that if they could build it, industry would come calling.

"While the idea sounded impossible, we had a team of willing collaborators with complementary skills as well as excellent students who were motivated to take on the challenge," said Seetha Raghavan, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida and a co-author on the team's paper outlining the novel technique in the July issue of Nature Communication.

The research team has succeeded in developing a new in-situ facility for use at Argonne's Advanced Photon Source that for the first time accurately simulates these extreme turbine engine conditions. In particular, the Florida team developed an improved furnace system and the German team developed a novel coolant system to add to the mechanical testing system at Sector 1 of the APS, where the high-energy X-rays (E~86 keV) were able to penetrate all layers of a coated test blade.

This goes beyond any other in-situ capabilities to allow the influence of temperature, stress and thermal gradients to be studied together. This enables for the first time scientists to view the microstructure and internal strain in both the substrate and thermal barrier coating system during real operating conditions and in real time. The team captured high-resolution images of evolving strains and hopes in future experiments to pinpoint when and where defects start. This would allow for an accurate lifespan estimate on material and to improve the process for applying ceramic thermobarrier coatings. This could help industry in a couple of ways. It could potentially improve the quality of plasma spray applications and reduce the cost of the more expensive higher quality electron beam physical vapor deposition, EBPVD, applications.

"This integrated approach allows us to simulate the engine conditions so manufactures are getting interested," said Jon Almer, a co-author on the publication and scientists at the APS. "I would expect the APS to remain the only place in the world with these capabilities for at least the next couple of years, if not longer."

Already the military and two Fortune 500 companies have shown interest in conducting similar future experiments at the APS.

A proposed upgrade of the APS to become the nation's brightest high-energy synchrotron would give industry even more options. A factor of 100 increases in brightness of the X-ray beam would enable the study of more types of coatings and increase sensitivity to the micro-structural evolution of defects. Added coherence in the X-rays would reveal smaller features in the defects, potentially from today's 200-micron feature to about a 200-nanometer feature.

"Manufacturers have told us they would really appreciate that," Almer added.

In Nature Communications, the team outlined the first test of the system and reported previously unseen relationships between internal strains and thermo-mechanical operating conditions enabled by this novel experiment technique. In particular, specific operating conditions were identified which caused severe gradients, as well as undesired tensile strains in the coating layers. This previously unknown material behavior will be used to validate simulations of these operating conditions, to ensure safe operating windows are maintained. Furthermore, this information can be used to improve the deposition process during manufacturing, innovate coating materials, and allow for the use of coatings at higher temperatures, which could lead to wider adoption.

"The productive efforts of this collaboration bring high-temperature materials system testing to the next level," said John Okasinski, co-author and assistant physicist in Argonne's X-ray Science Division. "It will also facilitate unique insights into thermo mechanical states, particularly at the thermally grown oxide layer."

INFORMATION: This work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the German Science Foundation. The APS is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.

See publication: "Strain response of thermal barrier coatings captured under extreme engine environments through synchrotron X-ray diffraction," Nature Communications 5, 4559 (2014)

See press releases: University of Central Florida; DLR

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Boosting global corn yields depends on improving nutrient balance

Boosting global corn yields depends on improving nutrient balance
2014-09-16
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Ensuring that corn absorbs the right balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is crucial to increasing global yields, a Purdue and Kansas State University study finds. A review of data from more than 150 studies from the U.S. and other regions showed that high yields were linked to production systems in which corn plants took up key nutrients at specific ratios - nitrogen and phosphorus at a ratio of 5-to-1 and nitrogen and potassium at a ratio of 1-to-1. These nutrient uptake ratios were associated with high yields regardless of the region ...

