Automotive Gas Turbine Ceramic Component Testing

Development of ceramic components for the Garrett/Ford AGT101, Advanced Gas Turbine Powertrain System Development Project, authorized under NASA Contract DEN3-167 is an iterative process involving current and advanced NDE inspection techniques, visual/dimensional inspection, and mechanical and thermal screening tests. Analytically predicted peak thermal and/or mechanical component stresses have been defined for engine operation and are closely simulated during rig testing. As development testing continues steady state strain and transient thermal data is continually fed back to the analytical models to aid in the design/development process. As part of the ceramic development task for the AGT101 a set of ceramic parts (49), constituting a complete assembly of engine structural hardware has been successfully rig tested to 1144K (1600°F) without incident, qualifying this assembly for subsequent engine testing. During the course of testing approximately 7.5 hours of 1144K (1600°F) operation has been accumulated on the assembly.Copyright © 1983 by ASME