Dry conditions and lightning strikes make for a long California fire season

Dry conditions and lightning strikes make for a long California fire season
2014-09-16
The fire season in California has been anything but cooperative this year. Hot conditions combined with a state-wide drought and dry lightning makes for unpleasant conditions and leads to an abundance of forest fires. On August 12, lightning struck and started the fire that grew into the Happy Camp Complex. Currently over 113,000 acres have been affected and the fire is only 55% contained as of today. Strong winds tested fire lines yesterday (8/15), and are expected to do so again today. Despite the high winds, existing fire lines held with no spotting or expansion ...

Do wearable lifestyle activity monitors really work?

2014-09-16
Wearable electronic activity monitors hold great promise in helping people to reach their fitness and health goals. These increasingly sophisticated devices help the wearers improve their wellness by constantly monitoring their activities and bodily responses. This information is organized into companion computer programs and mobile apps. Given the large and quickly growing market for these devices, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston analyzed 13 of these activity monitors, such as those made by Fitbit, Jawbone or Nike, to compare how the ...

NASA HS3 instrument views 2 dimensions of clouds

NASA HS3 instrument views 2 dimensions of clouds
2014-09-16
VIDEO: Global Hawk observes the Saharan Air Layer through the Cloud Physics Lidar(CPL) during Hurricane Nadine (id 4102). More information on this topic available at: http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nasa-hs3-instrument-views-2-dimensions-of-clouds/.... Click here for more information. NASA's Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) instrument, flying aboard an unmanned Global Hawk aircraft in this summer's Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission, is studying the changing profile ...

NASA's HS3 mission covers transition of Hurricane Cristobal

NASAs HS3 mission covers transition of Hurricane Cristobal
2014-09-16
NASA's Global Hawk 872 aircraft flew over Hurricane Cristobal on August 28 and 29 and gathered data on the storm as it was becoming extra-tropical. NASA's airborne Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission kicked off on August 26 when one of the remotely piloted Global Hawk aircraft flew a "lawnmower" or back and forth pattern over Hurricane Cristobal while gathering data using dropsondes and two other instruments. The Global Hawk dropped 81 dropsondes over Cristobal. A dropsonde is a device that measures winds, temperature, pressure and humidity as it falls ...

Results of OCT STEMI trial reported at TCT 2014

2014-09-16
WASHINGTON, DC – September 16, 2014 – The first randomized trial to examine serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) in primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was reported at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. OCT uses light emitted from an intravascular catheter to capture high-resolution cross sectional imaging from within coronary arteries. OCT ...

Results of IVUS-CTO trial reported at TCT 2014

2014-09-16
WASHINGTON, DC – September 14, 2014 – A new study found that intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) -guided intervention in patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) could improve outcomes compared to a conventional angiography-guided approach during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The IVUS-CTO study is the first randomized trial to examine the clinical impact of IVUS guidance for CTO intervention. Findings were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation ...

Epigenetic drugs: A hope to treat cancer resistance and reduce cancer relapse?

2014-09-16
High school biology taught us that we inherit certain traits from our parents that are pre-determined. But what if you could change how these genes play out by taking certain drugs or better yet, just changing your diet? That's exactly what a team of researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have proposed through their research of epigenetics research. Epigenetics regulates gene expression in a reversible manner by chemically modifying DNA and histone proteins, which prevent permanent mutations or alterations within the gene themselves. Throughout ...

Results of DKCRUSH-VI trial reported at TCT 2014

2014-09-16
WASHINGTON, DC – September 14, 2014 – A new study found that fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided provisional side branch (SB) stenting of true coronary bifurcation lesions yields similar outcomes to the current standard of care. The DKCRUSH-VI clinical trial is the first study to compare FFR-guided and angiography-guided stenting. Findings were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in ...

Results of RIBS IV trial reported at TCT 2014

2014-09-16
WASHINGTON, DC – September 14, 2014 – A new clinical trial comparing the use of everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and drug-eluting balloons (DEB) in treating in-stent restenosis (ISR) from drug-eluting stents found that EES provided superior late angiographic results and better late clinical outcomes. Findings were reported today at the 26th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine. ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

[Press-News.org] Novel capability enables first test of real turbine engine conditions